Archaeological dig at Patterson Park, Baltimore Guide, October 23, 2013.
Category: Preservation
Monuments to George Armistead and Samuel Smith rededicated and celebrated for Defender’s Day Weekend
Thanks to Kathleen Kotarba, Executive Director of Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, for sharing a guest post on the Defender’s Day Weekend rededication of two War of 1812 monuments in Federal Hill Park and the story behind their conservation.
Join Governor Martin J. O’Malley, former Senator Paul Sarbanes, Congressman John Sarbanes, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Major General Jeffrey S. Buchanan, Commanding General of the Military District of Washington, and South Baltimore neighbors celebration and rededication of the Sam Smith Monument and Armistead Monument at Federal Hill Park. The US Army 3rd Infantry’s “Old Guard” Fife and Drum Corps, the Maryland National Guard Honor Guard, and the Maryland Defense Force Buglers will perform, accompanied by a Military Retreat and lowering of Federal Hill’s distinctive 15-Star Flag.
Celebrate and Rededicate War of 1812 Monuments on Federal Hill
Saturday, September 14, 2013, 5:00pm
Federal Hill Park, 300 Warren Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21230
The ceremony is co-hosted by South Harbor Renaissance, Inc. and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks, with the cooperation of the Maryland Military Monuments Commission and the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation.
Major General Samuel Smith Monument, 1917
The Samuel Smith Monument was one of several sculptural monuments commissioned in recognition of Baltimore’s Centennial of the War of 1812. General Smith was commander of the Maryland forces that repulsed and defeated the British in the Battle of Baltimore at North Point and at Fort McHenry on September 12-14, 1814. Previously, Smith had been a hero of the Revolutionary War. After his exemplary military career, he continued his public service by serving forty years in Congress including becoming President of the U.S. Senate, serving as Secretary of the U.S Navy, and at the age of 80 serving as the Mayor of Baltimore.
Prominent Baltimore sculptor Hans Schuler received three commissions during the Centennial of the War of 1812, including the monument to General Smith. Schuler’s sculpture artfully presents the strength of the General, standing in his military uniform from the War of 1812. This 1917 monument has been relocated twice and was originally located in the southeastern edge of Wyman Park. In 1953, the monument moved to a park named for Samuel Smith at the corner of Pratt and Light Streets. In 1970, General Smith’s monument was moved to its current Federal Hill Park location, overlooking the grand view of Baltimore’s harbor and skyline.
In January of 2012, the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) determined that structural conditions within the monument’s base required the City’s immediate attention. In Summer of 2013, CHAP engaged Conservator of Fine Art, Steven Tatti, to conduct a comprehensive conservation of the monument, including the necessary reconstruction of the base.
The bronze statue of Samuel Smith was removed and secured to allow for the dismantling of the granite base. The statue of Smith was carefully cleaned and the bronze received a heated wax conservation treatment. The granite sections of the monument base were completely dismantled and placed adjacent to the monument. The existing structural pad was then cleaned and prepped for the reconstruction of the base. The one broken section of granite was repaired prior to reinstallation. The granite sections were gently cleaned to avoid potential damage. The monument base was then reconstructed and repointed, course by course, to restore its stability. It was very important to get each course level and plumb to insure that the bronze statue could be reinstalled securely.
Once the granite base was reconstructed, the bronze statue of Smith was returned the top of the monument. The projected was funded by the City of Baltimore, through CHAP’s Monument Restoration Program in the Department of Planning, with additional contributions of the Maryland Military Monument’s Commission.
Colonel George Armistead Monument, 1882
The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore erected the Colonel George Armistead Monument on Eutaw Place on September 12, 1882. Armistead was commander of Fort McHenry during the British attack of September 13-13, 1814. The architectural firm of G. Metzger designed this monument that features the outline of Armistead’s career in the inscription on the shaft. The marble block of fourteen feet rests on a base a foot and a half high. This monument was commissioned as a “substitute” for an earlier ca. 1828 tablet of commemoration that became defaced and destroyed by time.
As with the Samuel Smith Monument, the Armistead Monument was moved from its original location. Designed for its initial installation on Eutaw Place, the monument was subsequently moved to Federal Hill after residents protested that its height did not harmonize with the loftiness of their homes. Today, the strong architectural presence of the Armistead Monument anchors the Federal Hill overlook in close proximity to the Samuel Smith Monument.
In summer of 2013, CHAP engaged Conservator of Fine Art, Steven Tatti, again to conserve the Armisted Monument. The original lower tier of the stacked stone foundation was cleaned and shimmed as needed. The stone foundation, as well as the joint between the foundation and the monument base, was then repointed with an appropriate sand cement mortar mix. The monument itself was gently washed, carefully avoiding damaging the fragile stone. The ornamental fence was then cleaned, prepped and repainted with alkyd black semi-gloss paint. The projected was funded by the City of Baltimore, through CHAP’s Monument Restoration Program in the Department of Planning, with the additional contributions of the Maryland Military Monument’s Commission and the City-wide Adopt A Monument Fund.
This post is based on the September 2013 Monument Project Conservation Report available from CHAP.
Help restore a historic cemetery in Clifton Park with the Friends of St. Vincent’s Cemetery on October 5
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 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
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.
- Senator Benjamin L. Cardin – (202) 224-4524; Contact Katherine Monge, Tax Counsel at Katherine_monge@cardin.senate.
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- Senator Barbara A. Mikulski – (202) 224-4654; Contact Brent Palmer, Legislative Correspondent at, brent_palmer@mikulski.senate.
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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.