Tag: South Baltimore

Behind the Scenes at City Garage and the Maryland House

Our upcoming tours give you an insider’s look at one of the most talked about projects in Baltimore, let you step into an often overlooked gem at the Maryland Zoo and tell the love stories of Mount Vernon. We are also bringing back our popular Monumental City tours on Sundays from April to November!

On April 14, our Port Covington tour offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the City Garage and a chance to talk with Sagamore Development about their vision for the future of South Baltimore. Originally developed in 1904 around the end line of the B&O Railroad, the Port Covington area is today poised to become Baltimore’s largest urban redevelopment project.

For our Maryland House tour, Tony Azola of the Azola Companies and Lori Finkelstein of the Maryland Zoo will guide you through an architectural gem located just next to the Rogers Mansion. The Maryland House was built for the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and then rebuilt on the Zoo grounds. Special thanks to Preservation Maryland for co-hosting this tour! We also will hold our Mount Vernon Love Stories tours (rescheduled from a very cold Valentine’s Day weekend) on April 9 at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm.

Finally, our Monumental City tours return starting April. These tours are a great way to explore Baltimore on Sunday mornings. Join us for as we explore Jonestown and the Shot Tower (1st Sunday); Landmarks and Lions Downtown (2nd Sunday); Mount Vernon and the Washington Monument (3rd Sunday); and the Patterson Park Observatory (4th Sunday).

New workshop on weatherization & historic tax credits in Federal Hill

Join Baltimore Heritage and Retrofit Baltimore for our latest joint workshop on how to improve your home’s energy efficiency while saving money with city and state historic tax credits. If you are a home-owners in a historic district like Federal Hill, Riverside, Fell’s Point, or Canton, many weatherization improvements, such as replacement HVAC systems, insulation, and wood window restoration may also qualify for the city and state historic tax credit programs. Find out how to check if you are in a historic district with our resource page on historic tax credits.

Join us at the Federal Hill Main Street offices on Wednesday, September 5 for a quick one-hour workshop that offers an introduction to weatherization, energy audits, incentives for energy efficiency, and historic tax credits. RSVP today!

Weatherization & Historic Tax Credits Workshop

Wednesday, September 5, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Federal Hill Main Street, 42 East Cross Street  Baltimore, MD 21230

Questions? Contact Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or Evie Schwartz, Retrofit Baltimore at eschwartz@retrofitbaltimore.org.

Drinking to the War of 1812 with a Young Preservationist Happy Hour in Locust Point

Join us for our first happy hour of 2012 and a unique celebration to kick off the War of 1812 Bicentennial at J. Patrick’s in Locust Point! Since we’re just down the road from Fort McHenry, we’ve invited the Fort’s National Park Service rangers and interpreters to come out us for a drink. Buy them a round and you’ll discover that they love talking about the Battle of Baltimore over a beer just as much as they do at the Fort itself.

J. Patrick’s Irish Pub

1371 Andre Street, 21230 (Locust Point)
Thursday, February 16, 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
RSVP Today!

With a wide selection of Irish and English beers, Irish dancing and music throughout the week, and an award-winning Guinness pour, J. Patrick’s is an authentic Baltimore bar in the friendly historic neighborhood of Locust Point. We’ll be drinking to celebrate the beginning of the War of 1812 Bicentennial commemoration and will be joined at the bar by rangers and interpreters, including a few who’ll be showing off their War of 1812 period clothing. Whether you come dressed as Francis Scott Key or straight from the office, RSVP today and come out for a great happy hour with friends, neighbors and old building lovers from across the city.

Civil War 150: West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike — Rescheduled

Many people know that President Street Station has its roots in the Civil War, but few know that Civil War history can be found throughout the city, including many sites in West Baltimore. In fact, West Baltimore neighborhoods served a central role in the conflict– housing Union troops on their south to fight, caring for injured soldiers, and witnessing the many ways in which the conflict on the battlefield came home to the city 150 years ago. As the home to the B&O Railroad, West Baltimore supported the movement of troops by train (a key advantage for the Union) and protected the city from invasion by Confederate troops through a ring of camps, hospitals and fortifications in Carroll Park, on Baltimore Street, in Lafayette Square and more.

West Baltimore’s Civil War History by Bike

Update: Due to today’s rainy and snowy weather, we have rescheduled our tour to Saturday, November 5, 10:00 am. Please contact Eli Pousson at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or 301-204-3337 with any questions or concerns.

October 29, 2011, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
$10 for members & non-members, RSVP today!

This 90-minute bicycle tour starts and ends at the Mt. Clare Museum House rolling past rowhouses, parks, stables, and shops, scores of historic places grand and modest, where people lived and worked during the Civil War and its aftermath. We’ll learn about Confederate spies at Waverly Terrace in Franklin Square, take a look at the historic artifacts we recently dug up from the site of Lafayette Barracks, and trace the lives of immigrant workers who built the trains, bridges, and more that the Union military depended on at the Irish Shrine at Lemmon Street and the B&O Railroad Roundhouse. Please join us as we pedal through the history of the Civil War in West Baltimore and commemorate this nation-shaping event of 150 years ago.

Thanks to the support of Free Fall Baltimore at the end of the tour participants are welcome to take a free tour of the Mt. Clare Museum House. Mount Clare is a 1760 colonial Georgian home built by Charles Carroll and Maryland’s oldest house museum.

Connect with the Friends of West Baltimore Squares to learn more about heritage and community greening programs in West Baltimore neighborhoods!

Reminder! Civil War 150: Slavery & Historic Sites Lecture tomorrow

What do the historic sites of Cliveden in Philadelphia, Drayton Hall in Charleston, and Decatur House in Washington, DC all have in common? They are fantastic historic places with ties to slavery and are at the forefront in thinking about how to interpret slavery in a historic context. As we continue our commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War, please join us and Ms. Nell Ziehl from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for a discussion on how sites across the country preserve and interpret the history of slavery. This field has evolved quickly over the last several years, with richer information and more accurate accounts displayed and featured. The National Trust owns several sites with strong ties to slavery (including the three listed above) and has been a leader in this movement, and Ms. Ziehl will share some of the challenges and successes in this ongoing endeavor. The location of the talk, Ebenezer AME Church, itself has ties to slavery and the Civil War. Constructed in 1865, it is the oldest standing church built by African Americans in Baltimore, and the congregation, dating to 1836, was active in the helping escaping slaves for many years.

Slavery and Historic Sites with the National Trust for Historic Preservation

Thursday, October 6, 2011
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Ebenezer AME Church, 20 West Montgomery St., 21230
Free (thanks to Free Fall Baltimore!)
No RSVP required! Just show up. We have plenty of space.