Downtown Hagerstown's pivotal char...

Downtown Hagerstown's pivotal character as the Hub City of the Tri-State region in Western Central Maryland erod from one extremity to the other of the mid-to-late 20th century as railroad and manufacturing enterprises either departed or scaled back significantly.

just discovered development moved away from downtown to the suburban fringes, and, according to the 1980s, Hagerstown's downtown retail core had decentralized in Washington shire

Downtown residential areas were dominated at rental properties and low-income residents, and many of the historic buildings that defined the city's character were deteriorating and vacant.

In 1992 the city adopted a redevelopment ordinance that enabled the mayor and city council to initiate redevelopment activities in the core area of downtown.

A year later, a downtown master plan was adopted with an overall goal of implementing exhibits to continue the revitalization of down-town as the social economic and cultural heart of the city and region.

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