City of Firsts
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One of Baltimore’s many nicknames is “City of Firsts,” for its nearly one hundred instances of first events in the U.S. These “firsts” are testament to the innovation that Baltimoreans have shown throughout the city’s history. Numerous advances and inventions in industry, transportation, science and education have pioneered in Baltimore. As one of the East Coast’s fastest growing cities, Baltimore became a hub of creativity and capital in the 19th pot of cross-cultural ideas, and the city’s prominence as a center of trade meant these ideas could be tested and exchanged with ease. Transportation innovations like the clipper ship and railroad enhanced commerce and mobility, which helped make Baltimore the third largest city in the U.S. and the second largest port of entry for immigrants. The resources of the Heritage Area are both vestiges of these innovations and monuments to them.
The Washington Papers at the Library of Congress
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The Library of Congress contains the George Washington Papers, which may be viewed online. A search inquiry yielded archives which contain actual photographs of original documents either written to or by Washington. The reader may view these documents in their original form. We have also transcribed certain letters which demonstrate, not only Washington’s close ties to Freemasonry, but his position as Grand Master of the Alexandria Lodge No. 22 of Virginia.
Although Washington’s correspondence with the Masonic Lodges is replete with Masonic references to the Great Architect of the Universe, his response to a Christian clergyman conspicuously avoids mention of Jesus Christ or acknowledgment of personal Christian faith. Washington also defended American Freemasonry and denied that American Masonic societies were connected to English Freemasonry or contaminated with the subversive principles of the Illuminati. The final exchange of letters reveals the mutual admiration between Washington and the Swedenborgian New Church of Baltimore.
J. Maxwell Miller (Sculptor)
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Statues in Baltimore by J. Maxwell Miller: |
Geology in Baltimore
Really interesting page: A Geologic Walking Tour of Building Stones of Downtown Baltimore, Maryland
Engineer’s Guide to Baltimore
Found this handy resource while investigating the Negro Heroes monument down in War Memorial Plaza by City Hall. Some of the items listed are monuments while others are historic buildings.
Tormey Family photos from Baltimore’s Great Fire
I’ve been tracing the cause and path of the Great Fire of 1904. I had thought of creating a map of the area of the blaze, comparing pictures from then and now. This great website has already done all of this and much more, plotting the stages of the fire as it rolled north, east, and south through downtown. The event was apparently caused by an explosion at the Hurst Company building, the blast occurring at 10:55 on an otherwise peaceful Sunday morning. Due to extreme winds and very narrow streets the flames were able to jump entire city blocks, leaving some areas untouched amidst the devastation. 10 buildings survived the fire including the Union Trust Company at the corner of Charles and Fayette Streets. The structure’s windows had been blown out by nearby attempted preventative dynamiting, leaving the building vulnerable. The inside burned completely out but the steel frame survived and the building is still in use today. The picture below shows the old Post Office, City Hall and the Clarence Mitchell Courthouse just at the edge of the fire’s devastation zone. A last and sudden change in the direction of the wind towards the south saved the historic buildings from destruction.
Eli Seigel Stone Controversy
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“Others who signed on to the memorial as “supporters” admitted later that they had little knowledge of any darker side to aesthetic realism and its founder.
“I have to confess I don’t really know much about him or his work,” said Steven R. David, associate dean of academic affairs for Johns Hopkins University, who also agreed to be listed as a supporter of the memorial after checking out the foundation’s Web site.
“I probably should have looked into it further. There is a kind of bandwagon effect — you see the governor and the mayor signing on to something and you say, ‘Sure, I’ll sign on, too.’”
Cloaked Monuments
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As a commissioned artis for the exhibit “Beyond the Compass, Beyond the Square” in Mount Vernon Park, Rebecca Nagle created the community art project “New Outfits”. New Outfits placed decorative cloaks made by communities in Baltimore over the monuments in the parks of Mount Vernon Place. These decorative cloaks temporarilly re-dressed the monument of General Lafayette, Goorge Peabody, Severn Teackle Wallis, Roger B Taney and John Eager Howard. New Outfits were made in workshops by diverse groups of Baltimore community centers and resident groups, in which the artist, Rebecca Nagle, acted as an educator and facilitator. New Outfits gives people access to the power that the monuments symbolize.
