Baltimore Heritage

To cap off Women’s History Month, we are highlighting trailblazers who rose to leadership in the community and the profession. As part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), we are hosting conversations with trailblazing architects who have impacted Baltimore’s built environment and rose to leadership positions in their profession. April 2nd’s Virtual History will feature Barbara Wilks, FAIA, FASLA, one of the few professionals elected to both the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects (in 1999) and to the College of Fellows of the American Society of Landscape Architects (in 2010), the highest honor in those professions. During her residence in Baltimore, she rose to become the first woman president of the AIA Baltimore Chapter, serving for two years from 1983-1984.

How did Downtown as we know it come to be? Charlie Duff explains using London and Baltimore as examples.In 1666, the Great Fire of London destroyed the center of a city of 500,000 people and made 80,000 people homeless. In 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed the center of a city of 500,000 people, and not one person became homeless. In between those two dates, the North Atlantic cities invented the Central Business District. From Baltimore to London, the centers of cities became places where tens of thousands of people worked and no one lived. Join Charlie Duff, author of The North Atlantic Cities, to find out how this happened and what the architectural results were – and why it didn’t happen in Paris, Rome, and the other great cities of Continental Europe.

Patterson Park is an urban oasis - a beloved green space surrounded by brick rowhouses, diverse cultures and neighborhoods. Generations of Baltimoreans have picnicked under its tall tulip poplars, strolled the deeply curved paths and enjoyed the rich architectural design of this 137-acre East Baltimore park. This presentation will cover the park's history and the Olmsted vision for the site!