Why is the Francis Scott Key Monument on Eutaw Place sometimes called the monument that cigars built? Who was Baltimore’s great hero in the Mexican War of 1846-7 and how is he connected to the Maryland State Song, James Ryder Randall’s poem “Maryland My Maryland”? Please join us for stroll through historic Bolton Hill and an evening of Baltimore history as told through these and other stories of our public monuments. Our tour guides will be Cindy Kelly, author of a soon-to-be-published book on Baltimore’s monuments, and monument preservation leader Sandy Sparks.
Tour Information
Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time: 6:00 to 7:15 p.m.
Place: Meet at the Francis Scott Key Monument at Eutaw Place and Lanvale St.
Park along the street
Cost: $10 for members / $20 for non-members (cold water included!)
Registration: Click Here to Register
Baltimore was dubbed the “Monumental City” by John Quincy Adams in 1827 when we had all of two public monuments (can you guess which two?). Today Baltimore has over 300 monuments dotting parks, medians, sidewalks, and other locations throughout the city. Our tour will focus on a cluster of monuments in the historic Bolton Hill neighborhood. In addition to the Key monument (by noted French sculptor Jean Marius Antonin Mercie) and the Civil War memorial on Mt. Royal Avenue mentioned above, we’ll learn an array of Baltimore history, including: how Baltimore successfully recycled an old bridge sculpture from 1880 into four separate pieces that dot the neighborhood; why Baltimore’s Revolutionary War monument is called the “Maryland Line Monument,” why it is dedicated to the “Bayonets of the Continental Army,” and even where Maryland got its nickname “The Old Line State”; and about the earliest history of the Rinehart School at MICA through pieces that remain on Mount Royal Avenue from a centennial celebration in 1996. Please join us and our hosts Cindy Kelly and Sandy Sparks for an evening of Baltimore stories and a stroll through historic Bolton Hill. The tour is the long-overdue sequel to a tour of monuments our guides hosted in 2008 in Wyman Park, and is in anticipation of the publication of a book by Ms. Kelly on the city’s public monuments due out this winter.
Space is limited on the tour. Confirmations will be sent by email, and payment will be due upon confirmation. For additional information and questions, call Baltimore Heritage at 410-332-9992. This tour series is made possible in part by a generous contribution from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council. Thank you to our 50th Anniversary Year Sponsors!