{"id":9666,"date":"2018-10-03T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-10-03T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/?p=9666"},"modified":"2018-10-02T13:52:18","modified_gmt":"2018-10-02T17:52:18","slug":"main-attractions-marylands-queen-city-of-cumberland-is-a-mountain-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/2018\/10\/03\/main-attractions-marylands-queen-city-of-cumberland-is-a-mountain-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"Main Attractions: Maryland\u2019s \u201cQueen City\u201d of Cumberland is a Mountain Gem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>When one drives through Cumberland on Interstate 68, it is difficult to not be struck by the combination of stunning mountain views and spires from churches. Perhaps even more impressive is Cumberland\u2019s array of family-friendly shop<\/span>s and activities offered on its walkable, recently revitalized Main Street. Since FY15, the city has been aided in recent redevelopment efforts by more than $1.1 million in funding from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, including a $50,000 Operating Assistance Grant in FY18 for the renovation of the Cumberland Theatre.<\/span><\/p>\n

Formerly the second-largest city in Maryland, Cumberland has played different roles throughout its history. Like its neighboring Main Street Maryland community, the city of Frostburg, Cumberland was a prominent location on the B&O Railroad. It was also a military outpost used by George Washington during the French and Indian War, as well as a thriving mining and industrial town. Though the present-day city has had its difficulties, they have weathered the storm and are on the rise,<\/span>\u00a0says Downtown Development Commission Executive Director Mikayla Dodge. A native of Glen Burnie, Dodge went to Frostburg State University and fell in love with the area, and she\u2019s not alone. \u201cIt\u2019s got a big-city feeling packed into a small town,\u201d said Dodge of her adopted city. \u201cWhen you\u2019re driving up here, a lot of people have told me they didn\u2019t realize there was a whole different world. We\u2019re up here in the mountains, but there\u2019s plenty to do and plenty of places to be able to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cumberland\u2019s downtown, located along Baltimore Street and the immediately surrounding roads, comes alive quite often. A recently-opened stage in the center of downtown, the McCoury Family Stage, has attracted musical acts from all over the area. A Fall Festival on October 13 will run 10 a.m.-9 p.m. and feature live performances, offerings from local shops and restaurants, and more. Events held in the downtown mall area frequently prove popular, like August\u2019s Weinerfest event, a celebration of 100 years in business for local favorite Coney Island Famous Weiners. That event, Dodge said, highlighted the spirit of unity she feels will drive Cumberland to keep improving. \u201cI\u2019d love to see that more often. I know with Weinerfest, all week, their lines were out the door,\u201d Dodge said. \u201cWe\u2019re working together. The businesses partner with us, with each other. For all these organizations to come together, that means progress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Inclusion in the Main Street Maryland program has been unquestionably beneficial, said Dodge. \u201cIt\u2019s just a\u00a0<\/span>great resource to go to with any questions I have, any concerns. I can write other managers and see what\u2019s working in their communities. We get responses from all different managers, and it\u2019s just a huge benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the next five years, Dodge, who is relatively new to her role, wants to dispel the notion that there\u2019s little to do in Cumberland. When she meets someone who says they\u2019re having a hard time finding activities, Dodge said she can usually think of several options right away, and the reception from community members has been positive. \u201cWe keep getting bigger and better. People tell me \u2018Hey, I have an idea!\u2019 and to see people who\u2019ve not previously been involved in the community is huge.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMain Attractions\u201d is a regular series highlighting Main Street Maryland communities. Main Street Maryland is a comprehensive downtown revitalization program created in 1998 by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. These communities receive assistance for improving the economy, appearance and image of their traditional downtown business districts. For more information on Main Street Maryland, visit <\/span><\/i>http:\/\/dhcd.maryland.gov\/Communities\/Pages\/programs\/MainStreet.aspx<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When one drives through Cumberland on Interstate 68, it is difficult to not be struck by the combination of stunning mountain views and spires from churches. Perhaps even more impressive is Cumberland\u2019s array of family-friendly shops and activities offered on its walkable, recently revitalized Main Street. Since FY15, the city has been aided in recent  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9666","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main-attractions","category-main-street-maryland"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9666","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/129"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9666"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9669,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9666\/revisions\/9669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dhcd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}