The Greater Hampden Heritage Alliance holiday celebration at Church & Company last Friday was a great success! Thank you to everyone who came out for the evening and special thanks to Anastasia Tantaros of Side A Photography for capturing the event.
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.
Over thirty people braved a chilly December morning this past Saturday and enjoyed our tour of the Details Deconstruction project site on East Eager Street. Special thanks to Max Pollock, Jeff Carroll and the members of the deconstruction crew who hosted our tour! Thank you also to Michael Braverman from the Baltimore City Department of Housing who generously shared valuable context on the future of the site and the importance of this pilot deconstruction project to the city’s efforts to address vacant and abandoned housing in Baltimore.
Learn more about Details Deconstruction or explore the stories behind East Eager Street from Baltimore Brick by Brick.
Many of our friends and supporters joined us this past Wednesday for a wonderful event at The Ivy Hotel to honor long-time Baltimore Heritage board member and historic preservation advocate Karen Lewand. The Karen Lewand Historic Preservation Fund provides support for a range of education initiatives at Baltimore Heritage from our heritage tours to our neighborhood history programs to our work with students in Patterson Park. The fund has more than doubled in size since its inception, thanks to generous donors and the dedicated staff and volunteers who plan and run our fundraising events and programs!
We’re thrilled to say that the Lewand Fund’s donor roster now includes the Azola family. Not only did Marty and Tony Azola host us at The Ivy but they also made a generous gift that same evening. The Ivy’s staff, including General Manager Rob Arthur and Executive Chef Mark Levy, gave us a preview of the beautifully appointed guest rooms, the fabulous spa (location off the back of the main house in the handsome addition designed by Ziger/Snead Architects) and the exciting Magdalena restaurant in the works.
The Ivy is going to be a show-stopper when it opens this spring and you can already learn more about the history of this landmark on Explore Baltimore Heritage. Thanks again, so much, to everyone who made this event so memorable!
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.
