In October 2024, Baltimore Heritage held our annual awards event where we gave away 6 micro-grants to 6 very worthy community projects. One award went to the Friends of St. Peter’s Cemetery to support the restoration of this historic site in partnership with the PRINCE Program, which trains incarcerated citizens in cemetery preservation. Last week, we were able to visit the cemetery and see the valuable work being done here. The Baltimore Heritage micro-grant money was used in the last round of vegetation clearance and funded two additional days of clean-up.
Baltimore Heritage recently adopted a new strategic plan, along with new mission and vision statements. Each of these complements and supports community projects like the work being done by the Friends of St. Peter’s Cemetery.
Our new Mission Statement: To amplify Baltimore’s diverse cultural heritage through collaboration, advocacy, and education.
Our new Vision Statement: We create a thriving Baltimore by preserving, honoring and sharing our histories
Last Thursday, October 10, Baltimore Heritage had its annual Preservation Celebration at Hollins Market! We handed out 12 awards to groups and individuals doing fabulous work celebrating and preserving our city’s history and buildings. We gave out 6 micro-grants to 6 very worthy community projects. We conducted our organization’s annual meeting and welcomed a few new board members. And we said a big thank you to our wonderful volunteers. They make historic preservation possible in Baltimore. All the while, we ate delicious food from Hollins Market and drank wine from Spirits of Mt. Vernon! Thank you to everyone attended.
Award Winners
Volunteer of the Year: Linda Snyder
For leading countless public and private tours
___
Beloved Community Services Corporation
For the restoration of the Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center (PS 103)
___
Dr. Ashley Minner Jones, the Native American Senior Citizens,
and the Baltimore Reservation Project
For promoting Lumbee American Indian heritage in East Baltimore
___
Bruce Willen
For the Ghost Rivers public art and history project
___
Dr. Raynetta Wiggins-Jackson
For the exhibit, Ethel’s Place: Celebrating Ethel Ennis, Baltimore’s First Lady of Jazz
___
Upton Planning Council and Pennsylvania Avenue Main Street
For the renovation of 1829 Pennsylvania Avenue for the Pennsylvania Avenue Welcome Center
___
Shelley Halstead & Black Women Build
For work to rehab houses and build community in West Baltimore
___
Christina Delgado
For establishing Tola’s Room, a Puerto Rican home museum
___
Betty Bland Thomas
For decades of work to preserve heritage in Sharp Leadenhall
___
Baltimore Museum of Industry
For the exhibit, Collective Action: Labor Activism in 21st Century Baltimore
___
James Ruttley and Kathleen Lechleighter
For the restoration of 1209 Calvert Street
___
Douglas Gordon Award: Charlie Duff
For a lifetime of work in historic preservation
Pitch Party Winners
$2000: Corner Team Boxing Club
Funds will support Phase 1 of the Joe Gans Monument project, which will pay the sculptor to design and fabricate a maquette of the statue
___
$1000: Evolving Young Girls Mentoring Organization
Funds will support the Baltimore’s Hidden Treasures: Youth Preservation Workshop
___
$1000: Friends of St. Peter’s Cemetery
Funds will support the restoration of St. Peter’s Cemetery in partnership with the PRINCE Program, which trains incarcerated citizens in cemetery preservation
___
$500: Friends of Patterson Park’
Funds will support a videographer to create a video of the interior of the Observatory for virtual access
___
$500: Westminster Hall and Burying Ground
Funds will support the restoration of the brick pathway
___
$500: Pride of Baltimore
Funds will support replacement of the ship’s planks
We are thrilled that this year’s Baltimore Heritage Preservation Celebration will be at the newly restored historic Hollins Market. Please join us on October 10. It’s free and we’d love to have you with us.
On October 10, we’ll honor our 2024 Preservation Award winners and, with your help, give out five micro-grants to people working on the front lines in our historic neighborhoods. We’ll say thank you to our volunteers and honor all of their hard work this year. This gathering also acts as Baltimore Heritage’s annual meeting where we elect new board members. With food and drinks from Baltimore vendors, we hope you will join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening. The event is free with suggested voluntary donation of $25.
In addition to joining us on October 10, please take a minute to send us your suggestions for our annual preservation awards. And if you are helping improve a historic neighborhood or place in the city, please consider applying for one of our microgrants. See below for more information.
At our October 10 celebration, we will honor people in Baltimore who over the last year have made an impact in helping save our historic places and improve our historic neighborhoods.
Our awards recognize work of all kinds: people who have done an excellent rehab job on their house or building; people who have volunteered at a historic site; people who have stepped up to improve their historic community with a new program or partnership. Individuals are eligible, as are organizations, corporations, and government agencies or programs. Self nominations are encouraged! Please send nominations to info@baltimoreheritage.org by September 4.
About Our 2024 Microgrants
We’re in our 9th year of giving away micro-grants to help fund preservation work in the city. If you have a good idea to help preserve a historic building or place in Baltimore or help revitalize a historic neighborhood, we’d love to hear from you! The process is easy: simply fill out the online application and hit send by September 13.
We’ll pick the most promising ideas and give them a chance for one $2000 grant, two $1000 grants and two $500 grants. The grants will be given on October 10 at our Preservation Celebration at Hollins Market (35 S Carrollton Ave, Baltimore, MD 21223). Supporters of each idea will get three minutes to pitch them and at the end, all of us present will cast ballots to decide which ideas receive the micro grants.
The types of eligible projects are endless, and as long as they relate to Baltimore’s history, heritage, historic buildings or historic neighborhoods we will consider them. Past award winners include: restoring leaking masonry at a historic church, launching an after school arts-based safe space program in a historic neighborhood, supporting archaeological efforts at a historic furnace, and providing supplies for a community trying to provide access to a neighboring park. The sky’s the limit!
The amounts of the award ($500, $1000, and $2000) may not be enough to complete an entire project. That’s OK. The goal is to help spark new and support existing neighborhood-level preservation work. You don’t need to be a nonprofit organization or even a formalized group to be eligible. Individuals and small groups are welcome! Complete rules can be found on the application.
Last night, Baltimore Heritage had its annual Preservation Celebration! We handed out 13 awards to groups and individuals doing fabulous work celebrating and preserving our city’s history and buildings. We gave out 6 micro-grants to 6 very worthy community projects. We conducted our organization’s annual meeting and welcomed a few new board members. And we said a big thank you to our wonderful volunteers. They make historic preservation possible in Baltimore. All the while, we ate delicious food from Pitamore and drank wine from Spirits of Mt. Vernon! Thank you to everyone attended.
Award Winners
Volunteer of the Year: Pat Hawthorne For years of dedication to Baltimore’s historic places
Afro Charities For 60 years of preserving the Afro American Newspaper’s history
Raymond Bahr For bringing the history of Canton to light
BGE Gas Regulator Fighters For fighting for Baltimore’s historic neighborhoods
Siobhan Hagan and SHAN Wallace For bringing Baltimore’s historic moving images and home movies to light
Friends of Herring Run Park For creating the Heritage Trail at Herring Run Park
The Authors and Editors of A Place for Memory For a new book on Laurel Cemetery
Maryland Women’s Heritage Center For promoting the history of the Women’s Suffrage Movement
E. Evans Paull For the book Stop the Road: Stories from the Trenches of Baltimore’s Road Wars
The Friends of the Ship Caulkers’ Houses For the stabilization and exterior restoration of 612-614 S. Wolfe Street
Cory Ann Adcock-Camp For the reclamation and restoration of 1810 Barclay Street
Latrobe Building / Ulysses Hotel For restoration of the historic Latrobe Building into the Ulysses Hotel
Lexington Market For conserving public market heritage in the new Lexington Market
Pitch Party Winners
$1000: St. Luke’s Youth Center
$1000: Govans Presbyterian Church Racial Justice Ministry
Join us for our Preservation Celebration 2023 at Open Works. On October 19, we’ll honor our 2023 Preservation Award winners and, with your help, give out four micro-grants to people working on the front lines in our historic neighborhoods. We’ll say thank you to our volunteers and honor all of their hard work this year. This gathering also acts as Baltimore Heritage’s annual meeting where we elect new board members. With food and drinks from Baltimore vendors, we hope you will join us for what promises to be a wonderful evening. Register here!
About Our 2023 Historic Preservation Awards
At our October 19 celebration, we will honor people in Baltimore who over the last year have made an impact in helping save our historic places and improve our historic neighborhoods.
Our awards recognize work of all kinds: people who have done an excellent rehab job on their house or building; people who have volunteered at a historic site; people who have stepped up to improve their historic community with a new program or partnership. Individuals are eligible, as are organizations, corporations, and government agencies or programs. Self nominations are encouraged! Please send nominations to info@baltimoreheritage.org by September 25.
About Our 2023 Microgrants
We’re in our 8th year of giving away micro-grants to help fund preservation work in the city. If you have a good idea to help preserve a historic building or place in Baltimore or help revitalize a historic neighborhood, we’d love to hear from you! The process is easy: simply fill out the online application and hit send by September 25.
We’ll pick the most promising ideas and give them a chance for one of two $1000 grants and two $500 grants. The grants will be given on October 19 at our Preservation Celebration at Open Works (1400 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD 21202). Supporters of each idea will get three minutes to pitch them and at the end, all of us present will cast ballots to decide which ideas receive the micro grants.
The types of eligible projects are endless, and as long as they relate to Baltimore’s history, heritage, historic buildings or historic neighborhoods we will consider them. Past award winners include: restoring leaking masonry at a historic church, launching an after school arts-based safe space program in a historic neighborhood, supporting archaeological efforts at a historic furnace, and providing supplies for a community trying to provide access to a neighboring park. The sky’s the limit!
The amounts of the award ($500 and 1000) may not be enough to complete an entire project. That’s OK. The goal is to help spark new and support existing neighborhood-level preservation work. You don’t need to be a nonprofit organization or even a formalized group to be eligible. Individuals and small groups are welcome! Complete rules can be found on the application.