Baltimore Heritage

Event Canceled: Remembering Laurel Cemetery (Lecture & Exhibition Reception)
2022-05-12 17:30 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | The Center for Architecture & Design, 100 North Charles Street, Suite P-101, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Event Canceled

Laurel Cemetery was incorporated in 1852 as Baltimore’s first nondenominational cemetery for African Americans. It quickly became a popular place of burial for people across Black Baltimore’s socioeconomic spectrum, including 230 Black Civil War veterans and notables such as Civil Rights activist Reverend Harvey Johnson.
In 1958 and after a series of lawsuits failed to prevail in the courts, Laurel Cemetery was leveled. Today it is the site of the Belair-Edison Crossing Shopping Center, and home to several businesses. However, many current patrons and nearby residents have no knowledge of the site’s former purpose and significance. Join members of the Laurel Cemetery Memorial Project to learn more about the important history of the site and how we can preserve its memory.

Our Presenters
Ron Castanzo (UB)- discusses the archaeological portion of the project
Elgin Klugh (CSU)- discusses our efforts for public outreach and engagement
Glenn Blackwell – discusses the efforts of the Baltimore Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society in researching death certificates
Donna Hollie – discusses biographies of individuals buried at Laurel Cemetery
Isaac Shearn – discusses issues regarding the closing and demolition of the cemetery and the formation and design of the Timeline Exhibit

ALL PROCEEDS WILL BE DONATED TO THE LAUREL CEMETERY MEMORIAL FUND

Coming to America: Baltimore’s Immigration History (Virtual Talk)
2022-05-13 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
Did you know that Baltimore served as America’s third largest port of entry during the Great Wave of Immigration of 1830 to 1914. In 1868, the B&O Railroad partnered with the North German Lloyd Company of Bremen, Germany, to build and operate a pier for immigrant ships in Locust Point, where 1.2 million immigrants first set foot on American soil. They included people from all over Europe, including Germans, Irish, Lithuanians, Czechs, Poles and Italians, who established their neighborhoods, as well as churches, synagogues, schools, cultural and philanthropic institutions, which eased the transition from their old country to life in America, and added to the rich diversity of our city. Join Nicholas Fessenden from Baltimore Immigration Museum to learn more about our immigrant past and today’s efforts to document and celebrate our diverse roots.

About Our Presenter
Dr. Nicholas Fessenden is the historian/treasurer and co-founder of the Baltimore Immigration Museum. He taught history at Friends School from 1972 to 2010 and also taught as an adjunct at Towson University, Maryland Institute of Art, and Community College of Baltimore County.

About This Event
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact omiles@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

Historic Clifton Mansion
2022-05-14 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-06-18 10:00 - 11:00, 2022-08-20 10:00 - 11:00 | Clifton Mansion, 2701 Saint Lo Drive, Baltimore, MD, 21218, United States
Join us for a tour inside Clifton Mansion, the unique Italianate country house that has overlooked Baltimore City for over 200 years! At one time the summer home of War of 1812 captain Henry Thompson and then philanthropist Johns Hopkins, the story of Clifton Estate is one about two prominent businessmen, enslaved & free Black people, and more. You’ll see the latest restorations made possible by the Friends of Clifton Mansion and Civic Works. You will also be invited into unrestored spaces that are brimming with stories to tell! And the tour wouldn’t be complete without climbing the tower and taking in one-of-a-kind views of Clifton Park and our surrounding city. We hope to see you there!

Federal Hill Beyond the Views: A Monumental City Tour
2022-05-15 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-07-17 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-08-21 09:30 - 10:30 | Federal Hill Park (Southwest Corner), 301 Warren Avenue, Baltimore, MD, 21230, United States
Baltimoreans celebrated atop Federal Hill when we ratified the U.S. Constitution. We used it to defend the city from the British in the War of 1812 and to make sure we stayed in the Union in the Civil War. We have even tunnelled under it to quarry minerals. Join us on a tour of Federal Hill and the neighborhood around it to learn about this waterfront community’s rich history, including stops at one of the last wooden houses in the city, the oldest house in Federal Hill, and the wonderful alley houses along Churchill Street.
Our Monumental City tours are guided walks exploring iconic Baltimore landmarks in Federal Hill, Downtown, Mount Vernon and Ridgely’s Delight on the first four Sundays of each month from April through November, except holiday weekends.

Historic Green Mount Cemetery
2022-05-21 09:30 - 11:30, 2022-06-04 09:30 - 11:30 | Green Mount Cemetery, 1501 Greenmount Ave, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States
After 30 years without a break, Baltimore historian Wayne Schaumburg is taking the year off and he has kindly shared his tour notes with us. Join Baltimore Heritage and tour guide Tim Fabiszak to tour Baltimore’s historic Green Mount Cemetery.
Opened in 1839, Green Mount is an early example of an urban-rural cemetery, that is, a cemetery with a park-like setting located close to the countryside. Green Mount is the final resting place of some of Maryland’s most famous, and infamous, figures including Johns Hopkins, Enoch Pratt, William and Henry Walters, Mary Elizabeth Garrett, Betsy Patterson, A.S. Abell, John H. B. Latrobe, A. Aubrey Bodine, John Wilkes Booth, and Elijah Bond, who patented the Ouija Board! Join Baltimore Heritage and tour guide Tim Fabiszak to tour Baltimore’s historic Green Mount Cemetery.

Historic Irvington
2022-05-21 10:00 - 11:00 | 240 S. Monastery Ave, Baltimore, MD 21229, Baltimore, MD, United States
Join us to discover the past, present and future of Irvington, a leafy neighborhood nestled in Southwest Baltimore! Located on the old National Road and developed in 1874, this historic neighborhood is dotted with sublime pocket parks, peaceful gardens and vibrant murals created by the non-profit Cooperative Community Development Inc Group (the Cooperative). On this walk Johnny D. Martin, Board President of the Cooperative, and Baltimore Heritage’s Executive Director Johns Hopkins will take us back through Irvington’s history and showcase its bright future!

Mount Vernon Place: A Monumental City Tour
2022-05-22 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-06-26 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-07-24 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-08-28 09:30 - 10:30 | Washington Monument (South Entrance), 699 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Mount Vernon began as a country estate for Revolutionary War hero John Eager Howard and grew to be the place to live for Baltimore’s rich and famous in the mid-nineteenth century. The Garrett family, owners of the B&O Railroad, the Walters, founders of the Walters Art Museum, and the Thomases, owners of Mercantile Bank, are among the families that built handsome mansions along the four parks that surround the Washington Monument. Join us on a tour to hear the stories behind the landmarks of Baltimore’s grandest historic neighborhood.
Our Monumental City tours are guided walks exploring iconic Baltimore landmarks in Federal Hill, Downtown, Mount Vernon and Ridgely’s Delight on the first four Sundays of each month from April through November, except holiday weekends.

The Olmsted Firm's Evolving Relationship with the Roland Park Company (Virtual Talk)
2022-06-03 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
On Friday June 3, 2022, author Ann G. Giroux will give a Virtual History on “The Olmsted Firm’s Evolving Relationship with the Roland Park Company” starting at 1:00pm. The Roland Park Company, headed by Edward H. Bouton, collaborated with the Olmsted firm on numerous projects both in and out of Baltimore’s historic Roland Park Company District. This professional relationship, which spanned several decades, produced dramatically different landscape treatments, reflecting Bouton’s growing experience, confidence and stature, evolving trends in suburban residential design, and financial considerations. This program will show through pictures and plans how the Olmsteds adapted their planning principles to meet Bouton’s requirements for the communities of Roland Park (1890s), Guilford (1910s) and Homeland (1920s).

About Our Presenter
Formerly a consultant for historic projects in the State of Maryland, author Ann G. Giroux now spends her time researching and writing about The Roland Park Company District in, northern Baltimore City . She is an avid historic home and garden enthusiast who alternates between digging in her Guilford garden and digging through dusty archival records. Ann has served as a member of the Guilford Association Board of Managers, of the Guilford Architectural Review Committee, and of the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes’ Board of Directors.

About This Event
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact omiles@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

History from the Middle of the Street: A Walking Tour for the Charles Street Promenade
2022-06-04 10:00 - 11:00 | 1 W Saratoga St, Baltimore, MD 21201, 1 W Saratoga St, Baltimore, MD, 21201, United States
Baltimore is kicking cars off of portions of Charles Street for a day, and we’re taking advantage of it! On Saturday June 4, only pedestrians and bicycles will be allowed on a good portion of Charles Street between Saratoga and North Avenue as part of the Charles Street Promenade. Join Baltimore Heritage’s Executive Director, Johns Hopkins, on a stroll down the middle of the street to get a perspective that we normally don’t get of many of the city’s most interesting historic buildings. We’ll talk about some of Maryland’s oldest churches, take in architecture from Colonial Revival to Brutualist, and share stories from the founding of American philanthropy to the role rye whisky played in shaping more than a few beloved institutions…all from the middle of the street!
What is Charles St Promenade? Enjoy the day shopping, strolling, and dining, as Charles Street closes down to vehicular traffic from Saratoga Street to North Avenue for a full day of exploration and Downtown fun!

Out of the Ashes: The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904
2022-06-05 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-08-07 09:30 - 10:30 | The Replica Gaslight, 300 E Baltimore St, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States
In February 1904, Baltimore’s chief firefighter cabled Washington DC: “Desperate fire here. Must have help at once!” A tremendous fire was sweeping through downtown and showed little signs of stopping. Not until 5:00 p.m. the next day was the fire brought under control. Overall, it destroyed 1500 buildings, left 35,000 people unemployed, and damaged $150 million of property. Resilient Baltimore rebounded quickly, erecting new buildings, widening streets, and improving fire safety designs. Rising out of the ashes, Baltimore used the fire to rethink the city, and the downtown we know today is shaped largely by this incident. Join us on this walking tour as we see what 2500 degrees Fahrenheit heat can do to blocks of solid stone, learn how the fire shaped architecture locally and across the country, and hear the tale of one of the fire’s great heroes: Goliath the horse.

Our Monumental City tours are guided walks exploring iconic Baltimore landmarks in Downtown, Ridgely’s Delight, Mount Vernon and Federal Hill on the first four Sundays of each month from April through November, except holiday weekends.

Historic Ridgely’s Delight
2022-06-12 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-07-10 09:30 - 10:30, 2022-08-14 09:30 - 10:30 | Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, 216 Emory Street, Baltimore, MD, United States
For a tiny neighborhood squeezed between the University of Maryland and Camden Yards, Ridgely’s Delight contains an oversized history. George Washington slept here and Babe Ruth was born here! Join us to walk the preserved, picturesque streets of one of the earliest neighborhoods in Baltimore while we look back at the stories of both its famous visitors and the ordinary Baltimoreans who worked and raised their families here.
Our Monumental City tours are guided walks exploring iconic Baltimore landmarks in Federal Hill, Downtown, Mount Vernon and Ridgely’s Delight on the first four Sundays of each month from April through November, except holiday weekends.

Jonestown & the Shot Tower: A Walking Tour
2022-06-18 10:00 - 11:00 | Carroll Mansion, 800 Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States
Originating in 1661, Jonestown is Baltimore’s oldest and most historic neighborhood. Both groundbreaking industry and vibrant communities have thrived here. On this tour, we will see the vestiges of its Eastern European Jewish residents as we pass Corned Beef Row. We hope you’ll join Baltimore Heritage and tour guide Bev Rosen as we stroll past a series of firsts: the McKim Free School, the city’s oldest education building from 1833, the Lloyd Street Synagogue, the first synagogue in Maryland and the third oldest in the country, the 1808 home of Charles Carroll, the longest living signer of the Declaration of Independence, and the Hendler Creamery, the nation’s first fully-automated ice cream manufacturing plant. And of course, what is a visit to Jonestown without a look inside the iconic Phoenix Shot Tower, which until 1846 was the tallest building in the country!

Reviving the Royal Theater (Virtual Talk)
2022-06-24 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
Rescheduled from June 17!
About this event
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the Royal Theater, we arev hosting a talk on the theater and the work being done to revive this historic community through the insights of three guest speakers.
Amy Davis will present vintage images of the Royal Theater and few of the other opulent movie palaces in its day looking through a social, cultural and architectural prism to understand Baltimore’s history. The Royal Theater, located at 1329 Pennsylvania Avenue in Baltimore, first opened in February 1922 as the black-owned Douglass Theatre before changing its name in 1925 to The Royal. It became the most famous theater along West Baltimore City’s Pennsylvania Avenue, one of a circuit of five such theaters for black entertainment in big cities, which hosted some of the world’s greatest musical acts and entertainers, before it was demolished in 1971.
James Hamlin, president and founder of The Royal Theater & Community Heritage Corporation, will share some of what is being done to preserve, promote, and recreate the greatness of the African American Historic West Baltimore Community and Historic Pennsylvania Avenue. In his words: “2-1-2-1-7 on Pennsylvania Avenue and the surrounding community were the epicenters of the African-American [life] in Baltimore. This is a community where Cab Calloway walked. This is where Billie Holiday landed. This is where Thurgood Marshall grew up. This is where every entertainer that you can think of has walked up and down The Avenue and entertained at The Royal Theatre.”
Kathleen Sherrill, AIA will highlight her work along the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor, Maryland’s only designated Black Arts and Entertainment District. She firmly believes that architects should challenge themselves to play a key role in improving and supporting Baltimore’s underserved neighborhoods, guiding communities to invest in themselves and the next generation through ownership.
About the Presenters:
Amy Davis, an award-winning photojournalist for the Baltimore Sun, spent nine years researching and photographing Baltimore’s movie theaters for her book Flickering Treasures: Rediscovering Baltimore’s Forgotten Movie Theaters. Her fine art training from The Cooper Union informs her documentary approach. The book includes rare photos, combined with Davis’s evocative color photography and poignant reminiscences, bring a century of movie-going to life. Her photographic work is in the collection of the Hudson River Museum (Yonkers, NY), and has been exhibited at The Brooklyn Museum, The Jewish Museum of Maryland, and at Baltimore area galleries. Amy lives in Baltimore near the 1939 Senator Theater, which helped inspire her book.
James W. Hamlin is the Owner and Operator of “The Avenue Bakery” on Pennsylvania Avenue, celebrating its10th anniversary this past August in offering distinctive homemade rolls, pastries and beverages promoting and advocating for other black owned businesses to come back to our historic community to make it once again an economic center of our community. He is president and founder of The Royal Theater & Community Heritage Corporation, a 501©3 non-profit that focuses on this Historic West Baltimore African American Community and the creation of economic development to provide jobs for its youth.
Kathleen Sherrill, AIA, NOMA, NCARB, LEED AP, founded her firm of SP Arch Inc. in 2005 with former partner Mahendra Parekh (who retired in 2008), and offers a broad array of planning, architectural design, and landscape architecture services. In 2011, Kathleen was awarded both Top 100 Minority Business Enterprises in the Mid-Atlantic Region and outstanding alumni by the School of Architecture and Planning at Morgan State University (MSU). The first (and only) African American to serve as president of AIA Baltimore and of AIA Maryland, she helped establish the local chapter of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) in 2017 and served as its first president. www.spa-corp.com
About this Presentation:
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact Molly Ricks (ricks@baltimoreheritage.org). If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live presentations and virtual tours focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history, hosted twice a month on Fridays at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this. This special program is hosted in partnership with the Maryland Center for History and Culture, who are currently hosting the exhibit “Flickering Treasures” through September 2023.

Historic Amusement Parks of Baltimore (Virtual Talk)
2022-07-08 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
On Friday, July 8th, the Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage are hosting a Zoom presentation on the Historic Amusement Parks of Baltimore as part of their Virtual Histories Lunchtime Series. Beginning at 1pm, guest presenter John Coleman will share the rich history of the bygone amusement parks and beach resorts from the 1870s and stretching into the late 20th century that Baltimoreans eagerly traveled to reach by boat, streetcar, train, or automobile.
Viewers will recognize such popular amusement parks as Gwynn Oak, Carlin’s, and Tolchester Beach, but also learn of Riverview Park (as shown in image above from the Baltimore Sun archives). Billed as “The Coney Island of the South,” Riverview Park featured one of the region’s first roller coasters, a roller rink and live entertainment. A couple of fires in 1909 and 1915 may have contributed to its demise and it was brought to auction in 1929 to be razed for the Western Electric Co. Cable Factory complex at Point Breeze (between Canton and Dundalk). Be prepared to delight in the stories and historic images of this popular summertime pastime from days of yore.

About Our Presenter
John P. Coleman is author of Historic Amusement Parks of Baltimore: An Illustrated History and is a member of the National Amusement Park Historical Association. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Management from the University of Baltimore and currently is a senior software engineer with CSG International.

About This Event

This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact mstella@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

Western Electric Company's Point Breeze Plant & the Olmsted Vision (Virtual Talk)
2022-07-22 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
The Western Electric Company was founded in 1869 and served for more than 100 years as the manufacturing and supply unit of the Bell System. Its business and manufacturing activity skyrocketed from increased telephone use at the beginning of the 1900s. The company selected Baltimore as the site of a new cable and wire manufacturing plant due to its proximity to water and rail transportation. The company purchased land along the Patapsco River Neck from the Canton Company and the River View Amusement Park, with grand plans to develop the site into a large manufacturing campus. To complete a comprehensive plan for the new site at Point Breeze, the company hired the Olmsted Brothers firm. Between 1928 and 1931, the Olmsted Brothers prepared at least 263 drawings, including a comprehensive master plan and detailed landscape plans. Three experts will share their knowledge of this unique collection of buildings and site that was the industrial community to 6,000 workers in its heyday.

About the Presenters
Tom Liebel, FAIA, LEED Fellow is a Vice-President with Moseley Architects, and has been involved in integrating sustainable design principles into a variety of ground-breaking, award-winning adaptive use and historic preservation projects over the past twenty five years. He wrote the book Industrial Baltimore by Arcadia Publishing in 2006 and continues to explore the relationship between sustainability, preservation and urban design, with a particular emphasis in the use of urban adaptive use projects to promote neighborhood revitalization and civic engagement. Tom served for a decade as chair of Baltimore City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, and currently serves on the Maryland Advisory Council on Historic Preservation.
Alison J. Ross, M.S. is an architectural historian with extensive documentation and fieldwork experience compiling reports geared towards educating both primary stakeholders and communities at large. She prepared the Maryland Historical Trust Determination of Eligibility form for the Western Electric Company, Point Breeze Plant Historic District while at Navarro & Wright Consulting Engineers, Inc. She has a Master of Science degree in Historic Preservation from the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science degree from Drexel University and is currently with Skelly and Loy, Inc., a Terracon Company.
Jillian Storms, AIA, serves on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes as well as on their Archives Committee, and has been instrumental in developing investigative research opportunities into the 136 Olmsted projects in Maryland. She also serves on the Executive Board of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation and co-chairs its research committee, the Dead Architects’ Society. She received the Foundation’s Roger Redden Award and Preservation Maryland’s George T. Harrison Volunteer Award in recognition of her extensive architectural research and public programming.

About this Series
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage host this Virtual Histories Series of 30 minute live presentations and virtual tours, focusing on architecture, preservation and history of the Baltimore region twice a month on Fridays at 1:00 pm EST. Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support these organizations to help make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.
Upon registering, you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact Margaret Stella Melikian at mstella@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
This special program is hosted in partnership with the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes (FMOPL) as part of their Olmsted 200 programming, a nationwide celebration of the firm’s work and influence, on the Bicentennial Anniversary of Frederick Law Olmsted’s birth.

Women in Maryland Architecture, 1920-1970 (Virtual Talk)
2022-08-05 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
This presentation will highlight the research and documentation undertaken by EHT Traceries during the preparation of the National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form Women in Maryland Architecture, 1920-1970. Educational and professional opportunities for women architects were limited throughout much of the twentieth century, yet pioneering women contributed significantly to the built environment of Maryland. The struggle of women designers to obtain higher education and parity with men forms part of the broader social history of women’s efforts to achieve greater equality within American society. The Multiple Property Documentation Form, prepared through the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant program awarded to BAF by the Maryland Historical Trust, examines the careers of women designers including architects, landscape architects, and artists in Maryland who were active between 1920-1970 and situates their stories within this broader national context. The achievements of pioneers such as Gertrude Sawyer, Chloethiel Woodard Smith, and Helen Ross Staley helped pave the way for a twenty-first-century architectural profession where women architects are appreciated and celebrated for their contributions.
The presentation will examine the early history of women’s involvement in the architectural field, the educational opportunities available, and the challenges they faced in establishing their careers. It will also explore the work of women designers active in Maryland during the 1920-1970 period, representing a wide spectrum of building types, landscapes, and public art. In order to place these resources in context, the presentation will consider the aesthetic, cultural, and economic themes that shaped architecture and development in Maryland during the twentieth century, providing both opportunities and obstacles to women design professionals.

About the presenter
John Gentry is Senior Architectural Historian at EHT Traceries, Inc., a historic preservation consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from DePaul University and a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Maryland, College Park. As an architectural historian and cultural resource management professional, John is experienced in researching, documenting, and assessing historic buildings and landscapes. He has successfully listed individual properties and districts in the National Register of Historic Places and local landmark registries in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and several other U.S. states. In addition, he has completed numerous compliance-driven survey and documentation projects for government agencies, architects, and developers. John is a member of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians and the D.C. Preservation League.

About this event
Image Credit from Cambridge Yacht Club: 1939, Cambridge Yacht Club
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact mstella@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

The Life and Work of Architect Poldi Hirsch (Virtual Talk)
2022-08-19 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
This presentation will examine the life and work of Harford County architect Poldi Hirsch, AIA, looking at her career as a female architect in Maryland during the 1960s, her design philosophy and influences, and her principal works. Born in Germany in 1926, Poldi Hirsch was one of several European-born or trained architects who practiced in Maryland during the postwar period. Educated in Israel and Switzerland, Hirsch immigrated to the U.S. with her husband and children in 1953, eventually settling in Havre de Grace, where she established an architectural practice. Hirsch focused on residential design, including multi-family apartment buildings and single-family dwellings, and her work in Havre de Grace reflects West Coast and European approaches to modernism tempered with an awareness of the social dimension of residential design. The biography of Poldi Hirsch, who struggled to establish her career in Havre de Grace despite her talent and European architectural training, is a testament to the perseverance of women architects, and illustrates the progress made by women for greater gender equality during the twentieth century.
The presentation will focus particularly on the Hirsch Family Residence in Havre de Grace, which was designed by Poldi Hirsch and constructed in 1969-1970. The Hirsch Residence is one of the significant modernist residences designed by Poldi Hirsch in Havre de Grace during the 1960s that embodies the core tenets of the Modern Movement. Hirsch, and her physician husband, Gunther Hirsch, sought to provide a healthier living environment for families through a merger of public health and design, and her residential designs feature ample natural daylighting, spatial organization attuned to the needs of working families, and a merger of the indoor and outdoor experience. The Hirsch Residence displays all of these characteristics, and its sleek modernist lines, exterior of California Redwood and locally quarried stone, and non-traditional fenestration stand apart from other houses in Havre de Grace constructed during the same period. This presentation will highlight the research and documentation undertaken by EHT Traceries during the preparation of a National Register of Historic Places nomination for the Hirsch Residence. The documentation, prepared through the Historic Preservation Non-Capital Grant program awarded to BAF by the Maryland Historical Trust, builds upon the Multiple Property Documentation Form Women in Maryland Architecture, 1920-1970, presented in Session 1.

About the presenter
John Gentry is Senior Architectural Historian at EHT Traceries, Inc., a historic preservation consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from DePaul University and a Masters in Historic Preservation from the University of Maryland, College Park. As an architectural historian and cultural resource management professional, John is experienced in researching, documenting, and assessing historic buildings and landscapes. He has successfully listed individual properties and districts in the National Register of Historic Places and local landmark registries in Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia, and several other U.S. states. In addition, he has completed numerous compliance-driven survey and documentation projects for government agencies, architects, and developers. John is a member of the Latrobe Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians and the D.C. Preservation League.

About this event
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact mstella@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

The Evolution of the Hopkins Retrospective (Virtual Talk)
2022-09-09 13:00 - 13:30 | Virtual, MD, United States
Public historian and archivist Allison Seyler will detail the evolution of the Hopkins Retrospective Program at Johns Hopkins University. This initiative, created by President Ronald J. Daniels in 2013 was intended to draw lessons from past experiences to look forward to the university’s collective future. It was also an attempt to bring together historians and archivists from the institution’s different repositories to work on collaborative projects and efforts, ones that might illuminate marginalized or underrepresented groups throughout the university and health system’s histories. Over the last 9 years, the program has grown and includes many different components: historical research, oral history interviews, student fellowships, online exhibitions, public programming, and archival processing. Allison will discuss different aspects of this work, elaborate on current projects underway, and talk about the work ahead.

About the presenter
Allison Seyler is an archivist and public historian with roots in and a commitment to Baltimore City. She currently serves as the Hopkins Retrospective Program Manager at Johns Hopkins University. Her research as a graduate student at UMBC, archivist on the Legacy of Slavery team at the Maryland State Archives, and now asks how historians can illuminate ordinary peoples’ experiences using archival records. Taking it a step further, she investigates how we make these stories relevant and accessible to public audiences, while directly confronting issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion in the field. Allison served on the board of the Baltimore City Historical Society from 2018 to 2022 and volunteers for the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter.

About this event
This program is hosted on Zoom. Upon registering you will receive an email confirmation and a Zoom link. If you do not receive a link, please contact mstella@aiabalt.com. If you do not contact us at least 1 hour prior to the start of the program, we cannot guarantee admittance.
The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) and Baltimore Heritage present the Virtual Histories Series: 30 minute live virtual tours and presentations focusing on Baltimore architecture, preservation and history. Hosted every Friday at 1:00 pm EST.
Tickets are donation based. We encourage you to give what you can to support BAF and Baltimore Heritage. Your support helps us make up for lost tour and program revenue from COVID-19 and create more virtual programs like this.

Druid Ridge Cemetery by Bike
2022-09-10 10:00 - 12:00 | Druid Ridge Cemetery, 7900 Park Heights Avenue, Pikesville, MD, 21208, United States
Join Ralph Brown and Phil Briscoe on a bike tour of Druid Ridge Cemetery to see that, contrary to popular belief, not all famous Baltimoreans are buried at Green Mount Cemetery! Even 100 years ago, some people wanted to escape the bad city air and spend eternity in the bucolic hinterlands of the county. How could they have predicted that they would still end up within the confines of the Beltway? Did you ever wonder where the Coen sisters ended up, or John Goucher, or Virginia Hall, or Art Modell? Maybe you were afraid to visit Druid Ridge Cemetery because of the curse of Black Aggie. Your safety is guaranteed. There will be a few slight ups and downs on the route but nothing too strenuous. Also—lots of trees and shade!
