Latest features of downtown Hagerstown's revitalization to be unveiled Saturday
Curious to know the latest on downtown's revitalization?
City officials are inviting you to come to the back of The Maryland Theatre off West Antietam Street at 11 a.m. Saturday to find out.
There will be a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the final segment of the Hagerstown Cultural Trail. Also to be unveiled during the free, public event is an area behind the theater that's going to be named Hatters Plaza.
It's all part of an ongoing downtown revitalization that marks the most ambitious undertaking in decades there. Much of the focus started in 2014 when the city teamed up with a Philadelphia-based urban planning group to come up with eight initiatives for downtown. It has involved millions of dollars in investment, a redesign and expansion of The Maryland Theatre, and other work.
Trail stretches on
Among the projects was the development of the Hagerstown Cultural Trail, a walking path that extends from Hagerstown City Park where the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts sits, to West Antietam Street in the center of town. The trail passes by the site of a planned multi-million dollar sports and and events stadium at Summit Avenue and West Baltimore Street that is to become the home of a new professional baseball team for Hagerstown.
The 5,000-seat stadium is expected to be completed in 2024, and project officials have said they anticipate many spectators entering the stadium from the trail as it passes the facility's outfield.
It was always planned for the trail to continue on toward West Washington Street and onto the City Farmers Market that is now being planned for a brewery, distillery and winery.
Hatters Plaza
The new section of the trail extends from its end at West Antietam Street to run past the Washington County District Court, to the back of The Maryland Theatre and the Barbara Ingram School for the Arts. A plaza has been built behind the theater and school that serves as a bus drop-off for Barbara Ingram students. It will also serve as an area for tour buses arriving at the theater for shows, City Engineer Rodney Tissue said in a phone interview.
It's being named Hatters Plaza, a nod to the memory of the Updegraff family, which made gloves and hats in the city. Parts of Saturday's events will give a chance to learn more about the Hagerstown family, according to a news release from the city.
The trail connects to West Washington Street where private redevelopment projects have been underway, including by Hager 5, a group of investors that includes Greg Snook, John Barr and Paul Crampton Jr.
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Hager 5 sold a property along West Washington Street it had been redeveloping to another firm, and Saturday's event includes an opportunity to learn more about that project.
From West Washington Street, a brick walkway takes cultural trail users to the farmers market on West Church Street, Tissue said.
'Suspended' art
Also in the area of Hatters Plaza is a new piece of public art. It's a "suspended" sculpture of flowers and butterflies that hangs above the trail. Created by Mark Schwenk of Berkeley Springs, W.Va., it's titled "A Butterfly Dreams of the Garden."
Public art is a central theme of the trail. Previously unveiled was the Faces of Hagerstown photo display that introduces walkers to those who live and work in Hagerstown through black-and-white photographs. On Saturday, more than 20 new murals will be unveiled along the district court and other spots in town, Tissue said.
Following the ribbon cutting, Barbara Ingram School for the Arts Foundation will be hosting an "art walk," with help from city developer Michael Fitzgerald and Gideon Properties, according to the release.
Guests are encouraged to make their art walk interactive by downloading the "Agents of Discovery" app, completing challenges along the trail and vying for a prize at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, the release said. Artwork by Barbara Ingram students will be available.
"They have a lot of cool stuff they will be doing the rest of the day," Tissue said.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Cultural trail segment, plaza, among new offerings in Hagerstown
