"Passenger service to Philadelphia and New York. All aboard!"
"Passenger service to Philadelphia and New York. All aboard!" RIVERFRONT WILMINGTON In the latter half of the nineteenth century, rapid growth of the economy and demand hand for for shipping and passenger service created a boom in railroads. Great fortunes were made which led to battles for control and consolidation of railroad lines. The inspired ever grander architectural engineering projects. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad competed for control of Wilmington's first rail line, the old PW&B (Pennsylvania, Wilmington & Baltimore) which had been completed in 1837. In 1881, as the B&O prepared to move its competing passenger services to the west side of Wilmington, the Pennsylvania Railroad built a grand new station at Front and French Streets. This building (above left) in the French Renaissance style served the City for about twenty years. By 1905, the demand for passenger service had increased so much that a new larger facility was needed and the officials also decided to elevate the tracks to eliminate the dangerous at-grade crossings. This Romanesque Revival building (above right), built on the same site, still serves Wilmington as the Amtrak passenger station. The station building and the 3 1/2 mile long viaduct are on the National Register of Historic Places. The Great Railroad Boom Submitted by @lampbane