A Maryland period piece

The first thing you need to know about this history-rich city is that it is not Fredericksburg, Va., a better known destination that also is a mecca for Civil War buffs.

Upon introducing themselves, people from Frederick are apt to add, “It’s in Maryland, not Virginia.”

Frederick is 48 miles north of Washington, D.C., making it an easy side trip -- and a good place to spend several days on the way to or from the nation’s capital. Those who visit will find a heritage-conscious city of 52,000 that has done a laudable job of preserving its past -- Washington, Lincoln and Stonewall Jackson once trod these brick-paved streets -- while acquiring an appealing sophistication.

First-rate restaurants, galleries and a host of antiques shops occupy many of the 18th and 19th century brick buildings within the 50-block downtown historic district, whose hub is Patrick and Market streets. In naming Frederick as one of its “Dozen Distinctive Destinations” for 2002, the National Trust for Historic Preservation cited the downtown revitalization and the tender loving care with which the city has protected its “superb collection of Federal, Georgian and Victorian buildings.”

In late May I flew from Florida into Ronald Reagan National Airport, picked up a rental car and headed through a downpour -- the East Coast was enduring two weeks of storms -- into Maryland’s rolling green hills. I spent the first night 11 miles from Frederick, at the bucolic Stone Manor Inn at Middletown. The inn, part of which dates from the 18th century, is off a country road on 114 peaceful acres and has six guest suites, all named for flora. I was in low-end Trillium ($150 a night), which might more accurately have been called Cinderella’s suite -- two rather higgledy-piggledy rooms in the newer wing. (The $275 suites in the older section are quite elegant.)

But any shortcomings were more than compensated for in the dining room, where the prix-fixe dinner ($69) was memorable, from the amuse bouche -- crayfish timbales in shrimp sauce -- to the roasted beet soup, Maine lobster salad and baby lamb chops. Curiosity led me to order the “creme brulee bed (with) coconut sherbet pillows.” When my plate arrived, there sat a tiny bed fashioned of spun sugar with a “mattress” of creme brulee and, yes, sherbet pillows. The woman at the next table tossed dignity to the wind to photograph hers.

Driving into Frederick the next morning, I headed for the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. It’s not for the queasy, but it is fascinating, with its dioramas depicting battlefield medical care, its stories of the sick and wounded, and its exhibits of terrifying instruments. The statistics were amazing: Of the 620,000 soldiers who died in that war, two-thirds succumbed to disease. Three of four field operations were amputations, and 500,000 soldiers came home disabled. Not easily forgotten is the museum’s “Faces of the Wounded” photo exhibit, a lineup of men missing chins, mouths and noses. (Maryland, a slave-holding border state, had divided sympathies, its sons fighting on both sides.)

Antiques shops

There was much more to be seen in Frederick, but that would wait a day. I had a reservation for the second night at Founder’s House Inn, a bed-and-breakfast in New Market (population 500) eight miles east of Frederick. The town, which is essentially one street, Main, is an Eden for antiques lovers. Places such as Smith Tavern Antiques, in a former 18th century tavern, have wares ranging from cameos to corn stick pans, but many shops are open weekends only. A walking guide prepared by the New Market Historical Society is available in most shops and restaurants.

The general store, open seven days, has a little cafe in back. Its warren of rooms stocks an eclectic mix that includes a huge selection of holiday ornaments. In May, the permanent tree in the window was decked with glittery shells and other beachy baubles.

Founder’s House Inn, one of the town’s two B&Bs;, is a nicely refurbished, antiques-filled 1778 Federal-style house. After settling into the recently renovated carriage house -- disappointingly modern but very comfortable and private -- I strolled down Main Street to Mealey’s, a big, lively restaurant in a 19th century building. The Maryland crab cakes were terrific.

The rain that had been following me dissipated obligingly before I checked in the next day at Frederick’s Tourism Information and Visitor Center, 19 E. Church St., for the downtown walking tour. Our guide, sporting a baseball cap with a jaunty feather, led us down pretty tree-shaded streets, offering up anecdotes at each stop. At the Greek Revival 1745 Evangelical Reformed Church, he told of a visit before the Battle of Antietam by Stonewall Jackson, whose army was camped in Frederick. The pastor, said our guide, “preached a fiery sermon on the preservation of the union” but was complimented by Jackson, “which makes us wonder if he slept through the service.” (Others telling the story say flat-out that the general was snoozing.)

We saw the side-by-side 19th century Ross-Mathias mansions, where in 1824 a wall was removed to create a ballroom for a fete honoring the Marquis de Lafayette, who served in the Continental Army during the Revolution. And we passed a small white brick house, thought to have been the first law office of Francis Scott Key and his brother-in-law and partner, Roger Brooke Taney, who went on to become chief justice of the Supreme Court and in 1857 presided over the Dred Scott case in a pro-slavery decision that further polarized North and South and helped fuel sentiment for the Civil War.

We paused at Courthouse Square, where in 1775 Frederick citizens staged what may have been the first public uprising against the monarchy, a protest against the British Stamp Act during which officials were burned in effigy. We saw the Civil War-era city hall, a red brick building originally built as an opera house and now occupied by Brewer’s Alley restaurant. It was here in the summer of 1864 that Confederate Gen. Jubal Early confronted the mayor, demanding $200,000 cash lest he torch the city. Local banks rounded up the money, which was loaded onto Confederate wagons.

Union troops, meanwhile, had engaged the Confederates three miles outside of town -- a skirmish that came to be known as “the battle that saved Washington.” (Early’s troops won but were so decimated they had to delay attacking Washington, giving the Union army time to defend.) The $200,000 was never accounted for.

Frederick’s best known son is Francis Scott Key, who wrote the words to “The Star Spangled Banner” while imprisoned on a British ship in Baltimore harbor during the War of 1812. (Although Frederick claims him, he was born in Keysville in what was then Frederick County, but he was baptized in a Frederick church.) Key is buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery overlooking the city. At his gravesite and monument near the entrance, the American flag is never lowered.

Frederick’s best known legend is Barbara Fritchie, also buried there. She was immortalized in John Greenleaf Whittier’s “The Ballad of Barbara Fritchie” as having defied Stonewall Jackson and his troops as they marched through town by waving a Union flag from her window and challenging the Rebels, “Shoot, if you must, this old gray head. But spare your country’s flag.”

Fritchie’s feat may be only legend. A plaque at the replica Barbara Fritchie House, now a museum, acknowledges that “spoilsport historians have since pointed out that Stonewall Jackson’s column never passed her house.” But such is her fame that Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt stopped by in 1943 on their way to the presidential retreat, now called Camp David, just 15 miles to the north.

Frederick, founded as Fredericktown in 1745 by German immigrants, is a city of church steeples -- Whittier wrote of the “clustered spires of Frederick.” Some of the churches served as hospitals after the bloody battle at Antietam, a 40-minute drive.

Checking into McCleery’s Flat, a B&B; in a lovingly cared-for Second Empire home with side garden in the heart of town, I was led up 36 steps to the Secret Chamber, a nice big room on the top floor. No teddy bears or other B&B; kitsch here; it’s more damask and crystal. My host explained that there was a TV in the parlor “for medicinal purposes” if I couldn’t live without. (I could.) He also invited me to partake from a crystal decanter in the hall. Not sherry, but Irish whiskey. “This house was built by an Irishman.”

I skipped the whiskey and headed out for a walk. I love to stroll with no destination in mind, and Frederick invites ambling. Within the historic district are more than 30 restaurants, from basic delis to high-end. Restaurants and shops occupy a three-block complex called Everedy Square and Shab Row. The former once was home to the Everedy Bottle Capping Co., the latter shabby (thus the name) run-down rentals.

Frederick owes its renaissance to Mother Nature and civic spirit. The downtown was inundated by major floods in 1972 and in 1976. It turned out to be a “blessing in disguise,” says John Fieseler, executive director of the Tourism Council of Frederick County. With the advent of suburban malls, “a lot of the downtown buildings were vacant and starting to look shabby.”

Construction of a flood control channel created Carroll Creek Promenade, a pedestrian-friendly park with green space, shops and restaurants. Operation Downtown Action, given additional impetus by the Bicentennial celebration, led to a sprucing up that lured restaurants and boutiques into historic storefronts vacated by small-town merchants.

One of the properties hard hit by the 1976 flood was the 1926 Tivoli theater, where 3 feet of water covered the stage and the mighty Wurlitzer beneath the stage broke loose from its moorings and floated onstage. Today the theater has been reborn as the Weinberg Center for the Arts and is the county’s major performing arts venue.

The old Tivoli has a Hollywood connection. In the 1930s a Frederick man, Dr. Eddie Thomas, a big racing fan, was invited to Santa Anita to see a Maryland horse run. There he met Jack Warner and told him to bet on that horse. Warner did and won big. To repay Thomas, Warner had air-conditioning installed at the Tivoli, then owned by Warner Bros.

One of Frederick’s major visitor attractions, its public art, also had its genesis with the floods. A new bridge had to be built over the creek, and local artist William Cochran had an idea for bringing the community together by creating a bridge mural to transform concrete into the illusion of an old stone bridge. The five-year project, the prototype for a nonprofit calling itself Shared Vision, was finished in 1998. You’d swear that every stone and every trompe l’oeil leaf were real.

Cochran, a 20-year resident of Frederick, also is the architect of “Angels in the Architecture,” on which several artists collaborated. Look up while strolling the historic district and you may see one of the three trompe l’oeil pieces on buildings. He’s at work on a fourth.

Civil War buffs come here to drive the Maryland Civil War Trails, one tracing the Antietam campaign and the other, just opened, the Gettysburg campaign. And, yes, once in a while “somebody shows up in the wrong city,” says Fieseler, thinking they’re in Fredericksburg. “We just tell them there’s lots of good things to do here.”

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Just a hop and a skip from D.C. to Frederick

GETTING THERE:

From LAX, nonstop service to Washington Dulles in Virginia is available on American and United, and connecting service (change of planes) is offered on Delta, Northwest, US Airways, Continental and America West. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $332. To Baltimore, nonstop service is offered on United, US Airways and Southwest, and connecting service is available on America West, American, US Airways, Delta, Northwest, Frontier, Continental and Midwest Express. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $298. Into Reagan National (also in Virginia but close to the District), American, US Airways, America West, Northwest, United, Delta, Continental and Midwest Express offer connecting service. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $258.

WHERE TO STAY:

Stone Manor Inn, 5820 Carroll Boyer Road, Middletown, MD 21769; (301) 473-5454, fax (301) 371-5622, www.stonemanor.com. Eleven miles from downtown Frederick. Country inn on 114 acres, with six suites that begin at $150 a night. Gardenia and Laurel, both in the older 18th century section, are delightful, with fireplaces and sitting rooms. Excellent restaurant on premises; full breakfast included in room rate.

McCleery’s Flat Bed and Breakfast, 121 E. Patrick St., Frederick, MD 21701; (800) 774-7926 or (301) 620-2433, www.fwp.net/mccleerysflat. In the heart of the historic district in an 1876 Second Empire-style townhouse. McCleery’s has five inviting accommodations, beginning at $105 nightly. Gracious antiques-filled public rooms and the hospitality of hosts Jutta and George Terrell enhance the experience. Breakfasts are memorable. One caveat: No on-site parking.

Founder’s House Inn, 51 W. Main St., New Market, MD 21774; (888) 562-3030 or (301) 607-6346, fax (301) 865-1516, www.foundershouseinn.com. Eight miles from Frederick. This Federal home, circa 1778, has accommodations in the nicely appointed main house and the newly renovated carriage house. Choose the carriage house, which is not quaint but very comfortable and quiet. Rates, including nicely presented full breakfast, begin at $125 a night. No credit cards.

WHERE TO EAT:

The Tasting Room, 101 N. Market St., Frederick; (240) 379-7772. Walls of glass, minimalist decor, ultra-high noise level -- and terrific food. Busy wine bar scene. Nicely prepared fish, meat and poultry. Don’t pass up the oh-so-rich lobster whipped potatoes. Open for lunch and dinner. Dinner entrees $18-$29. Closed Sundays.

Acacia, 129 N. Market St., Frederick; (301) 694-3015. A recently opened restaurant serving California-inspired “new American cuisine” in a pretty space done up in earth tones. The tandoori planked salmon in gingered white port sauce, with jumbo shrimp tempura, is wonderful. Dinner entrees $14-$28. Lunch, afternoon tea and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday brunch. Same ownership as popular and moderately priced Isabella’s and Brewer’s Alley.

Firestone’s, 105 N. Market St., Frederick; (301) 663-0330. A casually upscale spot in a 1921 former department store with brick walls and vintage posters. Window tables upstairs afford great view of street scene below. Modestly priced soups, salads, burgers and pastas at lunch. Dinner entrees $15-$26. Live music on weekends. Lunch and dinner Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday brunch/lunch and dinner.

TO LEARN MORE:

Maryland Office of Tourism Development, 217 E. Redwood St., 9th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; (800) 543-1036 or (410) 767-3400, fax (410) 333-6643, www.mdisfun.org.

Beverly Beyette

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What to see -- from artsy to very crafty

Best free attractions: Public art, including the trompe l’oeil stone, ivy and statuary on the Carroll Creek Bridge and the trompe l’oeil “Angels in the Architecture” works on buildings in the historic district. Look for “Egress,” a wood duck flying out an open window at 2nd and North Market streets; “Earthbound,” an old man with wings leaning out a window at West Church and North Market streets; and “The Edge of Gravity,” a young person in 18th century clothing on a building at South Market Street and Citizens Way.

Baker Park, 44 acres of open space in the heart of the city. There’s a 70-foot carillon, a lake, a swimming pool and a band shell where free Sunday evening concerts are held during summer months.

Best peep show: Through the garden gate at Gaslight Antiques, 118 E. Church St. The owner, H.I. Gates, is formerly professor of sculpture at George Washington University in D.C. You’ll see one of his life-size samurai warriors in full armor and other oddities, including “Lester,” a crablike creature with big eyes that was a graduate project of one of his students. The student left the country and left “Lester” for safekeeping. That was about 20 years ago.

Prettiest church steeples: Arguably, the twin steeples of Evangelical Lutheran Church, 35 E. Church St. The current church dates from 1854, but the bell in the west tower was cast in England and shipped to Frederick in 1771. Inside the church is a 3,000-pipe organ.

Most whimsical weathervane: “Johnny Swamper,” a red-coated, bugle-blowing fireman atop United Fire Company 3 station near South Market and East All Saints streets. A firefighter explained that the men used to be called “Johnny Swampers” because the station, part of which dates from 1848, was on swampland. The weathervane was given a fresh coat of paint six years ago to mark the unit’s 150th anniversary.

-- Beverly Beyette