Hovering over Metro's Red Line tracks just south of the Silver Spring station is a new work of public art created by Washington, DC artist G. Byron Peck. The painting depicts the east-bound Silver Spring Baltimore & Ohio passenger station that stood across the tracks from the main B&O Station, located at 8100 Georgia Avenue.
The east-bound station, a 1970s brick replacement of the 1945 original, was demolished about five year ago for planned construction of the Veridian apartments project. While the artisitc rendition of the small station is very accurate and pleasing, its size and placement is woefully overwhelmed by the massive apartment complex that it is affixed to.
Viewers will never be able to truly appreciate the artwork or comprehend its details being that it is separated by four sets of tracks and several chain link fences when viewed from the Georgia Avenue side. For folks that might actually catch a glimpse of it while riding on Metro coming into or leaving the Silver Spring station well, that's all they are going to catch, a fleeting glimpse.
Standing in the doorway of the station is President Harry S Truman, who visited the station on multiple occasions (mostly to pick up his wife Bess and/or daughter Margaret who were returning to Washinton from Independence, Missouri). I'm not sure who the man standing behind Truman is supposed to be. His driver, who would bring him over from the White House? His vice president, Alben W. Barkley?
"Reflected" in windows to the right of the door is the main station, situated across the tracks. Before the 1970s and the arrival of Metro there were only two sets of tracks between these structures and the track bed was much narrower than it is today.
It was unfortunate to have lost this, admittedly, non-historic Montgomery County-owned railroad structure. It would have been a great building to house the ever-growing Silver Spring Historical Society's archives.
Jerry, as my memory serves me correctly, I would assume Metro riders will get more than just a fleeting glance of the art work here depicted. How many times I did wonder why the Metro train was stopping in this general area and not at the station.
Mr. B is right!
As a Red Line commuter I have all to often heard upon approaching Silver Spring, "We're waiting for the train ahead of us at the platform."
Jerry