The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation
1. A property shall be used for its historic purpose or be placed in a new use that requires minimal change to the defining characteristics of the building and its site and environment.

2. The historic character of a property shall be retained and preserved. The removal of historic materials or alterations of features and spaces that characterize a property shall be avoided.

3. Each property shall be recognized as a physical record of its time, place and use. Changes that create a false sense of historical development, such as adding conjectural features or architectural elements from other buildings shall not be undertaken.

4. Most properties change over time; those changes that have acquired historic significance in their own right shall be retained and preserved.

5. Distinctive features, finishes, and construction techniques or examples of craftsmanship that characterize a historic property shall be preserved.

6. Deteriorated historic features shall be repaired rather than replaced. Where the severity of deterioration requires replacement of a distinctive feature, the new feature shall match the original in design, color, texture, and other visual qualities and, where possible, materials. Replacement of missing features shall be substantiated by documentary, physical, or pictorial evidence.

7. Chemical or physical treatments, such as sandblasting, that cause damage to historic materials shall not be used. The surface cleaning of structures, if appropriate, shall be undertaken using the gentlest means possible.

8. Significant archeological resources affected by a project shall be protected and preserved. If such resources must be disturbed, mitigation measures shall be undertaken.

9. New additions, exterior alterations, or related new construction shall not destroy historic materials that characterize the property. The new work shall be differentiated from the old and shall be compatible with the massing, size, scale, and architectural features to protect the historic integrity of the property and its environment.

 10. New additions and adjacent or related new construction shall be undertaken in such manner that if removed in the future, the essential form and integrity of the historic property and its environment would be unimpaired.

The Built Environment of the Frederick Town Historic District
The Frederick Town Historic District contains examples of a wide variety of styles of nineteenth and early twentieth century residential and commercial architecture, including Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, and Neoclassical Revival styles. These various building types are united by consistent materials, scale and rhythm. Most of the buildings in the Historic District are constructed of brick or stone. A few frame or log houses are found as well. The buildings are typically attached, two to five bays in width and two to four stories in height, with gable or shed roofs. The streetscape within the District is continuous and a historic pattern of infill development is reflected in the variety of architectural styles that often characterizes a given block. The overwhelming majority of buildings and structures within the Frederick Town Historic District are considered to be contributing to the District's significance by virtue of their age and architectural character.

Architectural Styles in the Frederick Town Historic District
Some of the buildings that comprise the Historic District are academic, textbook examples of their particular style, however, the vast collection of buildings in the District are vernacular interpretations of high-style, architect-designed structures. Through their decorative detailing, these vernacular buildings reflect the influences of popular styles.

The character-defining elements that define a building's style are particularly important to preserve and should receive special consideration in planning for maintenance or rehabilitation. The following paragraphs and illustrations provide an introduction to the historical background and distinguishing features of the architectural styles most commonly represented in the Frederick Town Historic District. Further information can be found in several useful guides to architectural styles listed in the bibliography.
Traditional Vernacular Forms, 18th-19th century
Many of the early buildings (circa late 18th century and early 19th century) in Frederick embody vernacular architectural forms characteristic of the Western Maryland region. Their forms are traditional and their decorative detailing generally reflects architectural styles that were popular at the time. Such styles include Georgian and Federal styles of the early 19th century and the Greek Revival style of the mid-19th century.

Federal c. 1780-1840Houses of the Federal period, constructed during the first years of the new republic, retained the general form of their Georgian predecessors, but were characterized by more delicate decorative detailing that often incorporated elements derived from early Greek and Roman design.
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