REFRAME: CREATING A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON HISTOTRIC PRESERVATION THROUGH A CENTER FOR LOCAL PRESERVATION CRAFT

Abstract

The Hampden Neighborhood of Baltimore developed and prospered as a mill town in the mid-nineteenth century. While the neighborhood declined socially and economically in the twentieth century as industry left the area it was able to regain a level of stability in the twenty-first century as new people entered the neighborhood and started to redevelop its character. These new residents are moving into housing stock that largely dates to the nineteenth century and early twentieth century. These domestic structures were built with historic techniques and have acquired architectural elements local to the Baltimore area. It is important that Baltimore’s architectural heritage is preserved in the renovations and repairs of domestic structures. The creation of a center for the teaching of local construction craft through adaptive reuse will prove instrumental for the preservation of the historic character of Hampden.