Baltimore Heritage

When we think of classical architecture, we usually think of ancient temples, or the cathedrals and palaces that Renaissance architects built in imitation of classical antiquity. We don’t usually think of row houses.

We should. In the years between 1600 and about 1850, the years when the people of the North Atlantic world wanted classical architecture, they invented the row house and built the first row house cities.

The women’s suffrage movement. Cast-in-place concrete. Katherine Hepburn. What do these three things have in common? The Roosevelt Park Recreation Center, of course! In this installment of Virtual Histories, BAF board member Jackson Gilman-Forlini will present his ongoing research into the origins and architecture of Baltimore’s first rec center.

During this short presentation, attendees will learn about the people and places of Maryland’s long and diverse Women’s Suffrage and voting rights movement. As part of Preservation Maryland’s multi-year public history project commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment, the organization teamed up with the Maryland Historical Trust, Gallagher Evelius & Jones, and Maryland Women’s History Center to create the Ballot & Beyond podcast series. Meagan Baco, Director of Communications will highlight some of the remarkable women featured on the Ballot & Beyond podcast and the contributions they made to the on-going fight for equal rights in Maryland and America.

Women have been professionally practicing architecture in Maryland for over 80 years, yet little is known about those from earlier generations. AIA Baltimore and BAF Research of state architecture records have uncovered a number of women architects who practiced through the lean years of the World Wars and the Great Depression, designing buildings in Maryland and across the country. Architect Jillian Storms will share the stories of these pioneering women and the buildings they designed.