Friends share memories of Ellicott City’s Lower Main

Clockwise from top: Demolition is nearly completed on Main Street and Maryland Avenue in historic Ellicott City; images of the buildings that were demolished as part of the flood mitigation plan; and Mark Stout, executive director of the Howard County Historical Society, introduces the speakers during at The Museum of Howard County History. Nate Pesce/Freelance photos

Dozens of people came together Thursday night to share fond memories of the buildings that used to populate Ellicott City’s Lower Main Street.

One met his wife while enjoying a night out with friends at The Phoenix Emporium. Another reminisced about enjoying a cup of coffee on a snowy day at Bean Hollow.

Joan Eve Shea-Cohen, 81, of Baltimore County, shared memories of her business, Joan Eve Classics and Collectibles.

“My heart is here, and I knew that the people who were going to be here felt the way I do,” she said. “We weren’t going to share the flood stories. We didn’t talk about what happened. We just wanted to talk about how we felt about the people here and our business and how much fun we had.”

As a part of Howard County’s Ellicott City Safe and Sound flood mitigation plan, adopted after devastating floods in 2011, 2016 and 2018, four buildings that once housed the businesses Bean Hollow, Discoveries, Great Panes and The Phoenix Emporium on lower Main Street were demolished.

Gary Weltner, 69, of Frederick, said that even though the buildings are gone, memories created there will live on.

“[Those buildings] weren’t the greatest architectural gems as far as design and aesthetic. However, the history behind them is so much more important than the façade,” he said. “If we can remember the stories of those buildings, then those buildings will never really be gone, at least not in our memories.”

The meeting at The Museum of Howard County History came days after the county broke ground on the North Tunnel water conveyance project, designed to carry floodwaters from the West End of Ellicott City through an underground tunnel to the Patapsco River. The project is meant to reduce the risk of flash flooding by intercepting water from the western portions of town and diverting it underground and away from Main Street.

Thursday night’s memory-sharing event also included members of the Howard County Historical Society who recorded the memories to be used in the society’s oral history collections. Rose Cohen also attended and plans to stitch together memories for a quilt depicting the area.

Connie Siegel, president of Historic Ellicott City Inc., said the meeting was held as a way to preserve the buildings’ history.

“[We want] to remember the buildings because they are now gone forever,” she said.