Open House at the G. Krug & Son Ironworks and Museum this Saturday

G. Krug & Son is an institution on Downtown’s West Side with over 200 years of history in forging and restoring ironwork across the City of Baltimore. We’re excited to share the news that the shop has now opened a museum to share their rich history launching with a free open house this Saturday!

This is a business that literally built Baltimore into the city it is today and the pieces of the jobs worked on in the shop’s 202-year history can still be found inside. Artfully done drawings, photographs, and job files containing the names of some of the city’s most influential people and institutions are all featured in the new museum. Peter Krug started the museum to showcase a history of Baltimore and a family owned company that has been there for much of that time and share their unique perspective on the historic port city that supported a fledgling country. G. Krug & Son employees will lead tours from 11:00am to 2:00pm and offer demonstrations of the blacksmithing process.

Open House at G. Krug & Son Ironworks and Museum

G. Krug & Son – 415 W. Saratoga Street
Saturday, November 10, 2012, 11:00am to 2:00pm
Parking – On-street or off-street at surface lot at 112 N. Eutaw Street or garage at 208 N. Paca Street. Transit – The shop is a short walk from the Lexington Market Metro Station or Lexington Market Light Rails stop.

Photo: Baltimore Heritage receives ONE PARK Award at 2012 Community Greening Celebration

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We were thrilled last month to receive the ONE PARK Award for our work with the Friends of West Baltimore Squares. Eli Pousson (with his daughter) accepted the award from Parks & People Executive Director Jackie Carrera. Learn more about award-winning greening projects and volunteers in West Baltimore from the Friends of West Baltimore Squares.

Weatherization, Retrofit Baltimore

Keep warm with weatherization and save money with historic tax credits in Mt. Washington

Your old house should not be cold this winter! Join Baltimore Heritage and Retrofit Baltimore for a free one-hour workshop to learn how to save money retrofitting your historic home for energy efficiency. If you are a home-owner in a historic district like Mount Washington, Roland Park, Guilford, or Hampden, you may be eligible for city and state historic tax credits for your next home repair or rehabilitation project. Many of the improvements that can help keep your home warm and lower your heating bills, including replacement HVAC systems, insulation, and wood window restoration, qualify for these tax credits.

Not sure if you are eligible? Take a look at our tax credits resource page for more information about the city and state tax credit programs then join us at Baltimore Clayworks in Mt. Washington on Thursday, November 29 for a quick introduction to how to weatherize your home while saving money with incentives for energy efficiency and historic tax credits. RSVP today!

Weatherization & Historic Tax Credits Workshop

Thursday, November 29, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Baltimore Clayworks – Mt. Washington, 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209

Questions? Contact Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or Evie Schwartz, Retrofit Baltimore at eschwartz@retrofitbaltimore.org.

Recovering from Hurricane Sandy – Help report damaged historic properties to the Maryland Historical Trust

Photo courtesy Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore avoided major damage from Hurricane Sandy, especially in comparison to more seriously affected communities on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, New Jersey and New York. Unfortunately, the storm did result in damage to at least a few of our city’s historic buildings and landscapes: four vacant rowhouses collapsed in West Baltimore’s historic Harlem Park neighborhood and the storm uprooted a storied Osage Orange tree in Druid Hill Park believed to be around 400 years old.

The Maryland Historical Trust is working to gather information about properties affected by this disaster so if you own a historic property that sustained damage please visit the MHT Hurricane Preparedness and Disaster Recovery page and fill out a Hurricane Damage Report form to alert MHT staff to your property’s condition. MHT plans to use these forms for recovery efforts and work in consultation with both FEMA and MEMA to help connect property owners with recovery resources as they become available.

The Maryland Historical Trust has also prepared an Historic Structures Emergency Assessment Form for  available for download as a Microsoft Word Document that you can use to assess and inventory damaged historic resources in Baltimore or around the region. Finally, rehabilitation tax credits are available through MHT for qualified projects and FEMA will likely have low interest loans available. Baltimore Heritage also offers our own resources, including regular workshops, to help home-owners learn more about city and state historic tax credit programs. The Maryland Historical Trust is working to identify other available resources to help with damage recovery costs and will make the information available as soon as possible.

See the city through H.L. Mencken’s eyes with Baltimore by Bike on November 11

Our last Baltimore by Bike ride of the year offers a chance to see the city through the eyes of Baltimore’s own H.L. Mencken – one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. H.L. Mencken grew up and spent most of his life in a handsome brick rowhouse on Union Square but he never hesitated to explore the city he loved (and loved to skewer) as he walked, reported, and even rode a bike through Baltimore neighborhoods from Mount Vernon to Bolton Hill and beyond.

Mencken’s Baltimore by Bike

Sunday, November 11, 9:30am to 12:00pm
Meet at Union Square Park, Hollins Street and South Stricker Street
RSVP online today! $15 per person.

Photo courtesy the The Smart Set.

Join us for a easy fall ride through H.L. Mencken’s Baltimore. The eldest son of August Mencken, a successful local cigar manufacturer, Mencken grew from roaming the alleys and vacant lots with gangs of West Baltimore boys to become one of the youngest reporters at the Baltimore Herald, launching a career in journalism and writing that endured for nearly 50 years.

We’ll ride along the streets that Mencken knew best as we discover the site of Little Joe’s Bike Shop where Mencken learned to ride a bicycle in the 1890s, imagine the fine meals Mencken enjoyed with friends at Marconi’s on Cathedral Street, stop by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s home in Bolton Hill and stop by the Poe House, just around the corner from Mencken’s birthplace on Lexington Street. Our tour ends with a chance to tour the H.L. Mencken House and enjoy light refreshments.

This tour is presented in partnership with the Friends of the H.L. Mencken House and proceeds help to support their ongoing efforts to restore and re-open the H.L. Mencken House. Learn more about events around West Baltimore neighborhoods from the Friends of West Baltimore Squares.