Day 136 - Carroll Creek, east of East Street

Carroll Creek Conduit

Still BFFS?

Hopefully, devastating floods are a thing of the past in Frederick's historic downtown, thanks to the Carroll Creek Linear Park.  In 1976, a major flood during the aftermath of Hurricane Agnes caused major property damage.  A decision was made then to find a way to control Carroll Creek, culminating in a project that put the creek underground in 1993, with a concrete conduit a little more than a mile long, carrying water above ground, with pedestrian walkways on either side.  The master plan for the park explains its purpose and plans for implementation.

I have walked the developed side of this park before, but today I wanted to investigate the still-to-be developed side of the conduit, the part that runs between the MARC train station and East Patrick Street, along the side of McCutcheon's Apple Products Factory.

Fort Detrick Tribute

Awaiting Revitalization

I was drawn to this side of the park by the sidewalk art that is painted along portions of the concrete walkway.  According to my Internet research, a public art project was conducted in 2005 to allow residents to paint sections of the concrete in the "Spirit of Carroll Creek" project.  Families, groups, and individuals paid a nominal fee to paint sections of the walkway, knowing that when they were eventually beautified by brick walkway overlays, they would no longer be seen.  However, on the east side of the park, which is still unfinished, the paintings are still there.

Pillars of Frederick Project

I parked at McCutcheon's, and wearing my rain gear, took off for my walk.  I walked from the factory to East Patrick Street, then crossed over the bridge and came back on the other side, crossing again at the MARC station.  I stopped to photograph the Pillars of Frederick art project by local artist Yemi, which consists of portraits of Frederick's notable citizens, hung in panels on the side of the building.

Apples before & after

An American Worker

As I rounded the corner at McCutcheon's, the smell of apples was in the air, and it was easy to see why.  A truck was backed up to a spout that was dripping chunks of apple byproducts into the dumpster portion, and what looked like globby applesauce covered much of the ground by the spout system.  There was also a pile of fresh apples in a different section of the factory yard, and I can only assume they were awaiting processing into McCutcheons' famous apple butter.

The rain started up again in earnest as I got into the car to leave, but today I felt I really learned a lot about downtown Frederick, thanks to my walk.



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Cam's rules for the Daily Photo Walk:

1. walk every day
2. the walk must be in addition to any other planned activity for the day
3. post a photo every day
4. use my Nikon P7100 (it is a very convenient size and weight)
5. no weather excuses
6. walk only where it is safe to do so