Tag: Mount Vernon

Mount Vernon, Antietam and Patterson Park Cannons

With August almost over, we’ve turned our attention to the fall and have lined up some great new heritage tours. On September 12, Civil War historian and Preservation Maryland director Nicholas Redding is kindly leading a car caravan tour of Antietam Battlefield in Sharpsburg. That same morning, we are also taking a walk around Mount Vernon Place and the collections of the Maryland Historical Society to explore “the cradle of American philanthropy.” On September 26, we are getting our bikes tuned up for the Baltimore Meets Florence bike tour to eat gelato and explore Italian architecture.

Finally, we are pleased to celebrate the continued stewardship of Patterson Park’s War of 1812 history with the Friends of Patterson Park. As we searched for buried fortifications during our archaeological dig in the park last spring, the Friends led an effort to restore Observatory Hill’s row of memorial cannons. It is a year later, the restoration is complete and the cannons are back in park! Join us on September 13 to celebrate Defender’s Day and the the rededication of this iconic memorial including a Battle of Baltimore tour up the Observatory led by Eli Pousson.

We hope you can join us on a tour next month!

News: Recording the Rainbow Revolution

City Paper writer (and Baltimore Heritage volunteer) Kate Drabinski responded to the news that the 43-year-old gay bar the Hippo is closing this year with a thoughtful article on the work being done by archivists, scholars and community members to preserve LGBTQ history in Baltimore:

“Louis Hughes, now 71, moved to Baltimore in 1970 and came out in 1974. In 1975 he helped found the Baltimore Gay Alliance, which is now the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore (GLCCB). He served on the community advisory board of Johns Hopkins Hospital and worked tirelessly with others to pass the Baltimore City and Maryland lesbian and gay rights bills, work that took years. After those bills were passed, he helped with trainings for police, social workers, teachers, and the general public to help what he calls “the slow but sure process of change.” He now serves on the Baltimore Heritage LGBTQ history committee and helps lead tours of Baltimore’s “gayborhoods” of Mount Vernon and Charles Village.”

Read the full article – Recording the Rainbow Revolution – or connect with others interested in LGBTQ heritage on the Rainbow Heritage Network website and Facebook group.

New Sunday tours of the restored Washington Monument and Mount Vernon Place

With the reopening of Baltimore’s Washington Monument on July 4, Baltimore Heritage is pleased to start offering tours of the monument and surrounding historic squares beginning on Sunday July 19 and every third Sunday of the month through November. After extensive renovations, the 200-year-old monument looks great and visitors are again allowed inside.

Join us and our partner, the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, on a tour to hear the stories behind the monument and see some of the landmarks of Baltimore’s grandest historic neighborhood. If your legs are strong, climb the monument’s stairs for a birds-eye view of central Baltimore! Learn more and register today.

We hope you can also join us on some of our other Sunday morning Monumental City Tours. Each tour in the series begins at 9:30 a.m. and lasts about an hour.

 

New Monumental tours of Baltimore history and architecture – Sundays from April to November

Looking for a fun activity on a Sunday morning? Friends and family coming to town and you’d like to show off the best of Baltimore? Join us for a Monumental City tour!

We are expanding our Looking Up Downtown tours at the Baltimore Farmer’s Market walking tours into a new tour series highlighting the history and architecture of four iconic Baltimore landmarks & neighborhoods almost every Sunday morning from April to November.

First Sunday – Downtown Landmarks and Lions

Courtesy Library of Congress, Historic American Building Survey.Come with us to find a piece of the Berlin Wall, a War of 1812 cannon ball mounted on a Conestoga wagon hitch, and over a hundred lions looking down at you from the tops of Baltimore’s buildings.

Second Sunday – Jonestown and the Shot Tower

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.Walk with us just a few blocks east of the Baltimore Farmer’s Market to explore one of the oldest neighborhood’s in the city and get inside the famed Phoenix Shot Tower—the tallest structure in the United States until 1846.

Third Sunday – Mount Vernon and the Washington Monument

Courtesy Wikimedia Commons.Take a short stroll around Mount Vernon Place to hear the stories of local residents including the owners of the B&O Railroad, the founders of the Walters Art Museum, and the wealthy owners of Mercantile Bank. End the tour with a climb up the newly renovated 200-year old Washington Monument! This tour begins on July 19.

Fourth Sunday – Battle of Baltimore and the Patterson Park Observatory

Patterson Park Pagoda by Smallbones, 2012 March 14. Wikimedia Commons.Climb the stairs of the Patterson Park Observatory and enjoy an unparalleled panoramic view revealing the fortifications where Baltimore defeated the British during the War of 1812, the home of the original butcher on Butcher’s Hill, and Patterson Park’s rich history from the early 19th century up through the present day.

We hope you can come out and join us for all four tours this year. Find more details or register on our events calendar.

Our Monumental City tours are supported by the Baltimore National Heritage Area and our partners: the Friends of Patterson Park, Carroll Museums, and the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy. Special thanks to all of our volunteer tour guides who help us bring Baltimore’s landmarks to life!

Celebrating the Karen Lewand Preservation Education Fund at the Ivy Hotel

It has been two years since our colleague, friend and inspiration Karen Lewand passed away. The historic preservation education fund that she created is almost two years old as well, and it is our privilege to celebrate Karen’s legacy and the ongoing good work that she made possible at Baltimore Heritage. As a way to say thank you for the over two hundred individuals and businesses who contributed to the education fund in 2012 and 2013, we are throwing a party and inviting you to join us for a reception and tour of the Ivy Hotel in Mount Vernon on the evening of Wednesday, December 3.

Karen and Bob Lewand, June 2010
Karen and Bob Lewand, June 2010

The Ivy is in the middle of a comprehensive restoration to turn the neighborhood landmark into a first-class boutique inn. The 1889 mansion started its life on Calvert Street as a home for John Gilman. William Painter, inventor of the bottle cap and founder of the Crown Cork and Seal Company, and Robert Garrett, double gold medalist at the first modern Olympics in 1896, also took turns owning and enjoying the mansion. The Ivy is a fantastic place and with the help of the Azola Companies, our host and the building’s owner, and Ziger/Snead Architects are returning to its full Gilded Age glory.

Image courtesy Azola Companies
Image courtesy Azola Companies

Special thanks to everyone who has supported the Karen Lewand Historic Preservation Education Fund and for making our work in Baltimore possible.