This project will rehabilitate the vacant historic warehouse and outfit it as a visitor information center providing information about scenic byways and other tourism offerings to the customers. The project includes rehabilitation of the structure and renovation of the interior to serve the proposed new use. The construction of the building consists of load-bearing brick masonry walls with timber trusses. The entire building structure is supported by stone foundation walls. Most of the original window openings have been in-filled with brick.

Exterior work will include repairing and re-pointing the brick walls, installing 13 new windows centered between the pilasters as the original openings had been, creating a prominent main entry facing S. East Street in accordance with the City of Frederick’s Carroll Creek Overlay District guidelines, and installing a new metal roof. All interior and exterior walls have cracking around existing timber headers. These headers will be replaced with precast concrete headers. Areas of the foundation that were removed for modern openings for garage doors or ductwork, or which were embedded in concrete, will be replaced or repaired.

Other structural work entails making repairs to cracks in some of the members of the original wood trusses, using lag bolts or wood structural repair epoxy. The water-damaged rafters and roof sheathing planks will be removed and new structural insulated panel roofing will be installed directly on the existing trusses. The trusses will be cleaned and refinished as they will be exposed over the display and exhibit area of the visitor center. Ceilings and attic flooring will be removed to architecturally expose and articulate the roof trusses of the building.

In addition to the exposed wood trusses, the proposed adaptive reuse of the interior calls for cleaning, repairing and exposing the interiors of the brick walls of the structure, including one that is interior where the legs of the “L” meet. This interior brick wall has existing openings, three of which will be used as doorways for the facility’s restrooms and for the office area for the Tourism Council of Frederick County that will operate and market the center.

The information and display area will be laid out like spokes on a wheel. This arrangement will not only evoke the site’s early industrial heritage which will be interpreted at the facility, it also facilitates a geographic representation of the many Scenic Byways and heritage routes that converge at Frederick, like spokes, plus the surrounding communities and attractions.

The spokes will provide the opportunity for exhibits and displays interpreting and providing tourist information, brochures, maps, etc. to motorists traveling these routes, or intercepting them as they arrive in Frederick. As a hub of these byways, heritage routes and driving tours, the proposed center will benefit all of these initiatives through cross-promotion. A motorist traveling one scenic byway route, for example, will not only become aware of all that there is to see and do along the way, they will also learn about the other routes that intersect in Frederick. A family looking for a specific map-guide for the Historic National Road, the Catoctin Mountain National Scenic Byway, the C & O Canal Route, Old Main Streets State Scenic Byway, or Maryland Civil War Trails because they’ve seen the trailblazer signs or saw these routes advertised, will learn about the others. In particular, the center is situated in an ideal location to provide tourist information about the Historic National Road to motorists traveling along this All American Road, or to those intercepting it having arrived from a different direction, such as from Washington, D.C. or Gettysburg, PA.

History of the Project

The Tourism Council of Frederick County began searching in early 2000 for a site along the proposed extension of East Street in Frederick to a planned new interchange on I-70. This was at about the time that the MD State Highway Administration developed the plans for the new interchange, with a bridge over I-70 connecting to an extension of MD85. The Tourism Council recognized the significance of this future improvement to downtown Frederick access, creating a new gateway to Frederick’s historic area, one of the top visitor destinations in this region of the State. Likewise, the proposed improvements will provide more convenient connections among the highways that feed into Frederick from all directions.

A visitor center along this new access road would meet long-term goals of the organization to achieve better visibility of the visitor information center by motorists shortly after they exit the highway.

The Tourism Council has also long desired to have more space in which to serve visitors with the opportunity to show an orientation film; to present exhibits and displays in addition to the standard offerings of brochures and maps; to better accommodate group tours by providing more adequate restroom facilities than previously available; and to have room for a group to gather indoors while reassembling before reboarding a motor coach. The goal was to have a facility that could serve as the tourist information center about local, regional and Statewide offerings of interest to visitors, including displays, maps and guides for initiatives such as the Historic National Road, Catoctin Mountain National Scenic Byway, other Maryland Scenic Byways, and Maryland Civil War Trails, in addition to serving as the local visitor center for the City of Frederick, Frederick County, and surrounding region.

Likewise the site is centrally located in the three-county Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area, and will serve travelers interested in following two of Maryland’s Civil War Trail driving tours which pass through downtown Frederick. As envisioned, the center will cross-promote these assorted programs to visitors who arrive because of their interest in any one aspect of the area.

After identifying the above goals, the Tourism Council Board of Directors evaluated a number of potential sites along the proposed East Street extension. Criteria that were important to the Board included:

• A site directly on the East Street extension for maximum visibility to motorists exiting from either direction of I-70/US40 at the new interchange, or reaching this key interchange via MD 85, MD 355 or I-270.
• A site that was within easy walking distance of downtown Frederick.
• A site that was close to the new MARC rail passenger station in downtown Frederick, which also houses the Greyhound/Trailways bus terminal and serves as a hub for Frederick County TransIt operation.
• Ideally in an historic structure to complement Frederick’s historic district and the heritage of the region.

After examining the potentially available properties in the desired area, the Tourism Council Board chose the warehouse building. The building was vacant. It was on the former Monocacy Valley Canning Company site that had been purchased by the City of Frederick in order to acquire right-of-way for the East Street extension.

In 2004, a hotel rental tax was imposed in Frederick County. The State enabling legislation for this tax allowed the Board of County Commissioners for Frederick County to impose a tax on hotel rooms in the County to fund tourism. In addition, the legislation provided that the County Commissioners could earmark a portion of the tax proceeds for a future visitor center, since the need for such a facility has been discussed with local elected official for several years. The County Commissioners implemented the tax in August of 2004.

The Tourism Council offered to purchase the site from the City of Frederick. The City agreed to sell the site to the organization at an attractive price, in spite of the strong demand for the City-owned sites along the Carroll Creek flood control/park project and the East Street extension alignment. A contract of sale was signed in June 2005.

While the site was under contract, the Tourism Council hired a construction management firm and an architect. Design meetings and public informational/input meetings, as described in a later section, have been held since fall 2005 to develop the plans that are proposed. In December of 2005, the Tourism Council purchased the property from the City of Frederick.