Behind the Scenes Tour: Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany: St. Mark’s Church

There are few places where you can stand in the middle of a room and almost everything you see is made or decorated by Tiffany:  glass, paint, finishes, etc.  St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church on St. Paul Street, with its entire interior designed by the Tiffany Company of New York, is one of them.  Please join our host, Reverend Dale Dusman, for a tour and a bit of Tiffany overload at this hidden Baltimore gem and us.

Tour Information

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1900 St. Paul Street, Baltimore MD 21218 (corner of St. Paul St. & North Ave.)
Saturday, January 28, 2012 | 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
$10 for members | $20 for non-members
RSVP for the tour today!

In the 1890’s, the St. Mark’s congregation engaged architect Joseph Evans Sperry (who would later go on to design Baltimore’s Bromo Seltzer Tower, among other buildings) to help them build a new church.  Sperry came up with a Romanesque design that is known for its heavy stones, arched doors and windows, and short columns.  Romanesque design comes from central and western Europe, where many of St. Mark’s congregants also traced their lineages.  (An Estonian congregation called EELK Baltimore Markuse Kogudus continues to use St. Mark’s for worship each month.)  In 1898 the church was completed, and since then has been one of Baltimore’s outstanding examples of Romanesque architecture.  On the inside, St. Mark’s engaged the Tiffany Glass Decorating Company, under the direction of artist Rene de Quelen (Tiffany’s head artist), to come up with a plan that was equally fitting to the grand architecture.  De Quelen used a Byzantine approach, with deep colors, lots of jewels, and many mosaics.  Louis Comfort Tiffany, son of Tiffany’s founder and then head of the company, had studied art in Paris and had spent time in Spain and North Africa where he learned about this approach to decorating.  The interior boasts Tiffany windows and Rubio marble inlaid with mother of pearl for the altar, pulpit, and lectern.  Our host for the tour is Reverend Dale Dusman of St. Mark’s.  Although Reverend Dusman’s calling is the church, he has steeped himself in the history of St. Mark’s and its architecture.  Please join us on this All-Things-Tiffany tour.  We are sure you will never drive or walk past the 1900 block of St. Paul Street the same way again.

Learn to restore historic wood windows with the “The Old House Doctor”

Wood Window Restoration WorkshopHome owners, contractors, architects, and anyone who loves their old house is invited to join Baltimore Heritage and Duffy Hoffman, “The Old House Doctor,” at Second Chance on March 24 for a one-day wood window rehabilitation workshop. Attendees will learn how to repair and preserve deteriorating and damaged wood building components and how to appropriately restore and weatherize historic wood windows. RSVP then pay online today! Learn about windows and more with our resources for homeowners.

Architects can receive 6 AIA/CES (HSW/SD) with registration.

Windows Restoration Workshop with Duffy Hoffman, “The Old House Doctor”

Saturday, March 24, 2012
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Second Chance, 1700 Ridgely Street, 21230
RSVP Today!
$20.00 per person, payable online.

Space is limited so please register before March 17, 2012.

About Duffy Hoffman

Owner of Hoffman Preservation & Restoration, Duffy Hoffman is a third generation craftsman with more than 25 years experience in the preservation trades. He is also one of the five founders of the “Window Preservation Standards Collaborative” a group focused on setting the standard for window restoration and weatherization.

Hoffman has conducted countless classes nationwide, most notably at the International Preservation Trades Workshop and the Traditional Building Exhibition & Conference. He is a notable presenter and workshop leader at regional, statewide, and national events throughout the country including historical shows in the Northeast. In addition, he has also presented at the annual conferences of the Painting and Decorating Contractors Association. His expertise has been featured in numerous newspaper and magazine articles, and twice on the HGTV television show “Restore America”.

Workshop Schedule

Morning Session – 9:00 am – 12:00 pm

  • Examine the impact of site features and building design on exterior woodwork.
  • Get hands on experience using epoxy consolidants and wood fillers.
  • See demonstrations of appropriate Dutchman repairs.
  • Learn the importance of proper ventilation and coatings for wood features.
  • Learn how to avoid mistakes that can increase your project costs.

Lunch Break – 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

  • Pack a lunch, find a bite in the neighborhood or buy lunch at the Souper Freaks Lunch Truck (stopping at Second Chance for our workshop).

Afternoon Session – 1:00 pm – 3:30 pm

  • Review the different components of a window and how they function.
  • Learn about paint removal techniques, lead-based paint, and new federal guidelines for abatement.
  • Watch how to strip, repair and repaint a window.
  • Learn about techniques for weatherizing and improving the thermal efficiency of a window.
  • Learn about the benefits of repair and rehabilitation over complete replacement.

Question and Answer Session – 3:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Behind the Scenes Tour: 1st Mariner Arena – January 18

A heritage tour of the 1st Mariner Arena? Yes! Built in 1962, the 1st Mariner Arena is celebrating its 50th year and has a marvelous history. Please join us as we wander backstage and peek into the building’s nooks and crannies with arena manager Frank Remesch to see where the Beatles played, Martin Luther King orated, and Elvis threw up.

Tour Information

1st Mariner Arena | 201 West Baltimore Street, 21201 (specific directions for where to enter and where to park will be forthcoming)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012 | 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
$10 for Baltimore Heritage Members | $20 for non members (please join today!)

RSVP for the tour today!

In 1961, the cornerstone of the Baltimore Civic Center (as it was then called) was laid, enclosing a time capsule with notes from President John F. Kennedy, Maryland Governor Millard Tawes, and Baltimore Mayor Harold Grady. Located on the site of the former Old Congress Hall where the Continental Congress met in 1776, the arena opened a year later to great acclaim as part of a concerted effort to revitalize downtown Baltimore. Through ups and downs and a number of renovations, the arena has become woven into the fabric of the city. In its early years, Baltimore’s professional hockey team (the Baltimore Clippers) played here, as did the Baltimore Bullets, the city’s former basketball team. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered a speech called “Race and the Church” at the arena as part of a gathering of Methodist clergy, and in 1989 the arena hosted the U.S. National Figure Skating Championships. And then there are the concerts. On Sunday, September 13, 1964 the Beatles played back-to-back shows at the arena to throbbing young Baltimoreans, and the arena is reportedly one of the only indoor venues in the U.S. still standing where the Fab Four played. In the 1970s, Led Zeppelin played the arena and shot a few scenes for their movie “The Song Remains the Same” backstage. Also in the 1970s, the Grateful Dead performed many shows here, including a performance where they played the song “The Other One” for a reportedly record forty minutes.

Finally in 1977, Elvis Presley performed at the arena just weeks before he died. The tickets for the show sold out in 2 ½ hours, and although there were no untoward incidents reported while The King was onstage, he did apparently lose his lunch in a corridor in the back. Please join us and First Mariner Arena manager Frank Remesch on a tour of the building, onstage and backstage, to see the inner workings of a 14,000 seat arena and hear some of the stories that it has collected over its half a century in Baltimore. Please also join us after the tour for a drink at Alewife, a bar/restaurant just a block and a half away, to share your stories of the arena.

Why the West Side Matters: Join us for West Side Wednesdays this winter

Howard & Lexington, November 1966, image courtesy the Maryland Historical Society

This morning the Board of Estimates voted to extend the city’s land disposition agreement with Lexington Square Partners for the development of the Superblock for another year. We’ve spent much of 2011 pushing the city to recognize the importance of the West Side’s rich social and architectural history as an asset to the neighborhood’s revitalization. The development team has now acknowledged the landmark sit-in at Read’s Drug Store with a proposal to retain the exterior walls of the 1934 building and the City has approved a plan with funding to stabilize this publicly-owned building. We opposed the extension granted by the Board of Estimates this morning because we believe the development plan continues to call for the demolition of too many historic buildings. The West Side’s unique heritage should be the foundation for building a more vibrant and livable neighborhood so we are renewing our efforts to share the stories of the West Side with people from across the city.

Dr. Helena Hicks, West Side Walking Tour with City Neighbors Charter SchoolFor over two hundred years this neighborhood has been a center of activity to entrepreneurs and merchants of all kinds, suffragists and civil rights protestors, and much more. With all of these diverse stories to tell, we’re bringing back last winter’s Why the West Side Matters series here on our website and offering a new set of lunch time walking tours on the second Wednesday of each month from January through April 2012.

  • January 11 — Meet at Lexington Market (Eutaw & Lexington Streets)
  • February 8 — Meet at Pratt Library Central Branch (Cathedral Street between Franklin & Mulberry Streets)
  • March 14 — Meet at Lexington Market (Paca & Lexington Streets)
  • April 11 — Meet at Charles Center (Center Plaza)

Each unique 1-hour tour will start at 12:30 pm visiting places like Pascault Row, G. Krug & Son Iron Works, the Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, and much more. Come for one tour or come for them all and please make sure to join our e-mail list or connect with us on Facebook for reminders about these and other upcoming programs.