Historical District Tour

Founded in 1745 by English & German settlers, Fredericktown, as originally named was established as a frontier town which serviced wagon trains blazing the first trails across the unexplored Allegheny Mountains. There are many Historical Sites within the City of Frederick. During your Frederick excursion take time to look into Frederick's future along Carroll Creek Park where the next chapters in our "History of Opportunity" will be written. Frederick is a celebration of heritage and artistic offerings.

The City of Frederick Historic District contains examples of a wide variety of 19th and early 20th century styles in residential and commercial architecture, including Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival and Neoclassical Revival. These various building types and styles are united by consistent materials, scale and rhythm. Most of the buildings in the Historic District are constructed out of brick or stone; a few frame or log houses are found as well. The buildings are typically adjoining, two to five bays in width and two to four stories in height, with gable or shed roofs. The streetscapes within the district are continuous; a historic pattern of infill development is reflected in the variety of architectural styles which often characterizes a given block. The overwhelming majority of buildings and structures within the Frederick Historic District may be considered as contributing to the significance of the district through their age and architectural character.
The commercial core of Frederick is concentrated along Market and Patrick Streets. The scale of these commercial buildings is generally consistent with their surroundings; rarely do they exceed four stories in height. In form, they are two-part blocks, featuring a street level which is clearly differentiated from the upper section. The street level usually comprises a storefront with large display windows. Like their residential neighbors, the decorative detailing of these commercial buildings reflect a wide variety of popular styles of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many of the commercial buildings in the Frederick Historic District represent conversions of originally-residential structures.

Several commercial buildings reflect modern design trends of the turn of the 20th century, as metal-frame construction methods made possible large window areas on upper stories. These include 36 South Market Street, a four story building with a prefabricated iron facade, and the building on the Northwest corner of Market and Patrick Streets, which features broad window openings characteristic of the early-20th-century "Commercial Style". In addition, there are several noteworthy Neoclassical Revival bank buildings, whose detailing lends a sense of monumental stability despite their relatively small scale.