There appears to be at least two businesses associated with this building. The first is an old business which ended in the sixties called Main's Quality Ice Cream. There is a beat up, old neon sign hanging from an old pole next to the top left of the building. Also, there is currently a coffee bistro/restaurant called the Main Cup. Both businesses were closed when I visited on 08 10 11.
There are 344 buildings in this district, most tagged with a historical marker designating contributing status with a inventory number. This building is numbered 366 by the Frederick County Landmarks Foundation and is located at 14 West Main Street/The National Road. This number exceeds the number of buildings so it is somewhat of a curiosity how they are numbering their properties. The structure has a narrow alley to its left and a side street to its right. It reminds me of the homes in the Moorestown or haddonfield historic district.
The historical society plaque (the metal oval one which signifies NRHP contributing status) is to the right of the entrance about four feet off the ground, like the other contributing properties. The historical society marker is oval, made of metal, has the words Frederick County up top arched around the oval and the words Landmarks Foundation on the bottom. In the inner oval is the word Registered. A little metal tag is nailed atop the word Registered with the number 366 imprinted on it. There is an IOIOIOIOIO pattern in the middle, separating the outer words from the middle part of the marker. It all looks very official and rather old despite it probably being nailed to the house in 2003, the date Middletown was added to the register.
This two and a half story house sits close to the street, with a narrow sidewalk separating the two. It looks like a big, old stucco house with a tin roof. I am not too sure what is under the stucco, probably brick. The house is non de-script, four windows up top, 2 over 2, with four windows on the bottom, four over four. The front door is off center, more to the right. The original neon sign from the 60s is still hanging high, two stories high, a tribute to the family which owned and operated an ice cream business out of this house, the Main family. They ceased operations in 1969 so the sign is at least 40 some years old. The new business, the Main Cup, also is a tribute to the Main Family, using their name as well in their business name.
The Main Cup website offers the following tidbit of history about the building and the previous business: The Main Cup is located in Historic Downtown Middletown, Maryland. Its name is derived from the building’s history which began over 100 years ago when C.F. Main began making and selling ice cream here. Main’s Ice Cream and Butcher Shop became a Maryland institution as the business grew regionally. Presidents and state officials were known to stop at Main’s on their way to Shangri-La, now known as Camp David. Ice cream was last churned here in 1969 and the Main family subsequently sold the factory. SOURCE
There is so much to do and see in this town which lies along the historic National Highway. I learned about their Civil War history through the numerous wayside markers found on their main drag. One of the residents was nice enough to take me inside one of their contributing structures which doubled as a field hospital. The upstairs operating rooms are still set up just as they were during the Civil War.
The contributing buildings almost all bear plaques and are numbered by the local historical society. As far as historic districts go, this one is the most organized and well-maintained of them all. It reminded me of Abbottstown or New Oxford, PA, towns that lie on the Lincoln Highway.
Wikipedia told me: The Middletown Historic District comprises the historic center of Middletown, Maryland. Middletown became the chief community in the Middletown Valley in the late 18th century, retaining its importance until the 1930's, when the expanding influence of Frederick, Maryland, the construction of a bypass on US 40 and the abandonment of the Hagerstown and Frederick Railway produced a gradual decline. The historic district preserves many mid-19th century buildings in the central downtown area. To the east, the district includes early 20th century houses built along the trolley right-of-way, forming a streetcar suburb. The Airview Historic District includes a related area of early 20th century development to the east of town along the National Pike, separated from the main district by a section of newer development.
From the nomination form:
The Middletown Historic District is significant as an important center of transportation and commerce for the west-central Maryland region from the late 18th century through the early 20th century. The town enjoys an advantageous position on an important transportation route. Beginning in the 18th century, the little village in the "middle" of the valley provided a variety of services for travelers to the western "Barrens" of the Maryland colony, including lodging, blacksmithing, harness and wagon repairs, as well as spiritual sustenance in the churches established from the earliest years. Following the construction of the National Road and pike system, Middletown grew in importance as a center of commerce and culture for the valley throughout the 19th century. Its importance as a transportation hub was reinforced with the establishment of the Frederick and Middletown interurban electric railway line which eventually led to Hagerstown further west. In 1936 the new Route 40 was constructed between Frederick and Hagerstown, bypassing Middletown and undermining its central status. The closing of the electric railway line in 1947 further marginalized Middletown. The Middletown Historic District derives additional significance for its cohesive collection of architectural resources including residential, commercial, and ecclesiastical buildings reflecting a wide range of stylistic influences which mark the important periods of growth and construction in the town. Although little remains from the period of Middletown's initial settlement, the streetscape retains a number of late-18th century and early-19th century buildings of log and brick construction, which reflect the Germanic vernacular influence present throughout west-central Maryland. Several church buildings and numerous commercial buildings mark the mid-19th century construction period, and a noteworthy collection of Late Victorian period dwellings identify the late-19th and early-20th century expansion of the town to the east. SOURCE