Memorial Day, the day Americans set aside to remember those who fell in the service of the nation, is a day filled with parades, speeches and moving remembrances of the loved and lost.
As work on the Jonathan Street cabin progresses and the once-stripped structure gradually forms into a cozy abode, it seems appropriate to reflect on those who once called 417 home. While not everyone left their marks on the dwelling like H. May, each resident’s time in the cabin is noteworthy.
Historic structures require significant repair and upkeep – but with routine maintenance the time and expense associated with those repairs can be substantially reduced. Equally important as maintaining the structure is making sure that those repairs are safe for historic buildings. Often, preservation-safe repairs cost the same or slightly more but can save property owners in the long-run. These preservation best practices are not a comprehensive or complete guide to every issue a property owner will confront but are a jumping off point for your next preservation project.
The Valve House is a historic former utility building nearby the campus of Civic Works in Clifton Park in Baltimore City. Aligning a potential reuse with Civic Works programmatic offerings, the Valve House may have another opportunity to serve the community.
Built in the 1880s as a component of the City’s water system, the structure was decommissioned in the 1960s and vacant ever since. Civic Works and Preservation Maryland entered a partnership in 2016 through our Six-to-Fix program to help create a vision for the future of the Valve House — the goal was to find a way to reintegrate the building into the active life of Clifton Park and the surrounding neighborhood.
Civic Works has an array of programs including the Real Food Farm that travels throughout the city creating educational opportunities about healthy food and agriculture via a mobile farmers market.
Inspired by this idea, Preservation Maryland Preservation Associate, Michelle Eshelman, first documented and then created architectural drawings of the Valve House and it’s setting in Clifton Park. A potential reuse scheme included bringing the Valve House back into active use with a public farmers market on the first floor and an upper floor for meeting and classroom space.
With these renderings and concepts now in their tool box, Civic Works will be better prepared to implement the reimagining and renovation of the Valve House if and when they acquire the property from the City of Baltimore.