CAMBRIDGE, Md. — The city of Cambridge is working to preserve the century-old clock tower that sits atop the old firehouse in the heart of downtown.
The building turns 100 years old this year, and crews are currently replacing rotting wood and repainting portions of the structure. The renovations are being funded through state grants.
"Well, do you want the clock tower to fall down?" City Manager Glenn Steckman said. "Because if we're not going to preserve it, we might as well begin to demolish it, because the wood is rotting. All of these things. We know we're trying to preserve our city building."
Steckman said addressing the city's building inventory was a priority for the council when they hired him, adding that the city needs to hold itself to the same standard it expects of others.
"If we're going to enforce code enforcement on people who are not maintaining their buildings, then the city should be maintaining their buildings," Steckman said.
The building was constructed in 1926 and long housed the Rescue Fire Company and city employees. Fire company operations moved to the Public Safety Building in 2008, and City Hall relocated to its current location on Academy Street.
“Our building here is not really functional as a city hall,” Steckman said, "It's an old police station, so it's built like a police station. We have offices without windows. We still have jail cells that are being used for storage of files. It's a very interesting building, but it's not a functional city building.”
Part of the city government is also up at 1025 Washington Street, which is the Public Works building. But Steckman said more than half of city staff operate out of that building.
Other planned work includes installing windows in the ambulance bay this fall and asbestos mitigation in the spring.
Cambridge Mayor Lajan Cephas-Bey said the building will serve multiple purposes once renovations are complete.
"Not only are we going to be operating out of it with city services, but also it's going to be a beautiful refresh for this block of Cambridge," Cephas-Bey said.
The building isn't valued only by the city. This winter will mark the 92nd year of the train garden, a longtime Christmas tradition tied to the site.
"The city of Cambridge starting the renovations on the old firehouse just shows their investment to us and the city itself, “ Tyler Jones of Cambridge Rescue Fire Company said. “The train garden is here, and plans to stay here for a long period of time. As long as we're here, the train guards are going to be here.”
Steckman said the city is looking to move employees into the building likely by 2030, which he said will tentatively move the train garden to the back of the building.
He said painting on the exterior should be finished in about three weeks.
