A public statue of baseball great Brooks Robinson is planned for placement near Russell Street, west of Oriole Park, in the spring of 2011.  Robinson played his entire career with the Baltimore Orioles, winning the MVP of the 1970 world series.  Considered the greatest third baseman of all time, Brooks won 16 gold gloves during his 23 years in Major League Baseball.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983.

The Maryland born Joseph Sheppard was chosen to execute the Oriole great’s bronze likeness.  Sheppard also created the Pope John Paul II statue and the Flame at the Holocaust Memorial.  Architect: Richard Jones (Mahan Rykiel Associates).

In 1803, Benjamin H. Latrobe became the superintendent of construction for the United States.  He began his tenure by focusing efforts on the unfinished Capitol building in Washington.  His ideas and designs, heavily influenced by roman architecture, contained elaborate frieze and relief work.  Unsatisfied with American artists of the early 19th century, the British-born architect began corresponding with colleagues in Europe in hopes of hiring a more skilled set of sculptors.  This opened the door for numerous European artisans to earn generous commissions in the United States.  This ongoing list deals with the sculptors of early America and their extant work in Baltimore.

Antonio Capellano

1. Angel of Truth (First Unitarian Church)
2. Battle Monument
3. Christ Breaking Bread and Moses with Tables of Law (Old Saint Paul’s Church)
4. Bust of George Washington (Peale Museum)

Enrico Causici

1. Washington Resigning his Commission (Washington Monument)

Augustin Chevalier

1. Ceres and Neptune (Peale Museum Courtyard)

Giuseppe Ceracchi

1. Bust of George Washington (Washington Monument Museum)

Giuseppe Franzoni

1. Saint Mary’s Chapel (interior sculptures)

Giovanni Andrei

1. Saint Mary’s Chapel (interior sculptures)

Around 1899 Baltimore’s streets were covered in snow, the piles rivaling February 2010’s. These shots, from the Maryland Historical Society’s website, show Baltimore Street and N. Charles Street (looking south), respectively.

History:

1. Niles’ National Register, Volume 27, Part 3 (1825) H. Niles, editor
2. The Chronicles of Baltimore (1874) by John Thomas Scharf
3. History of Baltimore City and County (1881) by John Thomas Scharf
4. The Magazine of American History with Notes and Queries, Volume 7 (1881)
5. The Baltimore Conflagration (1904) National Fire Protection Association
6. Baltimore: Its History and its People, Volume 2 (1912) by Lewis Historical Publishing Co.
7. National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Program & Baltimore Book (1914)
8. A History of the Rise and Progress of the Arts of Design in the U.S. (1918) William Dunlap
9. Maryland Historical Magazine, Volume 17 (1921) Maryland Historical Society
10. Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State (1948) by The Federal Writers’ Project
11. The Amiable Baltimoreans (1984) by Francis F. Beirne
12. Druid Hill Park: The Heart of Baltimore (2008) by Eden Unger Bowditch and Anne Draddy

Architecture:

1. Architectural Record, Volume 1 (1892) by The American Institute of Architects
2. Architectural Record, Volume 21 (1907) by The American Institute of Architects
3. The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History (2004) by Mary Ellen Hayward and Frank R. Shivers
4. Look Again in Baltimore (2005) by John R. Dorsey and James DuSel
5. The American Skyscraper, 1850-1940: A Celebration of Height (2008) by Joseph J. Korom

Image Collections:

1. Hughes Collection at MDHS
2. Worthington Collection at MDHS
3. Kniesche Collection at MDHS
4. Perine Collection at MDHS
5. Carter Collection at MDHS
6. Hoopper Collection at MDHS

This semi-chronological (and ongoing) list aims to clarify and organize information on some of America’s prominent early architects and the Baltimore buildings that continue to memorialize them.

Benjamin Henry Latrobe (1764-1820)

1. Basilica of the Assumption

Maximilian Godefroy (1765-1840)

1. Battle Monument
2. First Unitarian Church
3. Saint Mary’s Chapel (600 N. Paca Street)

Robert Cary Long, Sr. (1770-1833)

1. Baltimore’s Peale Museum
2. Davidge Hall (with Latrobe’s influence and possibly Godefroy’s design)
3. Old Saint Paul’s Church (walls retained after building burned down in 1854)

Robert Mills (1781-1855)

1. Washington Monument

Richard Upjohn (1802-1878)

1. Old Saint Paul’s Church (walls retained from Robert Cary Long, Sr.’s design)

Robert Cary Long, Jr. (1810-1849)

1. Franklin Street Presbyterian Church
2. Lloyd Street Synagogue (1861 additions by William H. Reasin)
3. Green Mount Cemetery Gatehouse
4. Green Mount Cemetery Mausoleum
5. Saint Peter the Apostle Church (11 S. Poppleton Street)
6. Jerome Bonaparte Townhouse

Nathan G. Starkweather

1. First and Franklin Presbyterian Church (with Edmund G. Lind)

Edmund George Lind (1829-1909)

1. Masonic Lodge at 235 N. Charles Street (1869)
2. First and Franklin Presbyterian Church (with Nathan G. Starkweather)
3. Memorial Protestant Episcopal Church (Bolton Street and Lafayette Avenue)
4. Sharp Street United Methodist Church (Dolphin and Etting Streets)
5. Peabody Institute

John Rudolph Niernsee (1814–1885)

1. Green Mount Cemetery hilltop chapel (with James Crawford Neilson)
2. Grace and St. Peter’s Church (with James Crawford Neilson)
3. Emmanuel Episcopal Church (with James Crawford Neilson)
4. Camden Station (with James Crawford Neilson)
5. Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (with James Crawford Neilson)
6. Johns Hopkins Hospital (with James Crawford Neilson)
7. Clifton Park (with James Crawford Neilson)

James Crawford Neilson (1816-1900)

1. Green Mount Cemetery hilltop chapel (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
2. Grace and St. Peter’s Church (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
3. Emmanuel Episcopal Church (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
4. Camden Station (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
5. Saint John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
6. Johns Hopkins Hospital (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)
7. Clifton Park (with J. Rudolph Niernsee)

John E. Ellicott (b. 1834)

1. Saint Martin Roman Catholic Church (Fayette and Fulton Streets)

E. Francis Baldwin (1837-1916)

1. Saint Leo the Great Roman Catholic Church
2. B & O Roundhouse (B & O Railroad Museum)
3. Buildings at 10,12,14 and 16 East Chase Street (with Bruce Price)
4. Saint Ann’s Catholic Church (E. 22nd St. & Greenmount Ave.)
5. Mount Royal Station & Train Shed (with Josias Pennington)
6. Maryland Club (with Josias Pennington)
7. B & O Warehouse at Camden Yards (with Josias Pennington)

Josias Pennington (1854-1929)

1. Mount Royal Station & Train Shed (with E. Francis Baldwin)
2. Maryland Club (with E. Francis Baldwin)
3. B & O Warehouse at Camden Yards (with E. Francis Baldwin)

George A. Frederick (1842-1924)

1. City Hall
2. Moorish Tower (Druid Hill Park)
3. Palm House Conservatory (Druid Hill Park)
4. Main Entrance to Druid Hill Park (possibly with John H. B. Latrobe)
5. Mount Royal Entrance to Druid Hill Park (possibly with John H. B. Latrobe)
6. Edgar Allan Poe Monument
7. Hollins Market
8. Cylburn House

Charles E. Cassell (1842-1916)

1. Stafford Hotel
2. Severn Building
3. First Church of Christ, Scientists
4. Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation
5. Brexton Hotel
6. Chamber of Commerce Building
7. Stewart’s Department Building
8. Corpus Christi Church (crypts and doors)

Henry F. Brauns (1845-1917)

1. Northern District Police Station
2. Mount Royal Pumping Station
3. The Lorraine Park Cemetery Gatehouse
4. Brown’s Arcade

Daniel H. Burnham (1846-1912)

1. Continental Trust Building

William Rutherford Mead (1846-1928)

1. Munsey Building (designed by McKim, Mead and White)

Charles Follen Mckim (1847-1909)

1. Munsey Building (designed by McKim, Mead and White)

Stanford White (1853-1906)

1. Lovely Lane Methodist Church
2. Garrett House (interior renovation, 1893)
3. Munsey Building (designed by McKim, Mead and White)

James Bosley Noel Wyatt (1847-1933)

1. Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse (with William G. Nolting)
2. Garrett Office Building (with William G. Nolting)
3. Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church (with Joseph Evans Sperry)
4. Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company Building (with Joseph Evans Sperry)

William G. Nolting (d. 1926)

1. Clarence M. Mitchell, Jr. Courthouse (with J. B. Noel Wyatt)
2. Garrett Office Building (with J. B. Noel Wyatt)

Thomas Dixon (d. 1886)

1. Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church (with Charles L. Carson)

Charles L. Carson (1847-1891)

1. Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church (with Thomas Dixon)
   
2. Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Synagogue
3. Goucher Hall of the Women’s College of Baltimore
4. Enoch Pratt Free Library in Charles Village (Village Learning Place)
5. Enoch Pratt Free Library in Federal Hill (Jordan Faye Contemporary)
   
6. Central Savings Bank (N. Charles and E. Lexington Streets)
7. Equitable Building (with Joseph Evans Sperry)
8. Masonic Lodge at 235 N. Charles Street (1893 additions with Joseph Evans Sperry)
9. Evergreen Museum and Library (1885 additions)

Joseph Evans Sperry (1854-1930)

1. Equitable Building (with Charles L. Carson)
2. Eutaw Place Temple
3. Bromo-Seltzer Tower
4. Brewer’s Exchange
5. Saint Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
6. Saint Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church (with J. B. Noel Wyatt)
7. Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company Building (with J. B. Noel Wyatt)
8. Masonic Lodge at 235 N. Charles Street (1893 and 1908 additions)

Joseph C. Hornblower (1848–1908)

1. U.S. Custom House (with John Rush Marshall)

John Rush Marshall (1851–1927)

1. U.S. Custom House (with Joseph C. Hornblower)

Otto G. Simonson (1862-1922)

1. Maryland Casualty Building (Hampden)
2. Fish Market Building (with Pietsch)

Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison (1872 – 1938)

1. Pennsylvania Station

Clyde N. Friz (1867-1942)

1. Central Library of the Pratt Library system (1933)
2. Standard Oil Building
3. Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (with John Russell Pope)

John Russell Pope (1874-1937)

1. Baltimore Museum of Art
2. Charlcote House
3. Scottish Rite Masonic Temple (with Clyde N. Friz)
4. University Baptist Church

Laurence Hall Fowler (1876-1971)

1. War Memorial Building
2. Castalia (Calvert School Headmaster’s Estate)
3. Evergreen Museum and Library (20th century additions)

Philip H. Frohman (1887-1972)

1. Cathedral of the Incarnation

The state reptile of Maryland, the diamondback terrapin, lives in brackish waters and swampy regions along the eastern coast of North America.  During the 18th and 19th centuries, the diamondback flourished in the tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay, providing an abundant food source to the developing area.  Originally slave labor food, the 5 to 7 inch long terrapins became a delicacy during the 1900’s, eventually fetching high prices in America’s finest restaurants.

[Source]

Chesapeake colonists ate terrapin prepared Native-American fashion, roasted whole in live coals. Abundant and easy to catch, terrapin were so ample that landowners often fed their slaves and indentured servants a staple diet of terrapin meat. Later, in the 19th century, the turtle was appreciated as gourmet food, especially in a stew laced with cream and sherry. Subsequently, tremendous retail demand and heavy fishing of the terrapin nearly depleted its supply, and protective laws were enacted.

[Source]

(1869) Barnum’s Hotel at the corner of Calvert and Fayette (dubbed the best hotel in the United States by Charles Dickens) holds a dinner for 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson that features 90 items of Maryland cuisine, from elk to turtle.

[Source]

In November 1894, (Daniel Coit) Gilman asked William Keyser, former president of the Baltimore Copper Company, for his assistance in securing another site (for Johns Hopkins University). In 1898 Keyser’s cousin, William Wyman, approached him with an offer to donate to the University sixty acres, situated west of Charles Street and south of the intersection with University Parkway (then known as Merryman’s Lane). The two men, together with a group of four friends, worked in secrecy over the next three years to secure options on adjacent tracts, and in early 1901 offered 179 acres to the University, on the condition that it add one million dollars to its endowment. There was a delay as the University proved unable to raise the money, but after renewing their options, the donors offered the land again. This time the only condition was that not less than thirty acres of the property be given to the city for use as a public park. The trustees accepted the offer on February 22, 1902, and the University had a new campus, Homewood.

On May 14, 2007 the Enoch Pratt Free Library Southeast Anchor Branch opened in Highlandtown. Located at the corner of Eastern Avenue and South Conkling Street (Street View), the facility was chosen to receive the 15 foot tall Frank Zappa Monument by the city’s Public Art Commission. It’s unknown when the statue, a gift of the Lithuanian based Zappa fan club, will be installed.

Google Books:

1. Baltimore: its History and its People, Volume 1 (1912)
2. The Amiable Baltimoreans (1984)
3. The Architecture of Baltimore: An Illustrated History (2004)
4. Maryland: A Guide to the Old Line State (1948)
5. Mr. Peale’s Museum (1980)
6. The Chronicles of Baltimore (1874)
7. Baltimore Past and Present (1871) – gas light company info

Overviews:

1. National Park Service
2. National Historic Landmarks Program
3. Baltimore City

Rembrandt Peale:

1. Biography at Butler Art

The Mastodon:

1. The Peale Museum of Discovery

Misc:

1. Maryland History at a Glance: 1800-1899
2. City Paper Article (2002)
3. Sarah Miriam Peale’s Baltimore Studios
4. Courtyard sculpture’s possible artist

Philadelphia Museum:

1. Philadelphia Museum History (Lewis & Clark)
2. Brief History of Charles Willson Peale

Local music Writer Sam Sessa has written several pieces in the Baltimore Sun about the Zappa sculpture now in the possession of Baltimore City officials.  The city has struggled to find the proper location for the donated monument.

[Source]

More than a year ago, Baltimore accepted a bust of Baltimore native Frank Zappa. Valued at $50,000, the bust was a gift from a Lithuanian Zappa fan club.Since then, officials have been debating where to put it.

For a while, it looked like the statue would be placed at Fleet Street and Broadway in Fells Point. But the Fells Point location wasn’t suitable for the statue, officials said.