[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 24 (Thursday, February 12, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S995-S996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. Mikulski):
  S. 521. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study of President Station in Baltimore, Maryland, 
and for

[[Page S996]]

other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today marks an important day in history as 
our Nation continues to honor the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. 
There are many landmarks in my hometown of Baltimore that are 
significant to Civil War history, which I believe are in the Nation's 
interests to protect for future generations. As our Nation pays tribute 
to this trying time in our Nation's history, I am proud to reintroduce 
the President Street Station Study Act, which would initiate the 
process for preserving one such landmark in the heart of Baltimore. 
President Street Station played a crucial role in the Civil War, the 
Underground Railroad, the growth of Baltimore's railroad industry, and 
is a historically significant landmark to the presidency of Abraham 
Lincoln.
  The station was constructed for the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and 
Baltimore, PW&B, Railroad in 1849 and remains the oldest surviving big 
city railroad terminal in the United States. This historical structure 
is a unique architectural gem, arguably the first example and last 
survivor of the early barrel-vault train shed arches, also known as the 
Howe Truss. The arch-rib design became the blueprint for railroad 
bridges and roofs well into the 20th century and was replicated for 
every similarly designed train shed and roof for the next 20 years.
  The growth of President Street Station and the PW&B railroad mirror 
the expansion of the railroad industry throughout the country in the 
latter half of the 19th century. This station played an essential role 
in making Baltimore the first railroad and sea-rail link in the nation 
and helped the city become the international port hub it is today.
  In its heyday, President Street Station was the key link connecting 
Washington, D.C. with the northeast States. Hundreds of passengers 
traveling north passed through this station and, by the start of the 
Civil War, Baltimore had become our Nation's major southern railroad 
hub. Not surprisingly, the station played a critical role in both the 
Civil War and the Underground Railroad.
  Perhaps the most famous passenger to travel through the station was 
President Abraham Lincoln. He came through the station at least four 
times, including secretly on his way to his first inauguration in 1861. 
President-elect Lincoln was warned by a PW&B private detective of a 
possible assassination plot in Baltimore as he transferred trains. 
While it is unclear if this plot existed and posed a serious threat, 
Lincoln nevertheless was secretly smuggled aboard a train in the dead 
of night to complete his trip to Washington.
  Just a few months later, President Street Station served as a 
backdrop for what many historians consider to be the first bloodshed of 
the Civil War. The Baltimore Riot of 1861 occurred when Lincoln called 
for Union volunteers to quell the rebellion at Fort Sumter in 
Charleston. On this day in history, April 19, 1861, Massachusetts and 
Pennsylvania volunteers were met and attacked by a mob of secessionist 
and Confederate sympathizers. The bloody confrontation left four dead 
and 36 wounded. As the war continued, the Station remained a critical 
link for the Union. Troops and supplies from the north were regularly 
shuttled through the station to support Union soldiers.
  It is well known that Maryland was a common starting point along the 
Underground Railroad and that many escaped slaves from Maryland's 
Eastern Shore plantations were destined for Baltimore and the President 
Street Station to travel north to freedom. Last year, Congress acted to 
honor Maryland's own Harriet Tubman, the Underground Railroad's most 
famous ``conductor'' by enacting the Harriet Tubman National Historical 
Parks Act, establishing the first set of National Historical Parks to 
commemorate the life of an African American woman. While Harriet Tubman 
personally led dozens of people to freedom, her courage and fortitude 
also inspired others to find their own strength to seek freedom. 
President Street Station was indeed a station on this secret network. 
Prior to emancipation in 1863, several renowned escapees, including 
Frederick Douglass, William and Ellen Craft, and Henry ``Box'' Brown, 
traveled through the Station, risking their lives for a better and 
freer life.
  Others' journeys for a better life also passed through President 
Street Station. From its beginning and into the 20th century, Baltimore 
was both a destination and departure point for immigrants. New arrivals 
from Ireland, Russia, and Europe arriving on the eastern seaboard 
traveled by way of the PW&B railroads to the west.
  For decades, President Street Station has long been recognized as 
having an important place in history: In 1992, it was listed on the 
National Register of Historic places and the city of Baltimore has 
dedicated it a local historical landmark. For many years it served as 
the Baltimore Civil War Museum, educating generations of people about 
the role Maryland and Baltimore played in the Civil War and the early 
history of the city. In recent years, the museum, run by dedicated 
volunteers from the Maryland Historical Society and Friends of 
President Street Station, have struggled to keep the station's doors 
open and keeping the station's character true to its historical roots. 
The area around President Street Station has changed dramatically over 
the decades, but the Station has worked to preserve its place in place 
in history. It has been many years since trains passed through the 
President Street Station and it is clear that today the best use for 
this building is to preserve the building and use it to tell station's 
American story.
  President Street Station is an American historical treasure. This 
bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resource study of President Street Station to evaluate the suitability 
and feasibility of establishing the Station as a unit of the National 
Park Service. President Street Station, a contributor to the growth of 
the railroad, and a vital player in the Underground Railroad, Lincoln 
Presidency and Civil War, is part of this history. I urge my colleagues 
to join me in giving this station the recognition it deserves and 
support this bill.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                 S. 521

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``President Street Station 
     Study Act''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) Study area.--The term ``study area'' means the 
     President Street Station, a railroad terminal in Baltimore, 
     Maryland, the history of which is tied to the growth of the 
     railroad industry in the 19th century, the Civil War, the 
     Underground Railroad, and the immigrant influx of the early 
     20th century.

     SEC. 3. SPECIAL RESOURCE STUDY.

       (a) Study.--The Secretary shall conduct a special resource 
     study of the study area.
       (b) Contents.--In conducting the study under subsection 
     (a), the Secretary shall--
       (1) evaluate the national significance of the study area;
       (2) determine the suitability and feasibility of 
     designating the study area as a unit of the National Park 
     System;
       (3) consider other alternatives for preservation, 
     protection, and interpretation of the study area by the 
     Federal Government, State or local government entities, or 
     private and nonprofit organizations;
       (4) consult with interested Federal agencies, State or 
     local governmental entities, private and nonprofit 
     organizations, or any other interested individuals; and
       (5) identify cost estimates for any Federal acquisition, 
     development, interpretation, operation, and maintenance 
     associated with the alternatives.
       (c) Applicable Law.--The study required under subsection 
     (a) shall be conducted in accordance with section 8 of Public 
     Law 91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5).
       (d) Report.--Not later than 3 years after the date on which 
     funds are first made available for the study under subsection 
     (a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Natural 
     Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
     on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a report that 
     describes--
       (1) the results of the study; and
       (2) any conclusions and recommendations of the Secretary.
                                 ______