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Ellicott City Technical Assistance Panel : A Vision Of The Future
Historic Ellicott City is recovering from a massive flood that devastated the town on July 30 th 2016 . One of the many recovery initiatives was a two-day Technical Assistance Panel ( TAP ) organized by the Urban Land Institute and sponsored by the Howard County Economic Development Agency . Urban planning experts toured the town , interviewed residents and business people , held an open meeting and delivered their findings at the George Howard county building .
Local people were surprised when the panel suggested turning the historic train station into a celebrity chef restaurant and the old courthouse into a boutique hotel .
Joetta Cramm ’ s book Historic Ellicott City : A Walking Tour notes that in fact it was the railroad that put Ellicott City on the map . The train station is a two-story granite building with the distinction of being the first and oldest commercial station in the country . Today the train station houses the Ellicott City B & O railroad museum . A smaller brick freight house was built in 1885 . It now holds an operating HO-gauge model railroad layout of the 19th century Patapsco Valley from Baltimore to Ellicott City .
The old post office , a simple
“ Acropolis ” of Historic Ellicott City — the Howard County courthouse on Capitoline Hill
By Ken McNaughton stone structure , was dedicated in 1940 and fits in with other Quaker-style buildings in town . It currently houses the Howard County Welcome Center , a police museum and offices . The panel considers both this building and the train station as under-utilized and envisions an elegant historic renovation as the best use for these structures .
The panel was impressed with the “ Acropolis ” of Historic Ellicott City — the Howard County courthouse on Capitoline Hill , which overlooks Main Street . According to Celia Holland , author of Ellicott City , Maryland : Mill Town U . S . A ., huge slabs of local granite and tremendous beams of white oak were dragged up the dirt road by oxen , mules and horsedrawn carts . Construction occurred in the early 1840 ’ s , when the road was hardly more than a level path cut through and around the hilly terrain . The courthouse opened for the spring session in 1843 and remained unchanged for a hundred years .
In 1938-39 a $ 40,000 addition funded by the federal government enlarged the original structure . During a recent multi-million dollar renovation the building was enlarged and the interior was completely rebuilt . Another historic building — thought to be the second school of the founding Ellicott family — was incorporated into the eastern façade of the courthouse .
Recommended Reading
1 . Historic Ellicott City : A Walking Tour By Joetta Cramm
2 . Ellicott City , Maryland : Mill Town U . S . A . By Celia M . Holland
3 . Ellicott City , Maryland 18th Century Mill Town By Celia M . Holland
If this historic building should accommodate a boutique hotel , as the TAP panel suggested , guests would have commanding views over Historic Ellicott City and could descend to Main Street via the magnificent new staircase behind the brewery . There is ample parking for guests and visitors in the courthouse parking lot . The makeover might even generate new restaurants and retail outlets .
The panel pointed out that these grand plans for transforming three buildings so important to the architectural foundation and aesthetic of Ellicott City would demand aiming high and raising large amounts of capital . This could happen . There are many people who are determined that a modern pedestrian , retail and commercial friendly Historic Ellicott City should rise after the flood .
Copyright This work is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in whole or in part in any medium without written permission from Ken McNaughton , 3778 College Avenue , Ellicott City , MD 21043 ; phone / fax : 410-418-9340 ; kjmcn @ comcast . net ( 18 January 2017 ). The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy , position or view of GreenBook , YellowFin Marketing or J . Melvin Premier Property .
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GREENBOOK | SPRING 2017