In 1841 an hotel extension - known originally as the Queen's Hotel - was added to the northern (Curzon Street) side of the building, but was eclipsed (and renamed the Railway Hotel) when a new Queen's Hotel was opened next to New Street station. The Railway Hotel closed in June 1900 for conversion to railway offices and was demolished ca. 1980 by Birmingham City Council. On 27 January 1847, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers was established with George Stephenson as its first president in the Queen's Hotel; a plaque commemorating the centenary of the event was placed inside the station building when the hotel was demolished.