Author: Johns

Johns Hopkins has been the executive director of Baltimore Heritage since 2003. Before that, Johns worked for the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development developing and implementing smart growth and neighborhood revitalization programs. Johns holds degrees from Yale University, George Washington University Law School, and the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

Fall in love with a beautiful building on our upcoming heritage tours

February is the perfect time of year to share a memorable love story and fall in love with a beautiful building. Please join us on Sunday, February 15 for a Valentine’s Day tradition—the Mount Vernon Love Stories Valentine’s walking tour with volunteer guide Jamie Hunt!  Jamie’s tour weaves together stories of trysts, true loves and everything from Benedict Arnold to Al Capone. It’s a real treat and we hope you can join us.

Later in the month, we are looking forward to a preview of a restored Civil Rights museum at the Lillie Mae Carroll Jackson house on Eutaw Place. This tour is the first program in our Civil Rights Landmarks series highlighting historic places tied to the history of Baltimore’s African-American Civil Rights movement. The series is organized through our new partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust and the Baltimore National Heritage Area to document Baltimore’s Civil Rights heritage in the year ahead.

We are always looking for places to tour so, if you have ideas, we’d love to hear from you. You’ll see from our calendar of upcoming tours that we are continuing to branch out with new spring tours planned for Ellicott City and Havre de Grace, so any and all ideas are welcome! Don’t forget, membership support includes discounts on tours and early access to our spring 2015 Baltimore by Foot tours—including walks with local experts in Pigtown, Mount Washington, Hampden and more.

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!

Video: Thank you for a memorable year in 2014!

As we head into the new year, we put together a short video to say thank you for participating, volunteering, supporting, and being a part of all of our work for Baltimore and our historic places. We’re pleased to feature three of our partners this year: Jennifer Robinson and the Friends of Patterson Park, Gary Rodwell and the Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation, and Paula Hankins at the Carroll Museums and Shot Tower. Each is working hard to preserve our rich history and revitalize our neighborhoods, and we are proud to call them partners.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=wmnvwFi2k0w

Learn more about what we have accomplished in our 2014 year in review. Please considering joining Baltimore Heritage or making a donation of any amount to support preservation in Baltimore.

Thank you one more time for your great support, have a happy holiday, and we’ll see you in 2015.

Why join Baltimore Heritage? Volunteers and supporters make our work happen

As we head towards the end of the year, we want to thank all of our volunteers and members for your support. If you are not a member or have not yet renewed, please consider signing up today. And please get in touch to let us know how we are doing!

We wanted to take the opportunity to share a look back at our work for historic preservation in Baltimore over the past year. We think our heritage tours, new educational efforts and dedicated preservation advocacy are the best reflection of the strength of our board, the creativity of our volunteers, and the generosity of our members. Learn more about what we were able to accomplish in our 2014 year in review.

With your help, the year ahead looks just as promising. We are planning to expand our work with public schools around Patterson Park, offer even more new heritage tours, and launch an important initiative to document and preserve Civil Rights sites in Baltimore.

Membership giving is a substantial share of our operating budget. Our annual memberships start at $35 for individuals and $50 for families but donations of any size are valued. You can even set up a recurring donation to support preservation every month.

Thank you for volunteering and donating. Your commitment is making a difference. Please do not hesitate to call or email with any questions or if we can be of assistance. Have a happy holiday season and I look forward to seeing you in the new year.

Explore Baltimore Brick by Brick this Saturday and the Motor House next month

Thank you so much to everyone who came out last week to help us celebrate the legacy of Karen Lewand at the Ivy Hotel. Please help us continue to sustain and grow our educational programs with a donation to the Preservation Education Fund and by renewing your support as a member of Baltimore Heritage.

We are excited to announce a new tour this Saturday and another great tour coming up next month! On December 13, we’re going behind the scenes with Baltimore Brick by Brick and Details Deconstruction to see how deconstruction can help to preserve historic materials, create new jobs and contribute to the revitalization of historic neighborhoods. On January 6, we are headed to the former Load of Fun building on North Avenue where BARCO (the Baltimore Arts Realty Corporation) is hosting our pre-rehab tour of their Motor House project.

Even as fall turns into winter we are keeping busy with archeology and preservation projects. In Herring Run Park, we teamed up with a group of residents and volunteer archeologists on a search for the early history of Northeast Baltimore. We are also just starting work on a new initiative to identify and document landmarks associated with Baltimore’s long Civil Rights history. Learn more about the project and stay tuned for an exciting line-up of Civil Rights heritage programs and stories in the new year. Finally, our partners from the Greater Heritage Hampden Alliance helped us highlight the history of the Mayor’s Christmas Parade last week and they’re hosting their own seasonal celebration at the historic Church & Company this Friday.