A fantastic (and wet) celebration of this year’s historic preservation highlights

This past year ushered in great historic preservation work around Baltimore, and we at Baltimore Heritage were pleased to recognize some of the best projects and the people behind them in our 2011 Preservation Awards Celebration last Friday in Union Square. With a series of thundershowers sweeping through West Baltimore exactly at the moment the outdoor program was set to begin, the event was a wet and wild time. Some call Baltimore the “City of Firsts.” We lay claim to the house of the first American saint (Elizabeth Ann Seton), the first umbrella factory (William Beehler, 1828), the first African American Supreme Court Justice (Thurgood Marshall), and the tallest building up to the Civil War (the Shot Tower). And now I think we can lay claim to having the wettest historic preservation awards event ever.

With the untiring work of a horde of volunteers and board members, and gracious hosting by the Union Square Association and many residents around the Square, 300 people from around Baltimore celebrated the best historic preservation projects of the year (listed below), and got more than a fair share of summer showers. Historic Union Square shone brightly, and despite the rain, or maybe even because of it, many of us reaffirmed our appreciation for Baltimore’s great historic places and those who work to preserve and revitalize them. This is the first in a series of posts that will highlight the people and projects that won preservation awards this year from Baltimore Heritage. I hope you enjoy learning a little more about some wonderful buildings and the great efforts that have gone into saving them.

I would be remiss if I didn’t thank our hosts for the event, the Union Square Association, the gracious owners who opened their houses for house tours, our corporate sponsors, all of our volunteers, and the intrepid event committee: Jim Suttner (chair), Elise Butler, Lisa Doyle, Jean Hankey, Lesley Humphreys, Mary Beth Lennon, and Stephen Sattler. Read on for a full list of our 2011 Preservation Award Winners and check out our many photos from the evening celebration on Flickr.

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Baltimore Heritage Behind the Scenes Tour of the McKim Free School and Old Quaker Meeting House

McKim Center, This Place Matters Community Challenge
Today’s tour announcement of the McKim Free School and Old Quaker Meeting House is especially important as it comes with an opportunity for you to help win $25,000 for the restoration of the McKim Free School through the This Place Matters Community Challenge organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Last year, we nominated the Baltimore Hebrew Orphan Asylum and came in 9th nationally. This year we aim to win!

The 1833 McKim Free School is a rare treasure– a Baltimore landmark with deep roots in the city’s history and a long record of education and social service, including nearly 70 years as home to the McKim Center that provides youth and community services to the Jonestown neighborhood. Unfortunately, the McKim Free School building has a leaky roof in urgent need of repair and cracked masonry requiring a major restoration. Please take two minutes to vote for the McKim Free School and help preserve this piece of Baltimore’s history.

Old Quaker Meeting House and McKim Free School

1201 East Fayette Street, 21202
Monday, June 27 | 5:30pm to 7:30pm
$15/members, $20 for non-members (including refreshments)
Our tour will include both the Old Quaker Meeting House and the McKim Free School. We’ll meet at the Old Quaker Meeting House. On street, metered parking is available on Aisquith and Baltimore Streets.
RSVP for the tour today!

The McKim Free School was built in 1833 from the generous gift of John McKim. McKim had made a fortune in Baltimore as a merchant in the early 1800s, and during the War of 1812 gave the City of Baltimore $50,000 for its defense. McKim, a Quaker who was a member of the neighboring Friends Meeting House (the other building on this tour) served as a state senator and was twice elected to Congress. John and his son William McKim established the McKim Free School to help the city’s youth regardless of religion. They hired two notable architects for its design, William Howard, the son of Baltimore’s Revolutionary War Hero John Eager Howard, and William Small, who designed the Archbishop’s residence on Charles Street among other buildings. The Greek Revival building, perhaps the best example of this style of architecture in Baltimore, is modeled after the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, Greece.

The Old Quaker Meeting House actually predates the McKim building by over 50 years. Built in 1781, it is the oldest religious building in Baltimore. In its day, Quaker luminaries such as Elisha Tyson, Joseph Townsend, and Johns Hopkins (the philanthropist) worshipped here, and the Friends School of Baltimore has its origins here. Both the Meeting House and the School building are used by the McKim Center, a youth and community services group that has operated out of them for over 70 years. We are thrilled to have three great guides for this tour: Kathleen Kotarba, Executive Director of the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, architect Bruce Manger with Hord Coplan Macht, and McKim Center Executive Director Dwight Warren. Please join us as we explore the 175 year history of these buildings and look at a few of the challenges that they currently face.

Vote for the McKim Free School in the This Place Matters Community Challenge

 

Baltimore’s McKim Free School is a rare treasure– a 1833 landmark with deep roots in the city’s history and an unsurpassed 175 year record of education and social service. Since 1945, this building has been home to the McKim Center as it has grown as a vital institution serving children and adults in need in the Jonestown community in innumerable ways. However, the building, owned by the City of Baltimore and managed by the non-profit McKim Center, has some significant challenges with a leaky roof and cracked masonry demanding a significant restoration. The importance of this architecturally significant building as a living symbol of caring, generous assistance is clearly expressed by McKim’s executive director Dwight Warren–who has been personally involved with the McKim Center for nearly 50 years–

Much of that symbolic strength is derived from the massive stone walls, columns, lintels, pediment, and other features that are now at risk, caused by age, wear, and the elements. Cracking, spilling, water damage, and general deterioration threaten to accelerate these processes if not checked by repair and replacement.

You can help to restore this unique Baltimore building and support an essential neighborhood institution by voting right now for the McKim Free School in the This Place Matters Community Challenge organized by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. With your support, we have a chance to win up to $25,000 for the continued restoration of the McKim Free School building. Online voting for the McKim School, one of 100 great historic places across the country, continues through June 31. You can only vote once so we need your help to share this opportunity with your friends and neighbors and encourage them to join your cause.

How do I vote to support the McKim Free School?

  1. Register with the National Trust for Historic Preservation online then check your email for your new username and password. If you voted for the Hebrew Orphan Asylum last fall or if you are a member of the National Trust for Historic Preservation you can use the same form to receive a reminder with your username and password.
  2. Login and vote in the This Place Matters Community Challenge for the McKim Free School  to help us win $25,000.
  3. Don’t forget to connect with Baltimore Heritage and the McKim Free School on Facebook for updates on upcoming events and our continued restoration effort. Please spread the word about this great opportunity with your family, friends and neighbors!

Questions? Contact Eli Pousson at  pousson@baltimoreheritage.org.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Wyman Park with the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes

At the risk of stacking too much up back-to-back, we are taking advantage of an offer from the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes, which has graciously offered to lead us on a tour of historic Wyman Park. With Friends’ members Tom McGilloway and David Holden, we’ll explore this often-overlooked Baltimore park that has its roots in Baltimore’s Carroll family and the landscape architecture firm of Frederick Law Olmsted.

Wyman Park

Wyman Park & Art Museum Drives, 21218
Saturday, June 11 | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
$10/members, $15/non-members
RSVP for the Wyman Park tour today!

Meet at the Jackson and Lee Monument at the intersection of Art Museum Drive and Wyman Park Drive at 1:45. We will circle back to the Jackson and Lee Monument after the Dell portion of the tour before heading along Wyman Park Drive/JHU Campus to the lower Stony Run. Visitors who wish to limit their walking could conclude the tour at this point.

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