Tag: Red Line

Come on a tour and help advocate for preservation priorities in the new year!

Happy New Year! We’re starting out 2015 with a new batch of heritage tours starting tomorrow night with Automobiles to Artists: A Pre-Rehab Tour of the Motor House in Station North. On January 20, we’ll take a look around the imposing Fifth Regiment Armory along with the Maryland Museum of Military History.

Rendering of planned rehabilitation for former Eastwick Motor Company.
Rendering of planned rehabilitation for former Eastwick Motor Company. Courtesy BARCO.

If you enjoy our tours, you also might want to get involved with our advocacy for historic preservation and neighborhood revitalization. This Wednesday, you can help us build the case that investment in the Red Line is essential for historic neighborhoods at the Build the Red Line Advocacy Summit organized by Red Line Now and the Central Maryland Transportation Alliance. Next week, we are excited to partner with Preservation Maryland and their new executive director Nicholas Redding to host a quick introduction to statewide preservation advocacy priorities for the 2015 Maryland Legislative Session.

Thank you once again to everybody who volunteered with us, came on a tour with us, and made a financial contribution in 2014. With you, we are able to work more than ever preserving Baltimore’s historic places and revitalizing our historic neighborhoods!

Support the Red Line: Transportation is key for historic neighborhoods

For over five years, Baltimore Heritage has advocated for Baltimore’s Red Line light rail project and the positive impacts it offers for many of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Today, we are joining a broad coalition of nonprofits, businesses and community groups to ask for your help in supporting for this transformative project.

We believe that expanding public transportation is important for Baltimore’s revitalization and that the Red Line can be a powerful force in addressing vacant and underutilized historic buildings from Highlandtown to Harlem Park. In 2008, Baltimore Heritage committed to support the Red Line by signing the project’s “Community Compact” with dozens of other community organizations (PDF). In 2010, we expanded our commitment with the creation of our West Baltimore fieldwork program. Over the past four years, we have led tours, organized partnerships, and fought for strategic investments along the Red Line corridor, including at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, American Ice Company, and Lafayette Square.

American Ice Company on Franklin Street, 1938. Courtesy Baltimore Museum of Industry, BGE 11708.
American Ice Company on Franklin Street, 1938. Courtesy Baltimore Museum of Industry, BGE 11708.

The Red Line has enormous potential to spur the reuse and rehabilitation of historic buildings, create new jobs and shape a brighter future for the residents of Baltimore’s historic neighborhoods. Learn more about the potential benefits of this project from Red Line Now.

We need your help to support the Red Line and Baltimore’s historic neighborhoods.

As new and returning elected officials begin to prepare for the General Assembly session in Annapolis this winter, please take a moment to reach out and share your support for the Red Line and historic preservation:

  • Send an email to Governor-elect Larry Hogan at info@hoganforgovernor.com and share your thoughts on what the Red Line means for the future Baltimore’s historic communities.
  • Send an email to your state senators and delegates and ask them to support or continue their support for the Red Line in the Maryland Legislature. You can look up your state senator and state delegates at MDElect.net.

To underscore the rich heritage and importance of the historic neighborhoods along the Red Line that we are working hard to save, we are excited to share our brand-new collection of digital and print publications: Landmarks on the Red Line. With printed brochures and digital tours, we are showcasing the history and architecture of this part of West Baltimore and hope to illustrate the importance of preserving historic buildings along  the Red Line corridor. Please explore our digital histories and pick up a neighborhood brochure at an upcoming Baltimore Heritage event.

Courtesy Union Memorial UMC.
Union Memorial United Methodist Church in Evergreen. Courtesy Union Memorial UMC.