The
Hagerstown Commercial Core Historic District
consists approximately of a one and a half by two block rectangle which
includes the major retail center of town. The center of the district is the
public square which is formed by the junction of Potomac and Washington
Streets, the two major traffic arteries in the city. The district extends one
half block east of the public square, north to Franklin Street, west to
Summit-Jonathan Streets and east to Antietam Street. It is made up almost
entirely of commercial buildings constructed or remodeled for retail purposes
during the last 20 years of the 19th century and the first 20 years
of the 20th century.
A 40-year period
representing the peak of Hagerstown's prosperity
Exceptions to the commercial character of the district but integral to it are
two prominently located government structures, the Washington County Courthouse
built in 1874 and listed individually in the National Register of Historic
Places, and the City Hall, built in 1939. Most of the buildings within the
district retain the architectural characteristics of the period of their
significance and provide a showcase of late 19th and early 20th
century commercial styles.
Hagerstown became a major manufacturing city in Maryland. This industrial
prosperity led to a commercial boom period which is illustrated by this
historic district, in the stylistic continuity of the buildings representative
of popular commercial styles of the turn of the century. Three major building
types are found in the district: late Italianate two and three-story buildings
with prominent bracketed cornices; elaborate baroque and neo-classical forms
associated with the Beaux Arts style; and a very simple early 20th century
commercial style featuring strongly rectilinear forms.
The
topography of the district slopes from north and
west to the south and east. North Potomac Street between the square and
Franklin Street has a substantial change in grade, leveling as it reaches the
square. West Washington Street, West Antietam Street in the blocks west of the
west boundary of the district rise sharply in grade, but level as they reach
Summit Avenue. At the east edge of the district East Washington and East
Antietam Streets drop in elevation between North Potomac and Jonathan Streets.
Much of the district, except for its northeast corner, lies in a small plateau
between grades.
A
commercial center since the 18th
century for Washington County and the tri-state area which includes southern
Franklin County, Pennsylvania and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia,
Hagerstown became a leading furniture manufacturer, flour and grist mills, organs
and knit goods as well as a rail center with machine shops, steam railroad
repair shops
.
large hotels catering to rail and automobile travelers were built
Hotels like the Dagmar, built in 1910 and located at the southwest corner of
the district, were built to serve rail travelers. Early advertisements
emphasize its advantageous location opposite the B & 0 Railroad and near
the Cumberland Valley and Norfolk and Western Railroad stations.
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