Frostburg City Hall unveils an old building with a fresh look, new purpose

Originally built in the 1960s, the home of the police department and municipal offices gives the small Maryland town an updated feel.

Murphy & Dittenhafer Architectural Designer Ralph Muenstermann envisions people driving down the street in Frostburg, Maryland, without any idea that the community’s City Hall is “an old building.”

When the police department and municipal staff moved into the structure this spring, there was little indication that it was the same building, originally built in the 1960s.

“There was a lot of brick, and it just had this utilitarian look to it,” Muenstermann says. “Our goal was to find ways to use the building better, and we did that.”

Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects ultimately updated the structure while honoring the story of the building, providing a fresh look and giving it new purpose.

Finding room

While the police department was previously housed in the building, City offices had been in another location. They hoped to combine the two, as they had been years before, but the current building didn’t have adequate space to do so.

There were a few things the City had on its wish list. The first was a separate entrance for the police department, so that people coming to the building for City business could head to the administrative municipal offices while police personnel could have their own dedicated way in and out of the building.

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The City also needed a larger space for public meetings and community gatherings, as the current space in the old municipal building only held 60 people. Further, the renovated building, which has three levels, needed to be fully accessible once completed.

While Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects was determined to improve the functionality of the space for its occupants, there was also an opportunity to add some inspiration and a new visual identity to the design.

A new home

M&D created a design that checked off all the things on the City of Frostburg’s list. The concrete cell core used by the police department was untouched, but the rest of the building was gutted to the steel beams. With nothing but a brick shell and roof, the team was able to create a completely new vision for the space.

The renovation on the third floor included adding a two-stop elevator and chair lifts. M&D Interiors chose a modest color scheme of tans and grays to fit the functionality of the structure, but the new finishes, carpets and paints add a fresh look. An exposed brick wall in the building also now shows the original location of the structure but gives extra room for the user.

For Muenstermann, he’s most excited to see the space become another component of the community. Even simple things, like using different colored brick or a metal panel system, add visual interest to the building – which it didn’t offer before.

“Buildings really have an opportunity to become part of their communities,” he says. “Frostburg has that now.”

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