Monument City Blog

John Wilkes Booth was born in Harford County, MD and made his stage debut at Baltimore’s Charles Street Theatre. The Booth family gravesite is located in Baltimore’s Green Mount Cemetery where John Wilkes rests under an unmarked stone. Small and unassuming, the marker sits at the corner of the family plot, dwarfed by the memorial obelisk at it’s center.

Buried here in February of 1869, four years after his death, John’s body went through a series of circumstances before ending up in Green Mount. Originally inhumed at the Old Penitentiary on the Washington Arsenal grounds, the body was placed in an Army blanket and lowered into a hole that was subsequently covered with a stone slab. Two years later it was exhumed and placed in a wooden box in a locked storeroom at the prison. The government was finally persuaded to release the remains to the Booth family in 1869 where it was viewed in Washington and then Baltimore, before finally being placed in Dogwood Plot #9.

Baltimore’s Washington Monument and Museum is located at Mount Vernon Place near the Walters Art Gallery. The museum is at the base of the structure and includes access to the monument’s spire, its 228 steps leading to a panoramic view of the city’s skyline. The facility displays various exhibits including documents and photographs from the monument’s history. Additional pictures: [1] [2] [3] [4]

This bust of George Washington, located in the museum, was created by Giuseppe Ceracchi sometime between 1791 and 1792. Washington sat several times for Ceracchi during this time period, as did other American founding fathers. The Italian artist later traveled to Paris to work for Napoleon Bonaparte. Ceracchi was executed, in 1801, for his supposed involvement in a plot to kill the legendary French military leader.

The Roland Water Tower is located in north Baltimore between Hampden, Roland Park and the Hoes Heights neighborhoods. It stands in a small park at the intersection of West University Parkway and Roland Avenue. The structure was built by John Stack & Sons following the design of local architect William J. Fizone. Completed in 1905, the tower only served its intended purpose for twenty-five years, but over one hundred years later it continues to draw attention.

In the past year a fence has been put up around the tower. Pieces of terra cotta have fallen from the 148-foot tall spire marking the area below as a hazard. The Roland Park community has initiated a plan to restore the water tower and surrounding park. Renovation is estimated to cost two million dollars.

Once the farmland of Johns Hopkins, Clifton Park is a tranquil 266 acre meadow situated in the eastern section of Baltimore City. Hopkins purchased the land in 1838 and proceeded to make a multitude of improvements including the installation of a lake and sculpture garden. Farmers grew and cared for crops, while businessmen and politicians hammered out deals amidst the agreeable settings. Before and during the Civil War strategic planning for the Union force took place at the camp. Hopkins was an abolitionist and staunch supporter of the North and friend Abraham Lincoln, running counter to Maryland’s political stance at the time.

[Source]

“One of the first campaigns of the Civil War was planned at Johns Hopkins’ summer estate, Clifton, where he had earlier entertained many guests, among them the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII. During the Civil War, Clifton became a frequent meeting place for local Union sympathizers, and federal officials.”

Mr. Hopkins was a fervent philanthropist and before he died he willed seven million dollars to various educational institutions he wished to create. It was the largest donation of it’s kind up until that point in American history. In 1875, just two years after his death, part of this money went to the founding of a University in his name. The school was originally planned to be located on the Clifton site, but the board managing the estate altered the arrangements.

In 1915, Baltimore’s first public golf course was built at the park. It still thrives today in its urban settings. Between the eighth and ninth hole stands Edward Berge‘s sculpture On The Trail, a seven foot tall Native American surveying the landscape with benign intent.

In 1968, following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Baltimore fell under Martial Law due to extensive rioting. Maryland’s Governor at the time, Spiro Agnew, asked the federal government for troops and received them. Thousands of soldiers descended on Baltimore to quell the increasing violence. Clifton Park was their campsite, strategically placed near North Avenue, the tree-lined estate provided a safe sanctuary and a necessary staging area.

Today the Park is indeed a different place. Underfunding has left the municipal land starving for resources. However, the park still retains a great deal of its former glory and programs are in place to rescue the park. The mansion house and gardener’s cottage are still standing, though in need of repair. The rolling hills still give the impression of an English countryside. The lake is gone, now the site of a public high school, and the sculpture garden no longer exists, but the valve house and outdoor theatre are still in their original locations. With a little love and a boatload of money, Clifton can once again be the playground for Baltimoreans it once was.

[Source]

Raphael and Rembrandt Peale, his enterprising sons, had for some years previous stimulated artistic and scientific interest by the opening of the Baltimore Museum where they exhibited “sixty-four portraits of illustrious men distinguished in the Revolution,” as well as “upwards of two hundred preserved birds, beasts, amphibious animals, fishes, and also Indian’s dresses, ornaments, and utensils for civil and military life, etc.” Raphael Peale left Baltimore in 1800, after painting “seventy-two miniatures since his arrival.” Rembrandt on his return from Europe found the interest so great in the stupendous skeleton he had exhibited, which weighed 1,000 pounds and was 31 feet long from tusks to tail (a dinner party having been given in its capacious frame), that he returned to Baltimore and began about 1813 the building from a design by Robert Cary Long on Holliday street near Lexington, which still bears upon its notable facade the faded legend, Baltimore Museum, erected by Rembrandt Peale, 1813-1830.”

The H. S. Rippel Spring is located just east of the corner of Tudor Arms Avenue and Craycombe Avenue along the Stony Run in Wyman Park. Though dried up today and covered with graffiti, the fountainhead is still in decent condition. The structure was given to Druid Hill Park in 1895 by businessman H. S. Rippel and was later moved to its current location in the 1930s.

[Source]

The name of the spring derives from a prominent local builder who donated the fountainstone for the original spring, and whose name is engraved in this stone. The spring enjoyed healthy popularity among some North Baltimore residents during the 30′s and 40′s, often being bottled by local boys who delivered it to nearby residents.

Druid Hill Park is as mysterious as it is massive.  Designed by Howard Daniels, the seven hundred and forty-five acres of rolling countryside just north of downtown Baltimore has a surprisingly pleasant vibe. Inaugurated in 1860, shortly after New York’s Central Park, the terrain features the Jones Fall Stream, Druid Lake and what was once known as Boat Lake. For many decades the expanse was an immensely popular location for city dwellers. Patrons could stroll the rolling hills capriciously, relaxing the day away with ease and grace. The city even provided a narrow-gauge railroad for straightforward transport around the estate.

Over time generous farmers and wealthy landowners started donating animals to the park. Habitats were constructed and the creatures were integrated into the overall scene. Primates and reptiles were eventually brought in to accompany the livestock. Opening in 1876 the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore is one of the oldest zoological gardens in America. Over the years it’s size and scope has changed, the zoo’s land has slowly diminished leaving behind remnants of it’s former charm. Large areas have been shut down because of financial and infrastructure problems. Numerous animals have been loaned to other institutions as Baltimore’s menagerie struggles to regain it’s former glory.

Exploring the Zoo’s forgotten installations is amazing. A friend of a friend led us past closed gates and imposing barriers down an old road. We saw the former alligator pond, the vacant emu runs covered in bamboo and numerous waterway installations. At the end of one ominous trail was a stone slab dump. This discarding site for cornerstones was creepy at best. Amongst the granite and concrete pieces were small monuments that aforetime pilgrims had erected coupled with the unforgiving sight of grave markers from god knows where.

The Buchanan and Rogers families inhabited this territory during the 18th and 19th Centuries. We stumbled upon their funerary grounds during our expedition. Some of the stones dated as far back as the late 1700s. The markers are coming to pieces and the perimeter fence is pretty mangled, but the 200 year old cemetery is in remarkably good shape.

After traversing the closed back roads of the park we came to a strip of modern pathway. It appears the Jones Falls Trail is being connected through Druid Hill. The tranquil bike path is well built and expanding. With city revenue down it could be some time before the trail is completed, but the idea is paramount. Baltimore needs these paths and park lands to alleviate internal pressures. When this park is restored and reestablished the neighborhoods surrounding it will benefit exponentially, helping revitalize the area.

Sources:

The Baltimore Museum of Art is situated in the northern part of town near the Johns Hopkins University Homewood campus. The art house, designed by John Russell Pope, showcases the collection of the Cone sisters. Claribel and Etta Cone were Baltimore socialites in the late 19th century and early 20th. They were progressive women who, against the grain of their time, studied medicine and never married. The two were born in Tennessee but lived most of their lives in Charm City, residing for over fifty years in neighboring rowhouses on Eutaw Street.

The social circles that the sisters ran gave them a unique opportunity for acquiring art. They were friends with Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, gaining direct access to some of the greatest works of a generation. Their collection of Matisse paintings and sculptures is worth the visit in itself, containing over five hundred pieces, it constitutes the most comprehensive group of the French master’s work. Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Paul Cézanne are also represented at the museum. Since 2006 the BMA and the Walters Art Gallery in Mount Vernon have been free, excluding certain exhibits.

My friend and I traveled to the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum to see a replica of the author’s body lying in state. For twelve hours on a cool Wednesday in October, ‘Poe’ was available for viewing as part of a week long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of his birth, the ceremonies culminating in a Sunday service at Westminster Burying Ground presided over by actor John Astin.

As we biked our way to the West Baltimore neighborhood the number of vacant rowhouses gradually increased as we neared the historic site. We asked a few strategically placed police officers where the house was and they responded that it was right in front of us. They even told us they’d watch our bikes while we were inside. Ah Charm City. Five dollars later we were touring the house Poe lived in during his lean years in our old town.

The place was fairly packed and we promptly made our way to the body. Once inside the tiny room we encountered some giggling girls, took a quick look and moved on the rest of the house. It’s quite strange taking a pilgrimage to see a mannequin. The rest of the minuscule abode contains rare memorabilia and merchandise. The museum’s greatest attribute is its severity of size, providing a glimpse into Poe’s life and American culture of the 1830’s.

The Peale Museum Courtyard contains early 19th century artwork salvaged from razed Baltimore buildings. The largest sculpture comes from the facade of the razed Union Bank building that once stood nearby. The French artist Augustin Chevalier was commissioned to complete the tympanum lunette, a representation of Ceres and Neptune. The bas-relief dates from around 1807, making it one of the oldest pieces of architectural sculpture in America. John Henry Scarff, the Peale Museum’s restoration architect, designed and installed the garden during the 1930 rebuild. Additional pictures: [1] [2] [3] [4]