The Valve House is a historic former utility building nearby the campus of Civic Works in Clifton Park in Baltimore City. Aligning a potential reuse with Civic Works programmatic offerings, the Valve House may have another opportunity to serve the community.
Built in the 1880s as a component of the City’s water system, the structure was decommissioned in the 1960s and vacant ever since. Civic Works and Preservation Maryland entered a partnership in 2016 through our Six-to-Fix program to help create a vision for the future of the Valve House — the goal was to find a way to reintegrate the building into the active life of Clifton Park and the surrounding neighborhood.
SERVING THE COMMUNITY
Civic Works has an array of programs including the Real Food Farm that travels throughout the city creating educational opportunities about healthy food and agriculture via a mobile farmers market.
Inspired by this idea, Preservation Maryland Preservation Associate, Michelle Eshelman, first documented and then created architectural drawings of the Valve House and it’s setting in Clifton Park. A potential reuse scheme included bringing the Valve House back into active use with a public farmers market on the first floor and an upper floor for meeting and classroom space.
NEXT STEPS
With these renderings and concepts now in their tool box, Civic Works will be better prepared to implement the reimagining and renovation of the Valve House if and when they acquire the property from the City of Baltimore.