The brick structure was built on the site of the Frederick Spoke Factory at the end of the 19th century, just as the spoke manufacturing facility was ceasing operation and the Monocacy Valley Canning Company was being established on the property. For most of its existence the structure served as a warehouse for the packing company, being accessed by Commerce Street in Frederick and by the B & O Railroad. Today the structure fronts on the extension of East Street in Frederick being constructed by the MD State Highway Administration to link downtown Frederick, including the MARC commuter rail station across East Street from the project site, to a planned new interchange at I-70/US 40 just south of the Frederick Towne Historic District. The first section of South East Street was completed across the former spoke factory/canning company site in 2001.

The site is on the section of South East Street that serves as a segment of the eastbound route of the Historic National Road (HNR), designated by the Federal Highway Administration as an All American Road in the National Scenic Byways program. This portion of South East Street connects the eastbound HNR byway, which follows South Street in Frederick parallel to the downtown portion of Patrick Street (which carries HNR traffic one-way westbound), back with East Patrick Street at the point where two-way traffic resumes at the eastern edge of the Frederick Towne Historic District.

The site capitalizes on Frederick’s location at the hub of a network of highways that fan out like the spokes of a wheel, including the other National Scenic Byway that passes through Frederick - the Catoctin Mountain Highway (US15), which is part of a larger heritage corridor dubbed the Journey Through Hallowed Ground extending from Gettysburg, PA to Charlottesville, VA; and the Old Main Streets State Scenic Byway. Through these byways the center is linked to the C & O Canal Route, the Catoctin Mountain Loop, and the Atlantic to Appalachians State Scenic Byways.

Through these routes, access is provided to a great range of historic, cultural and natural resources, including State and National parks, battlefields, and more. Likewise, two of Maryland’s Civil War Trails, the Antietam Campaign – Lee Invades Maryland and Gettysburg – Invasion & Retreat (Union Advance) driving tours pass through downtown Frederick and the site is central to the three-county Heart of the Civil War Maryland Heritage Area currently pursuing certification by the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority. As such, the site is an ideal location from which to provide tourist information for travelers along these Scenic Byways and heritage routes.

The center will also provide information related to the State-designated Arts & Entertainment District in Frederick; the Maryland Main Street program communities of Brunswick, Mount Airy, Thurmont and Frederick; the Monocacy River Water Trails that are part of the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network; and regional parks and attractions. The center will serve as the local visitor center for the City of Frederick and Frederick County, and house the offices of the Tourism Council of Frederick County that will relocate from the current location at 19 East Church Street in Frederick to operate, market and manage the facility.

In addition to maps, brochures, and displays highlighting regional attractions and amenities, the center will provide interpretation relevant to the industrial heritage of the site and historic transportation networks. For example, the historic use of the site marked the point where, for decades, local agricultural produce was brought in by wagon along the National Road, packed and shipped out by railroad or truck. Adjacent canneries, tanneries, a stockyard, coal yards, shutter fastener manufacturing, and the Frederick Brick Works made up this industrial neighborhood just south of the Historic National Road along Carroll Creek and the B & O Railroad. The site’s 19th-century heritage as home of a spoke factory, coupled with Frederick’s location as the hub from which regional Scenic Byways and other heritage tourism routes emerge like spokes on a wheel, inspired the design and organizational framework for the proposed informational exhibits and displays that will be the focal point of the project.