| In 1904 Longworth
Hall was reported to be the largest structure of its type in the
world. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Longworth
Hall Office Complex and Design Center was originally the Baltimore
and Ohio Freight Terminal. Longworth Hall's sister building is Camden
Yards in Baltimore.
Longworth Hall rests on
ground originally owned by Nicholas Longworth. In fact, some lease
payments are still made to relatives of Nicholas Longworth for land
leased into perpetuity.
Longworth Hall remains
one of the longest buildings in the country, and is over one quarter
mile in length.
80,000 feet of piling were driven to support the foundations, which
are built of concrete, 4,000 cubic yards were used. The piers between
the doors on the first floor are made of Bedford stone (Bedford,
Indiana). 4,250,000 bricks were used in the walls.
The floor loads are carried on steel girders and these in turn are
carried on steel columns, 1,200 tons of steel required. Floors,
joists, roof beams, etc., are frame requiring 2,500.000 feet of
lumber.
1,277 feet in length, 5 stories high, and divided into 6 sections
by heavy fire walls. All floors are double, being 1 3/8" maple
on top of 1 3/4 yellow pine. Each floor will carry 400 pounds to
the sq. foot.
The lower floor is designed
as the inbound freight house with the upper 4 floors for storage
warehouse. The inbound Freight House (Longworth Hall) -- delivery
of freight on the 2nd St. side. On the North side of the building
the inbound tracks had a capacity of 65 cars.
The facilities also consisted of an Outbound frt. house, transfer
shed (1,250 feet long), a receiving yard [on the North side of
the outbound House - 45' wide and 1,100' long paved with brick.
All in all the total facility
trackage had the capacity of 125 cars. There was also a boiler house
and a 6 stall roundhouse a coal tipple, with other locomotive services.
The roundhouse was used primarily for passenger locomotives.
Besides the space devoted
to the storage of miscellaneous goods, there was a United States
Customs Bonded Warehouse, for the care of imported goods. It was
stated that some of those goods remained stored up to 3 years until
the proper duty was paid.
Special thanks to Dan
Finfrock for help with research on Longworth Hall.
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