Franklin’s has always been ahead of the curve in putting Hyattsville on the map. As it turns out, the restaurant/brewery/general store has become a real trendsetter in architecture too.

The corrugated-metal siding on the exterior of the restaurant, which occupies a restored 1800s-era structure once home to the Hyattsville Hardware Co., has become a theme throughout Arts District Hyattsville. Some of the new homes on both sides of the Arts District use corrugated metal as a flourish.

Corrugated metal is popular in funky redeveloped neighborhoods because it’s environmentally friendly, durable, cheap and adds a lot of character, but it’s also used in places where wood is scarce. The Hyattsville Wire spotted a lot of it in Iceland a few years ago, which is mainly because the island nation has a limited number of trees to get wood from.

Aside from the corrugated metal, Franklin’s has also pretty much set the theme for the whole Arts District: funky, artsy, quirky, utilitarian, and unconventional.