How the Organ Business Changed the City
Download 18.06 Mb.
|
ConclusionThe memory of Moller’s legacy still exists in Hagerstown due in no small part to the continued existence and use of so many buildings that were associated with his life and enterprises. This lasting impression on the cityscape can be put to good use in the future by creating an awareness and appreciation for the history of Moller and his business. Each of the buildings that Moller was associated with in his lifetime are currently being put to good, productive uses except for the most important building of all: his organ factory on Prospect Hill. While a small part of the factory is currently occupied by the Eastern Organ Pipes Company, the majority of it is vacant. An adaptive reuse scheme for this building should take note of the other reuses that currently work well in Moller’s other buildings. While his main house on Potomac Avenue is still a residence, and the St. John’s Church is still a house of worship, the Moller Apartments, Dagmar Hotel, and the Pope Avenue automobile plant have all changed ownership and uses a number of times over the decades. Each have been used for different types of business, but through the preservation of their architecture and sympathetic reuse strategies, these buildings still retain a connection to Moller and to the eras in which they were built. Yet none of these outside enterprises could have existed without the wealth that was generated at the main factory. The employees at that site built organs, but their labor and products also helped to indirectly build the city of Hagerstown. Understanding the use and history of this building is key to understanding how it helped to contribute to the broader applications of Moller’s industrial and civic interests in the city. Thus the future adaptive reuse and preservation of this site is crucial to helping future generations understand, interpret, and forge a connection to the broader physical landscape of the city of Hagerstown. Appendix A: Floorplan and Elevation of Moller Factory  Figure 16: Circa 1930s. From papers of Peter Moller Daniels.
Bibliography 2001 Business and Industry Directory. Washington County, MD. Brunner, Raymond J. That Ingenious Business; Pennsylvania German Organ Builders. Birdsboro: The Pennsylvania German Society, 1990. “The Dagmar.” Promotional Brochure. Hotels Folder. Washington County Historical Society. Hagerstown, Maryland. Daniels, Peter Moller. Interview by Rebeccah Ballo and Gabrielle Harlan. November 2002. Environmental Site Assessment for M.P. Moller, Inc. Hagerstown: Associated Environmental Services, Inc., February 22, 1990. In Papers of Peter Moller Daniels. Ernst, Ora Ann, “Pride of the City - Dagmar, 80 years in the news,” ?? newspaper, 1991. Automobile Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Fitzsimmons, Brendan. Interview by Rebeccah Ballo and Gabrielle Harlan. October 2002. Jones, William J, “ M.P. Moller Company Pipes Up the World,” The News American, April 15, 1973. Baltimore, Maryland. Marsden, Mindy. “Exploring Washington County’s Industrial Heritage: Automobile Manufacturing.” Automobile Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation website. http://www.dat.state.md.us/ “Mathias Peter Moller.” New York: The Writer’s Press Association, April 20, 1935. In Moller File. Western Maryland Reading Room. Washington County Public Library. “Moller Apartments.” Inventory # WA-HAG-169. Maryland Historical Trust. Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form. Hotel Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland “Moller Car Company.” Maryland Automobile Manufacturers. ?? publisher. ?? date. 48-49. Automobiles Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. M.P. Moller Pipe Organs. Hagerstown: M.P. Moller Company, 1929. In Moller File. Western Maryland Reading Room. Washington County Public Library. Newton, Sarah M. “The Story of The M.P. Moller Organ Company.” Master’s Thesis, Union Theological Seminary, 1950. . Snider, Keith, “ Hagerstown’s Auto Industry had a Brief Heyday,” The Daily Mail, September 30, 1984. Automobiles Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland. 1 See Sarah M. Newton. “The Story of The M.P. Moller Organ Company.” (Master’s Thesis, Union Theological Seminary, 1950)., and “Mathias Peter Moller.” New York: The Writer’s Press Association, April 20, 1935. (Moller File. Western Maryland Reading Room. Washington County Public Library.) 3 Peter Moller Daniels. Interview by Rebeccah Ballo and Gabrielle Harlan. November 2002. 4 Brendan Fitzsimmons. Interview by Rebeccah Ballo and Gabrielle Harlan. October 2002. 5 Fitzsimmons Interview. 6 Fitzsimmons Interview. 7 Sarah Newton, 5. Quoted from Success Magazine. Feb. 1925. By J.K. Mumford. 8 Daniels Interview. 9 Sarah Newton 16. 10 Ibid. 11 Ibid. 12 Sarah Newton, 9. 13 Ibid. 14 Ibid. 15 Daniels Interview. 16 From Maryland State Department of Assessments and Taxation website: http://www.dat.state.md.us/. 17 Sarah Newton, 11. 18 Sarah Newton, 12. 19 “The Dagmar.” Promotional Brochure. (Hotels Folder. Washington County Historical Society. Hagerstown, Maryland.) Also found in Ora Ann Ernst, “Pride of the City – Dagmar, 80 Years in the News,” 1991. (Hotels Folder. Washington County Historical Society. Hagerstown, Maryland.) 20 According to M.P. Moller’s grandson, Peter Moller Daniels, one of the main motivations behind building the hotel was the fact that his visiting African American clients could not find lodging in the city. Many wealthy African American congregations from across the country were purchasing Moller organs, and when they visited the Hagerstown factory, they needed decent places to stay. So M.P. Moller built the Dagmar Hotel to meet the needs of his clients, and to generate more income from a profitable commercial venture. 21 “Moller Car Company.” Maryland Automobile Manufacturers. ?? publisher. ?? date. 48-49. (Automobiles Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland.) 22 Keith Snider, “ Hagerstown’s Auto Industry had a Brief Heyday,” The Daily Mail, September 30, 1984. Automobiles Folder. (Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland.) 23 Mindy Marsden. Exploring Washington County’s Industrial Heritage: Automobile Manufacturing. Washington County Historical Society. Hagerstown, Maryland. 24 2001 Business and Industry Directory. Washington County, MD. 38. 25 “Moller Apartments.” Inventory # WA-HAG-169. Maryland Historical Trust. Maryland Inventory of Historic Properties Form. (Hotel Folder. Washington County Historical Society, Hagerstown, Maryland.) Download 18.06 Mb. Share with your friends:
|