Archive for the ‘Garden’ Category
Peter Hamilton’s Sundial in Druid Hill Park
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In 1892, lawyer and businessman Peter Hamilton gifted Druid Hill Park and the city of Baltimore this peculiar sundial. Hamilton was a 19th Century stonecutter (much like Hugh Sisson) who became president of the Guilford and Waltersville Granite Company, the firm responsible for supplying the stone for the Library of Congress. After countless hours of calculations, Hamilton hand-carved the the hemispherical compendium dial, affixing shadow-casting metal gnomons to the completed sculpture. In 1904 the sundial was repaired and reset by the Board of Park Commissioners. The board had metal sheets placed over the sundial, protecting it from the elements.
When local resident George McDowell, a sundial enthusiast, heard about the relic he went to investigate. He found the dial to be mathematically incorrect and decided to personally oversee its 1993 restoration. Jacques Kelly interviewed McDowell for a Baltimore Sun feature in 1994.
With the city’s permission, he worked with local metal artist Larry Lewis to have the dial cleaned of years’ worth of dirt. Some of the gnomons had been vandalized. Others needed mathematical correction. Mr. Lewis fabricated replacement pieces.
Peter Hamilton’s restored sundial sits within the John Cook Memorial Rose Garden next to George Aloysius Frederick’s historic greenhouse. Built between 1887 and 1888, the Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory (or Palm House) contains exotic plants from around the world.
John Cook Memorial Rose Garden & Sundial
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3100 Swann Drive in Druid Hill Park (Street View – approximate)
GPS: 39° 19′ 5.40″ N 76° 38′ 43.80″ W
History
The Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens of Baltimore was established in 1888 on the grounds of Druid Hill Park. Today the greenhouse network continues to thrive with plants from all over the world growing inside the contained environment. in 2004, a $4.8-million renovation took place that linked the main building, or Palm House, with some of the newer structures located behind it. Directly to the right of the Conservatory is the John Cook memorial garden and sundial. Cook was a German-born immigrant that arrived in America in 1853. He came from a long line of florists and continued the family tradition in Baltimore, first tending garden for J. Howard McHenry, the grandson of James McHenry, then opening his own store in 1870. As his career progressed, Cook began performing experiments with his roses, searching for new varieties. His hybrid tea, Radiance, became one of the most popular flowers of the early twentieth century. This garden was dedicated in John Cook’s honor.
Notes
Within the boundaries of the garden rests a strange sundial. From a distance it looks like a piece of modern art, but when you get closer you see the multiple time-telling gnomons jutting out from the structure. The timepiece was created in 1890 by a local stonemason named Peter Hamilton under the direction of the Johns Hopkins mathematics department. It tells the time for numerous places on earth from Cape Cod to Tokyo, but was designed before daylight savings time, and is mostly inaccurate now.
Nearby
- George Washington (Druid Hill)
- Columbus Monument (Druid Hill)
- William Wallace Statue
- Eli Siegel Stone
- Wagner Bust
- The Repeal Statue
Links
Mothers’ Garden at Clifton Park
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Harford Road & E 32nd Street (Street View)
GPS: 39° 19′ 37.64″ N 76° 35′ 1.89″ W
History
The Board of Park Commissioners dedicated the garden to all the mothers of Baltimore in 1926. Two years later a tablet was fitted to a stone and placed at the site, marking the memorial. Mayor William Donald Schaefer rededicated the garden, in 1984, to his mom Tululu Schaefer. In recent years, the Coldstream Homestead Montebello Community Corporation introduced a plan to improve the facilities of Clifton Park, including Mothers’ Garden. Once the summer home of Johns Hopkins, Clifton was the intended site for the hospital bearing his name, but was deemed too far from the city’s core. Instead, the land was turned into a municipal golf course and community park.
Notes
At the northern tip of Clifton Park, the memorial is a strangely peaceful place. A small domed edifice surrounded by benches sits on top of the hill, and a pedestrian bridge crosses a forgotten pond. Situated between Harford Road and the golf course’s 5th hole green, Mothers’ Garden is across the street from Montebello Elementary School.
Nearby
Links
Sea Urchin Statue at Johns Hopkins University
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Decker Gardens at Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus
GPS: 39° 19′ 46.79″ N 76° 37′ 20.60″ W
History
In 1926, Edward Berge‘s the Sea Urchin, was installed in front of the Lafayette Monument at Mount Vernon Place. Thirty-four years later his son, Henry Berge, created a larger copy of the statue, replacing the original. The smaller cast was then donated by Frank R. Huber, the man financially responsible for the 7’10″ reproduction, to Paul M. Higinbotham, who gave the sculpture to Johns Hopkins University.
Notes
The sea urchin sits inside a lily pond on the front lawn of the school president’s home. The man made lagoon features a fountain at the base of the statue, and is dedicated to trustee Alonzo G. Decker, Jr.. Just south of the historic Homewood House Museum, the Decker gardens provide a remote hideaway on campus grounds. A bench at the edge of the park offers a perfect seat for sunset watching.
Nearby
Links
- On Panoramio [2] & Flickr [2]
- Homewood campus tour