Monument City Blog

Born near Dublin, Ireland, in 1778, Mother Catherine McAuley dedicated her storied life to helping others. A devote catholic, McAuley was challenged when, after her parents died, she was sent to live with anti-catholic relatives. This difficult period in her life only strengthened her convictions and she began establishing the Sisters of Mercy. The organization’s goal was to aid suffering families and children as well as training women for employment. When Catherine was in her mid-twenties a Quaker family offered her residence in their home. The family grew to adore her and when they passed away they left their entire estate to their adopted daughter. In 1827, McAuley used this money to set up her first House of Mercy. In 1990, Pope John Paul II declared her venerable.

The Mother Catherine McAuley Monument in front of Baltimore’s Mercy Hospital was installed on November 11, 2000. The tablet and statue commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Sisters of Mercy.

Nearby

• John Mifflin Hood Statue
• Calvert Statue
• Battle Monument

Links

• On Flickr & Panoramio
• Catherine McAuley on Wikipedia

Location: W North Avenue & W Mount Royal Avenue

These Egyptian styled gateway pillars stand at the original Mount Royal entrance to Druid Hill Park. The monuments were re-erected in 1988 by then Mayor Kurt Schmoke, along with the help of community members. George Aloysius Frederick, architect of Baltimore’s City Hall, designed the Nova Scotia freestone structures. The Colonel William Watson Monument towers nearby.

Location: N Gay Street & E Lexington Street

Across Gay Street from the War Memorial Building is a plaque commemorating the rededication of War Memorial Plaza. The marker reads: “Time will not dim the glory of their deeds.” This same inscription was on the front facade of Memorial Stadium and is on the new war monument at Camden Yards.

E Baltimore Street & S President Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 17′ 25.51″ N 76° 36′ 20.80″ W

History

In 1972, Mayor William Donald Schaefer presented the Women’s Civic League, a local community service organization, with the idea of renovating the former residence of Baltimore’s second mayor, Thorowgood Smith. The house, built around 1794, is located next to the historic Phoenix Shot Tower directly behind the Police memorial. Now known as Shot Tower Park, the small tract of land across the street from Police Headquarters contains one of the largest installations in honor of fallen officers in the United States. The memorial contains three statues, a large panel of inscribed names and various dedication plaques. Unveiled in 1978, the monuments face City Hall and War Memorial Plaza, adding to the dignified appearance of the downtown location.

Notes

Donald Pomerleau was Police Commissioner during the memorial’s construction. Pomerleau was hired by the International Association of Chiefs of Police in 1965, and sent to Baltimore to examine the city’s law enforcement system during the peek of the civil rights movement. He found the police force to be as corrupt and antiquated as any in the country. He spent the next fifteen years integrating officers and correcting the mistakes of his predecessors. Pomerleau retired from the force in 1981, three years after the memorial’s completion.

Nearby

• War Memorial Building
• Firefighter’s Memorial
• Black Soldiers Statue
• Battle Monument

Links

• On Flickr [2] [3] & Panoramio [2]
• Baltimore Police Memorial Fund

This servicemen memorial was created in honor of those lost during World War II from the Remington / Wyman area neighborhoods.  Erected in 1945, the stone structure stands on the western end of Johns Hopkins Homewood campus near the edge of Remington. Affixed to the stone structure’s backside is a plaque with the names of the fallen soldiers. Edward Berge‘s Chapin Harris Monument is just south on Wyman Park Drive.

Location: Harford Road & Parkside Drive

This police memorial is situated at the west end of Herring Run Park next to the monumental Columbus Obelisk.  The small plaza displays five police badges of fallen officers from the northeast district. The west entrance of Herring Run Park is across the street.

Location: Warren Avenue & Henry Street

Dedicated in 1933, the Our Fathers Saved Sundial was created in honor of union Civil War casualties. The inscription reads: “In memory of the Grand Army of the Republic by the Daughters of the Union Veterans of the Civil War 1861-1865.” Situated at the southern end of Federal Hill, near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Monuments to war heroes Samuel Smith and George Armistead are placed in the park as well.

Created by sculptor Antoine-Louis Barye, the lion was a gift of art collector William Walters to the city of Baltimore. Seated Lion is a replica, the original being in the Tuileres Gardens in France. Sculpted in 1846, Mount Vernon’s statue is a reproduction dedicated in 1885. Barye also created the four statues surrounding the Washington Monument. The base of the lion has Barye’s birth and death dates. Henri Crenier’s Boy With Turtle sculpture is behind the Barye Lion.

Location: N Charles Street & W Mulberry Street

Erected in 1932, the bicentennial plaque is part of the Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route, a series of markers that follow the trail of Revolutionary War generals George Washington and Count Rochambeau. The 600 mile plot spans nine different states and contains numerous monuments. The goal of the project is to educate Americans about the impact of the French army, and other allies, during our war of independence. Situated in what was once known as “Howard’s Woods,” the former estate of John Eager Howard, the memorial is within the property of the Basilica of the Assumption, America’s first cathedral. The elm tree referred to on the monument is no longer standing.

Nearby Monuments:

This WWII Servicemen Memorial sits at the corner of Keswick Road and 33rd Street in Hampden. The stone monument resides in a small community park a block south of the historic Northern District Police Station building.