Category: Preservation

Help restore a historic cemetery in Clifton Park with the Friends of St. Vincent’s Cemetery on October 5

St. Vincent's Cemetery, 1970s
St. Vincent’s Cemetery, 1970s. Courtesy Friends of St. Vincent’s Cemetery.

Even before St. Vincent’s Cemetery in Clifton Park closed in the 1980s, the grounds had suffered from decades of neglect and vandalism. Over the past 30 years, the cemetery nearly disappeared under the thick weeds and five tons of trash and debris illegal dumped on the grounds. Fortunately, for the last three years, the volunteer-led Friends of St. Vincent’s Cemetery have been slowly taking the cemetery back. Baltimore Heritage recognized their efforts with a 2012 Preservation Award and you can join this group of descendants and Clifton Park neighbors restoration efforts at a cemetery clean-up day this fall.

Friends of St. Vincent Cemetery’s Clean-Up Day
Saturday, October 5, 2013, 9:00am to 1:00pm
St. Vincent’s Cemetery, 2401 N. Rose Street, Baltimore, MD

Wear appropriate work clothes and shoes (no sandals or flip flops!) and bring a
shovel or rake. Water and light snacks will be provided. For questions or to RSVP for the clean-up day, please contact Stephanie Town at 610-368-1910 or Rakeleafs@yahoo.com.

St. Vincent's Cemetery, 1970s
St. Vincent’s Cemetery, 1970s. Courtesy Friends of St. Vincent’s Cemetery.

St. Vincent de Paul Church purchased five acres of land for the cemetery from Robert Purviance and Miles White on April 1, 1853. The land was located just outside the city on Mine Bank Lane (now known as Rose Street) just west of Bel Air Road and remained outside the city until the annexation in 1888. On May 19, 1853, Rev. Leonard Ambrose Obermyer blessed the cemetery and led the church in transferring earlier burials from a cemetery the congregation had shared with St. James the Less Church along Harford Road.

Over 2,000 people were buried in the cemetery before 1965 including many Irish, Italian and German Catholic immigrants. With no endowment for maintenance, unfortunately, St. Vincent’s Cemetery suffered from repeated vandalism in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s damaging markers and, most disturbingly, removing bodies from their plots. Ultimately, the church decided to remove all of the existing markers and demolish the mausoleum in an attempt to protect the cemetery further disturbance and desecration.

A group of descendants came together in 2010 and with support from St. Vincent de Paul Church launched their ongoing effort to reclaim the cemetery from the weeds and trash making news in the Baltimore Sun and Catholic Review along the way. Join the Friends of St. Vincent Cemetery in cleaning up this unique historic cemetery in Clifton Park! If you’d like to learn more about conservation and historic cemeteries, join us in Druid Hill Park on October 2 for our tour of the Rogers Buchanan Cemetery with conservation expert Howard Wellman and local historian and Rogers family descendant Ed Johnson.

Take action now: Write to your Senator and help save the Historic Tax Credit

Miller's Court
Miller’s Court, 2009

Last month, the leadership of the Senate Finance Committee adopted a “blank slate approach” to tax reform where all tax expenditures for both corporations and individuals including the Federal Historic Tax Credit would be eliminated from the tax code. Under this plan, preserving the historic tax credit requires Senators to make a case for it directly with an argument that the historic tax credit helps the economy grow, make the tax code fairer, or effectively promotes other important policy objectives.

We know that the historic tax credit is an important economic driver supporting private investment and creating good jobs. The tax credit is essential to level the playing field for rehabilitating existing buildings when comparing costs and incentives with new construction. By supporting investments in historic preservation, like Miller’s Court, the American Brewery Building, or Mill No. 1, helps to revitalize neighborhoods, support local economies, and create lasting improvements in Baltimore and around the country.

Please reach out now – before July 26 – by phone or email to Senators Cardin and Mikulski and ask that they include the Historic Tax Credit as a priority in their letters to the Senate Finance Committee.

Find more information on this issue and the historic tax credit from Preservation Action or join our email list for updates on this issue in the months ahead.

American Ice Company listed on the National Register of Historic Places

Built in 1911, the American Ice Company is an enduring reminder of West Baltimore’s industrial development with a striking brick facade on West Franklin Street and a powerhouse that backs up to the railroad tracks. Baltimore Heritage nominated this distressed landmark to the National Register of Historic Places last fall with support from the building’s owner. We just received notice that the building was successfully listed on the National Register on July 3!

As plans for the Baltimore Red Line continue to develop, we are optimistic that this factory has the potential to support the revitalization of the West Baltimore MARC Station Area and remain an iconic landmark for generations to come. Download the full National Register nomination to learn more about this unusual factory and the history of industrial ice-making in Baltimore.

St. John’s Has Left the Building: Congregation Puts Church Up For Sale

Mary Valle writing for the Baltimore Fishbowl shared a thoughtful reflection on St. John’s Mt. Washington Episcopal Church and their decision to put their 1928 Romanesque Revival church on the market for $1.8 million. St. John’s Has Left the Building: Congregation Puts Church Up For Sale:

Like many congregations, St. John’s was faced with a gigantic, resource-eating building that swallowed more of its endowment every year. Senior Warden (that’s like being the chair of a board of directors) Sara Fawcett-Lee said that, when she took the job seven years ago, the outgoing Warden told her that the church was going to have to be sold. The vestry (which is like a nonprofit board: members are nominated and elected, serve specific terms and follow bylaws) decided to offer the building for rent, and when no renters came, put it up for sale.