Archive for March, 2009
Francis Scott Key Monument in Bolton Hill
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Eutaw Place & W Lanvale Street (Street View)
GPS: 39° 18′ 14.24″ N 76° 37′ 34.15″ W
History
This multifaceted sculpture is one of two major memorials dedicated to Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star-Spangled Banner, which only became America’s National Anthem officially in 1931. The other is located in Fort McHenry, though there are several markers and smaller memorials dedicated all around Baltimore to the actual song itself. The Bolton Hill piece was commissioned in 1907 by Charles and Theodore Marburg, part of a prominent mercantile family at the time and executed by French sculptor Marius Jean Antonin Mercie.
Dedicated on May 15, 1911. In 1996, residents from the local neighborhood raised money to restore this monument, receiving significant financial boosts in 1997 from the Maryland Military Monuments Commission, and in 1998 from the Save Outdoor Sculpture initiative (funded in large part by Target stores), along with grants from the City of Baltimore. At this location, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech on the importance of preserving historical markers in 1998. Restoration was completed by the summer of 1999.
Notes
Standing amidst a broad park which runs north and south along Eutaw Place, the monument heroically depicts Key as poet in a row boat with another sailor humbly manning the oars. Key is standing, holding a manuscript of his poem up as an offering to the allegorical figure of Columbia. The figure of Columbia is gilded, and stands atop four pillars waving a flag. The Eutaw Place Temple stands across the street from the fountain.
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Johns Hopkins Monument in Charles Village
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N Charles Street & E 33rd Street (Street View)
GPS: 39° 19′ 41.02″ N 76° 37′ 4.55″ W
History
In 1873, Johns Hopkins died. In 1875, a university in his name was established, one of many institutions that would eventually use his moniker. A Quaker from a plantation in Virginia, Hopkins and his brothers first business was selling supplies from covered wagons in the Shenandoah Valley. Occasionally they traded goods for corn whiskey, repackaged the liquor, and sold it to Baltimoreans as Hopkins Best. After a series of businesses Hopkins eventually helped bankroll the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad during the company’s westward expansion, bailing the company out of debt several times and making himself a very wealthy man in the process. During and after the Civil War, Hopkins thrived as an investor and professional, becoming one of the richest men in American history.
Notes
The bust of Johns Hopkins, sculpted by Hans Schuler, rests atop a tall foundation and is flanked by two statues, one a young male and the other a youthful female. Originally located at North Charles Street & East 34th Street, the structure was moved a block south due to numerous automobile accidents attributed to its placement. Surrounded by lush vegetation, with the school’s campus behind, the monument presents a dignified view of an American icon.
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Chapin A. Harris Memorial Bust in Charles Village
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W 31st Street & Wyman Park Drive (Street View)
GPS: 39° 19′ 29.35″ N 76° 37′ 15.72″ W
History
The story of formal dentistry begins with Chapin A Harris. Between 1839 and 1840, Harris was instrumental in starting the first dental college, the first society for dental surgeons, and the first dental publication, the American Journal of Dental Science. The original list of subscribers to this pamphlet was discovered by G V Black, the seminal dentist to use nitrous oxide, and published thereafter, providing a transcript of the origins of dentistry. Harris published numerous books during his lifetime, many of which were used as medical guides throughout the world. He acted as dean and as a professor at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery until his untimely death in 1860.
Notes
Nestled within a loosely trimmed hedge, the memorial bust rests atop a podium with Chapin’s last name and life dates on the front. Harris wears a dignified jacket with scarf and stands facing the university’s main campus. The sculpture, dedicated in 1922, is yet another piece created by Baltimore’s Edward Berge. The bust originally stood at the intersection of North and Linden Avenues before it was moved to Wyman Park. Within shouting distance is the double equestrian statue of General Robert E. Lee and General Stonewall Jackson.
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Links
- The Principles and Practice of Dentistry (a book by Harris)
- On Panoramio [2] [3] & Flickr
William H. Welch Statue at Johns Hopkins
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In front of Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus
GPS: 39° 19′ 36.46″ N 76° 37′ 12.50″ W
History
H. L. Mencken, once known as the Sage of Baltimore, wrote a 1935 Baltimore Sun article about William H Welch and his life of excess. According to Mencken, Welch had little or no concern with his own health, instead concentrating on the conditions of others. He chose study over sleep, food instead of diet, and meditation before activity. He was a career physician, having learned at Yale and in Germany, eventually becoming the first dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During his later career he was elected president of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Medical Association, accomplishments only trumped by his various appetites. William Welch was a beer for breakfast kind of guy, yet he was able to move the medical profession as far forward as anyone in his generation. He lived to be eighty-four years old.
Notes
To the left of Shriver Hall’s entrance, on Johns Hopkins University‘s main campus, the statue stands tall on it’s pedestal. To the memorial’s immediate left is the Isaiah Bowman Bust, with Daniel Coit Gilman’s monument only a few paces beyond that. Welch is posed with his right hand’s index finger pointing upward, as though he were making one final speech. Sidney Waugh created the structure and it was erected in 1957.
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Daniel Coit Gilman Statue at Johns Hopkins
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In front of Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus
GPS: 39° 19′ 36.43″ N 76° 37′ 13.58″ W
History
Asked in 1875 to be the first president of Johns Hopkins University, Daniel Coit Gilman left the campus of California University, where he was dean, and accepted his new post in the east. Gilman attended Yale and was a member of the secret society Skull and Bones. He is co-founder of the Russell Trust, the organization that funds Yale’s famous ambiguous association.
Gilman is highly regarded for his ability to assemble premiere scholars and teachers for his universities, establishing these schools as top academic institutions. He wrote several books, including the still-published Life of James Monroe. In 1898 he edited and wrote an introduction to Democracy in America, the classic volume by French author Alexis De Toqueville. In 1908, after a long and successful life, Daniel Coit Gilman passed away in the city of his birth, Norwich, Connecticut.
Notes
Flanked to the right of Johns Hopkins University’s Shriver Hall, the Gilman statue stands tall and regal. Installed in 1957, the monument shares its historic site with the Isaiah Bowman Bust and the William H Welch statue. The likeness of Gilman was designed by the artist Sidney Waugh.
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Isaiah Bowman Bust at Johns Hopkins
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Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus
GPS: 39° 19′ 36.48″ N 76° 37′ 13.00″ W
History
Isaiah Bowman was born in Canada in 1878. His immense talent for Geography was recognized early in his life by his hometown teachers, and he eventually studied at Harvard and Yale. He taught at Yale for ten years and while there he wrote several scholarly pieces on physical terrain. In 1916 Bowman was named director of the American Geographical Society, serving in that post until 1935, when he became president of Johns Hopkins University. He was an adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt during his illustrious career, and the true scope of his contributions to the world will likely be unknown until his personal diaries are made public.
Notes
Placed under the facade of Shriver Hall, the Bowman bust is difficult to locate at first glance. The statue is situated to the left of the Hall’s front door, hiding from unsuspecting eyes. Illuminated at night by lights, this tribute to one of the world’s great geographers greets students and concert goers daily. Laura Gardin Fraser, sculptor of the Lee and Jackson monument, created the statue, and it was dedicated in 1957.
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Sidney Lanier Monument in Charles Village
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3436 N Charles Street, Johns Hopkins University (Street View)
GPS: 39° 19′ 52.45″ N 76° 37′ 5.19″ W
History
Born in 1842, Sidney Lanier’s life was forever shaped by the Civil War. Upon graduating Oglethorpe College in Milledgeville, Georgia, the War Between the States broke out and Lanier enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was captured by Union soldiers near Wilmington, North Carolina, and placed at Point Lookout Prison in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland. Lookout was by far the worst Union POW camp, with bitter cold conditions and no barracks, the captured soldiers and civilians died by the scores.
Of the fifty thousand detainees, some four thousand perished, and countless others contracted tuberculosis. Lanier was not spared, and he left the jail skinny and emaciated, bound to suffer from consumption for the rest of his short life. Lanier wrote his only novel, Tiger Lilies, about his tumultuous time at Point Lookout.
After the Civil War he traveled extensively in search of a cure for his disease, eventually landing in Baltimore, where he was asked to fill the first flute chair in the newly formed Peabody Orchestra. In a letter to his wife, he expounds on the benefits of Charm City, explaining that they could “dwell in [this] beautiful city, among the great libraries, and [in the] midst of the music, the religion, and the art that we love–and I could write my books and be the man I wish to be.” He continued creating poetry and literary papers, writing some of his most loved pieces while in Baltimore.
Towards the end of his life, Lanier took a teaching position at Johns Hopkins University. He passed away in 1881 and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery. In 1942, a monument designed by Hans Schuler was dedicated in his honor.
Notes
The relief style monument depicts Lanier sitting tranquilly under a tree as the sun sets behind him. He is holding a pencil in his right hand and has a journal on his lap. His flute rests next to him on top of an open book. The bronze cast is set into a stone embankment, making this one of the more unique memorials in the city. There are two benches flanking the monument, and a stone path between them, allowing for an intimate view of the structure.
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Spirit of Music Statue in Charles Village
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3070 N Charles Street, next to the BMA sculpture garden (Street View)
GPS: 39° 19′ 38.31″ N 76° 37′ 4.28″ W
History
Dedicated in 2002, The Spirit of Music is a memorial to a former Johns Hopkins University student. Rex Chao was shot and killed near the school’s Milton S Eisenhower Library on an evening in April, 1996, by a fellow student and former friend. Choa played violin for the Hopkins and Peabody Orchestras. He was nineteen years old when he died. Jud Hartmann, who’s Creator’s Game Monument stands outside of the Lacrosse Museum on campus, was commissioned to design the memorial by a committee established in the fallen scholar’s honor.
Notes
Installed between the Johns Hopkins Monument and the BMA sculpture garden, the statue rests inside of a well-trimmed circular hedge. With violin in left hand and bow in right, the two-thirds scale bronze cast gazes optimistically at all those passing by.
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Creator’s Game Lacrosse Monument
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113 W University Parkway next to Homewood Field (Street View)
GPS: 39° 20′ 5.20″ N 76° 37′ 17.90″ W
History
Since 1983, sculptor Jud Hartmann has focused his work on the The Woodland Tribes of the Northeast – The Iroquoian and Algonkians series. These limited edition pieces are on display at Hartmann’s Blue Hill, Maine gallery. He has cast over fifty works in this style, one of which stands outside the Lacrosse Museum at Johns Hopkins University. Dehontshihgwa’es or Creator’s Game consists of two Iroquois Indians playing lacrosse, one stealing a pass intended for the other. The monument was dedicated in 1992.
Notes
On the base of the sixteen foot tall structure an inscription reads: “The game of Lacrosse was given by the Creator to the Ho-de-no-saunee (Iroquois) and other Native American people many ages ago. It is from the Iroquois that the modern game most directly descends. May this sculpture forever honor the Iroquois and the origins of Lacrosse.” The monument stands in front of The Lacrosse Museum at Johns Hopkins University directly to the right of Homewood Field.
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- Confederate Women of Maryland Monument
- Peace Cross Memorial
- Sea Urchin Statue JHU
- Sidney Lanier Monument
Links
Colonel William Watson Monument in Reservoir Hill
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W North Avenue & W Mount Royal Avenue (Street View)
GPS: 39° 18′ 39.60″ N 76° 37′ 31.80″ W
History
Col. William Watson (1808-1846) commanded the Battalion of Baltimore and District of Columbia Volunteers during the Mexican-American War. He was killed at the storming of Monterrey on September 22, 1846. The bronze and granite monument to Watson was installed in 1903 by the Maryland Association of Veterans of the Mexican War and was created by Maryland’s own Edward Berge. Watson is mentioned in the fourth verse of the state song “Maryland, My Maryland.”
Notes
Originally placed at W Mount Royal Avenue and Lanvale Street, in front of the Maryland Institute College of Art, the memorial was moved to its current location in 1930. The statue stands atop a tall pedestal and is surrounded by two cannon and four shot piles. Holding a sword in is right hand and a monocular in his left, the Colonel faces east down North Avenue, steadily surveying the Monumental City.
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- Mount Royal Entrance to Druid Hill Park
- Lady Baltimore Statue
- Spirit of the Confederacy
- Maryland Line Monument
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