Excerpt from MyEasternShoreMD:
The Historic District Commission, meeting Wednesday, Dec. 2, approved a roof replacement for the former railroad station building, currently the offices of the Tidewater Trader.
Carla Johnson, publisher of the Trader, said that other buildings in the neighborhood have metal roofs. However, she said, she would prefer to use asphalt shingles, which the building currently has, because she has another project ongoing and would like to save on the cost. She said the current roof leaks and badly needs replacement.
Commissioner Robert Busler said photos of the station taken at the time it was moved to its current location showed asphalt shingles.
Commissioner Nancy McGuire said the station is a “very significant building in a prominent location,” and therefore needs a significant roof.
After a 3-2 vote, in which commissioners Suzanne DeBerry Cole and Veronica Golden joined McGuire in opposing the asphalt shingles, Trader employee George Kennedy gave a brief history of roofing on adjacent buildings in what was at the time a commercial district. He said many of the buildings would have had corrugated tin roofs.
After viewing samples of the roofing material, the commission unanimously approved the metal roof.
