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Criterion C: An Evaluation on How the Birely Tannery Embodies the Distinctive Characteristics of a Tannery with a Comparative Analysis and Summery of Historic Integrity !

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2011!Aerial!Image!of!the!Birely!Tannery!Building!at!214!East!Patrick!Street,!Frederick,!MD.!The!building!is!comprised!of!three!building!blocks.!!!

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Block!A!

Block!B!Block!C!

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Block!A!

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1854!Pittar!Map:!First!image.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1887!Sanborn!Map!(page!11):!First!map!showing!details.!

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1897!Sanborn!Map!(page!20):!Third!story!added.!

Block& A! first! first! appears! the! 1854! Pittar!Map,! with! Block! B! attached! to! the! north.!No! details! are! provided,! however! the!image!matches!the!size,!shape,!orientation,!and!placement!as!the!building!block!shown!in!later!Sanborn!Maps.!!

!The!1887!Sanborn!Map!is!the!earliest!map!to! reflect! the!building’s!materials! and!use.!The!map!notes!that!the!block!is!two!stories!in! height,! with! the! first! story! used! as!storage! and! the! second! story! as! an! office.!By!1897,!a!third!story!was!added.!The!first!story! is! constructed! of! stone,! while! the!second!and!third!stories!are!brick.!The!first!story!was!used!to!store!tallow!and!oils;!the!second!and!third!stories!held!an!office!and!storage!for!leather!and!shoe!findings.!!

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Block!A!(continued)!

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Images!showing!damage!to!the!tannery!after!a!fire!in!1909.!The!old!Beam!House!is!in!the!background,!now!demolished.!!!!

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South!elevation,!2016!

In! 1909,! a! devastating! fire! heavily! damaged!the!Birely!Tannery.!The!roof!structure!of!Block&A! was! destroyed,! but! much! of! the! masonry!walls! remained! intact! and! were! salvaged.!Today,! the!wall! materials!match! the! notes! in!early! Sanborn! Maps,! including! the! first! story!stone! and! second! and! third! story! brick.!Evidence! of!modest! alterations! to! the! size! of!the!windows!and!doors!are!clearly!seen!in!the!building,! but! the! general! pattern! matches!historic! images.! Unfortunately,! the! windows!and!doors!appear!to!be!missing.!!

After! the! fire,! and! throughout! first! half! the!20th! century!Block& A! continued! to! be!used! as!office! space! and! storage! for! oils.! Its! form! is!clearly! seen! and! is! unobscured! by! later!additions.!

Block!B!

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Block!B!appears! to!be! represented!on! the!1854! Pittar! Map.! Early! Sanborn! Maps!show! that! Block! B! was! a! two! story! brick!structure.! It! held! an! engine! room,! drying!room! and! bark! mill.! The! 1887! Sanborn!Map! shows! a! “Bark! Box”! leading! to! an!“endless! chain! conveyor”,! which!presumably!automatically!transferred!bark!into! the! vats! located! immediately! to! the!west.!!

The! fire! in! 1909! destroyed! the! second!story! of! Block! B,! however! the! first! story!structure!was!retained.!Both!the!1909!and!current! images! show! the! small! opening!towards! the! southern! end! of! the! west!elevation,!which!may!have!helped! service!the! original! engine! room.! Block! B! retains!much! of! its! form! and! original! features!from! the! 1909! reconstruction.! The! 1911!and! 1922! Sanborn! maps! indicate! that! its!form! and! use! did! not! change! until! 1930,!when! this! area! of! the! building! was!converted!into!a!currying!shop.!!

!The! brick! chimney! on! the!west! elevation!was! built! by! 1922.! The!one! story! covered!porch! and! small! enclosure! likely! date! to!after! the! building! was! repurposed! as! a!poultry!shop.!

Block!A!Block!B!

1947!Sanborn!Map!(page!7)!

1897!Sanborn!Map!(page!20)!

Image!showing!the!damage!of!the!1909!fire!

Block!A!Block!B!

Block!C!

!1892!Sanborn!Map!(page!12)!

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!!1911!Sanborn!Map!(page!11)! ! ! ! 2011!Aerial!Image!

Block! C! is! first! depicted! in! the! 1892!Sanborn! Map.! The! main! portion! of! the!addition!was!a!two!story!brick!structure.!It!was! connected! to! Block! B! by! a! second!story! hyphen! that! allowed! for! a! drive! or!passage!way!on!the!first!story.!A!one!story!extension! projected! off! the! north!elevation.!It!appears!that!Block!C!was!likely!destroyed! in! the! 1909! fire,! but! was!reconstructed! in!match! the! size! and! form!of! the! previous! structure.! Even! the!second\story!hyphen!with!the!passageway!underneath! was! rebuilt.! The! use! of! the!space! after! the! fire! remains! unchanged!until! 1930,! when! it! was! converted! into! a!currying!shop.!!

!The! one\story! extension! off! the! north!elevation! was! expanded! and! then! later!demolished! by! 1960;! likely! as! part! of! the!renovation!work!to!convert!the!facility!into!a!poultry!plant.! !Other!renovation!work!at!this! time! includes! infilling! the! first\story!passage! way! and! the! construction! of! a!small! addition! off! the! north! and! south!elevations.!!

Block!C!(Continued)!

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!Block!B!

Image! from! 1960! showing! the! north!elevation,! when! the! old! tannery!building! was! converted! into! a! poultry!plant.! Shows! the! modern,! one\story!addition!constructed!of!concrete!block!extending!from!the!front!elevation.!!

Current! image! showing! the! rear!elevation!of!Block!C.!You!can!see!the!second\story! hyphen! clad! in!weatherboard! siding! and! the! one\story! passage! way! that! was! infilled!with! concrete! block! as! part! of! the!1960! renovation!of! the!property.! !A!one\story! concrete! block! addition,!which!was! likely!as!part!of!the!work!done!around!1960,!can!also!be!seen.!!

Current! Image! showing! the! north!elevation.! ! The! general! form! of! the!building!has!not!been!greatly!altered!since!the!1960!renovation.!The!three!main! blocks,! which! were! directly!associated! with! tanning! production!can!still!be!clearly!identified.!!