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July 2004 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Happy Independence Day! I would like to invite everyone to the Butchers Hill annual potluck 4th of July picnic. It will be on July 7th, in Halcott Square (also known as Duncan Street Park) on Duncan Street between Lombard and Pratt. Bring the family and BH neighbors, and don't forget a side dish, appetizer, or dessert. I'll be, as always, manning the grill. There is no regular general meeting in July, but we will be having a special meeting on July 8th at Simon's (2031 Fairmount) at 7 p.m. A developer named Stonington Partners would like to present plans for the building at 100 South Patterson Park Avenue. No other neighborhood business is scheduled. And with all of the development in Butchers Hill, there is renewed
interest in making the entire neighborhood a CHAP local historic district.
The process is very involved; anyone who would like to help out can
contact John Papagni at 410-563-2661. ANNUAL BHA PICNIC IN THE PARK Wednesday, July 7th, starting at 6:30, Duncan Street Park Please bring an appetizer, salad, side dish or dessert to share; extra quantities or specialties are always welcome. See the accompanying President's message for details. Patterson Park Track Team Holds First Practice! The Patterson Park Track Team held its first practice on Thursday, June 24th. The Patterson Park Track Team is a collaborative effort by members of the community to promote running, health and wellness among youths aged 8-14 living in the vicinity of Patterson Park. This 8-week program is designed to enhance participation, teamwork, fitness and fun, regardless of kids' fitness levels. The program covers the basics of running, including stretching, preparation, diet and racing. The practices are held in Patterson Park and activities consist of relay races, obstacle courses, and games of tag, in addition to timed running events. The team meets every Thursday evening from 6 to 7 at the Pagoda, and practices will be held until August 12th. The team is coached by community volunteers, including Deneen Habarta, owner of the 5K Specialty Running and Walking store on Bond Street; John Lundquist, President of the Friends of Patterson Park; and local Butcher's Hill residents Alisa Bahl-Long and Ethan Long, who live on Pratt Street. Further financial support for the team is being provided by the Banner Neighborhood Community Corporation. The team is working hard and plans to compete in a local road race at the
end of the season. If you know of any children who may be interested in
participating, or if you would like to join in (parents, neighbors,
volunteers are all welcome), please call 5K Specialty Running and Walking
at 410-342-0305, knock on Alisa & Ethan's door, or stop by the Pagoda on
Thursday evenings! Butchers Hill T-Shirt orders will be taken at the BHA picnic and at the August meeting. COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, SATURDAY, JULY 24TH On Saturday, July 24th, there will be a community Dumpster in the 100 block of South Chester St. No electronics, hazardous materials, batteries, paint, or appliances. The dumpster leaves between 10-11 AM, so get there the day before (the dumpster is usually delivered about noon on the preceding Friday) or early Saturday. The next scheduled dumpster is Saturday, August 7th, unit block South Chester Street. FALL PATTERSON PARK FLEA MARKET: Saturday, September 11 (Rain Date: September 18) SILVER ANNIVERSARY HOUSE TOUR: Sunday, October 17 BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS Block Rep/Crime Prevention: Wednesday, July 21st, 7 p.m., 2105 E. Baltimore St. The committee meets monthly to share information from our 20 block representatives and to coordinate action. Several block reps are planning to hold block meetings to bring together more of the residents on each block to work on block needs. Anyone wanting to help with this please contact Carolyn at 410-522-4991 or e-mail c.boitnott@verizon.net. Reminder, lock all windows and doors when leaving your house even if for a short time. Also, let a neighbor know if you are going to be away for a while. There have been several daytime break-ins through rear second and third floor windows. Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) Butchers Hill Citizens on Patrol (C.O.P.) has been regularly patrolling the neighborhood for over three years, and conducts its walk-arounds on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month. We meet at 7:30 p.m. at the intersection of Patterson Park Avenue and Lombard Street. All are welcome. For more information, please contact Evan Helfrich at 410-342-2148 or via e-mail, ubik14@netscape.net. Community Representative, School 27 School Improvement Team: Carolyn Boitnott, 410-522-4991. Education Committee: Thursday, July 22nd, 7:00 PM, 124 S. Patterson Park Avenue. Contact: Martha DelPizzo 410-522-6046, e-mail mdelpizzo@comcast.net. Anyone interested is encouraged to attend. BHA members who have "adopted a teacher": You can drop off their Adopt-a-Teacher gifts to School # 27 during the weeks of August 16 & the 23rd. If you want to call first, the number is: 410-396-9300. If that is not convenient I am happy to accept them at my house; just give me a call before dropping them off (410-522-6046). ( The Education Committee is sending a letter to developers, businesses, and realtors who do business in Butchers Hill, asking for a financial contribution to the Volunteer Resource Center that we are starting at Commodore John Rodgers School. We appreciate suggestions from BHA members as to those individuals who should receive request letters. ( Volunteers needed: we may need anyone who can volunteer to participate in a "work party" at Commodore John Rodgers School and if available please let me, or anyone on the committee, know and those individuals will be called when and if the need arises. Land Use: Wednesday, July 28th, 7 PM. Call Virgil at 410-327-4964 for location. The Land Use Committee would like to remind homeowners in the 2100 and 2200 blocks of E. Baltimore Street and the 2200 block of E. Pratt Street that you live in a City historic district. All exterior work and painting must be submitted to CHAP and Butchers Hill. We are always happy to help with any questions you may have. Call Virgil Bartram: 410-327-4964. CHAP's number is 410-396-4866. Marketing/House Tour Committee: Tuesday, July 13th, 7:00 PM, 2223 E. Pratt St. Contact Rick Gilmour (410-342-7061), gilmour@qis.net. Trash Committee: Contact Sue Whitson, 443-527-1103, e-mail sbwhitson@hotmail.com (e-mail preferred). Parking Committee:. William White, 410-563-7941, e-mail: willilicious@hotmail.com. BHA Executive Committee: Tuesday, July 20th, 7 PM, Simon's of Butchers Hill, 2031 E. Fairmount Ave. Contact: Dave Dyer (410-342-7655), or dave@viacapital.net. Newsletter: The deadline for the AUGUST issue is Friday, July 23rd. Contact Rick Gilmour: gilmour@qis.net. THERE IS NO BUTCHERS HILL ASSOCIATION GENERAL MEETING IN JULY. Instead, come to the BHA Potluck Picnic, Wednesday, July 7th, 6:30 to 9 in Duncan Street Park (between Lombard and Pratt) BHA Special Meeting, July 8th, 7 p.m., Simon's of Butchers Hill, 2031 E. Fairmount Ave. AGENDA: Presentation by Stonington Partners about 100 S. Patterson Park Avenue THE UNIQUE ARCHITECTURE OF BUTCHERS HILL Among many factors which contribute to Butchers Hill's recognition as an Historic District is our unique architectural development. Bill Penzek says, in the official National Historic Trust application: "Butchers Hill is an architecturally and historically distinct pocket of development in the regular grid of East Baltimore streets. The unique combination of dates of construction, ... sizes, and styles of buildings, with a hilly topography and a peculiar pattern of development, ... sets Butchers Hill apart from the surrounding rowhouse communities." One claim to fame is the "hopscotch" development pattern in which small tracts were developed one at a time, as opposed to vast rows of houses developed all at once. Parcels were acquired and developed or redeveloped (replacing the original freestanding homes, slaughterhouses and yards) one at a time. Often, rows of houses with twenty years or more difference in age stand beside or opposite each other. Rowhouses were built in practically every multiple from two to fourteen - with the average about six. Penzek notes perhaps the best example: "a block of twenty-one brick rowhouses, ... 2201-2239 East Baltimore Street, constructed in six distinct stylistic groups, the earliest dating 1874, the latest 1904." Another factor is the street pattern, built on the plan laid out by Thomas Poppleton in 1823, but with significant divergences. The east-west streets dominate in accommodating traffic to and from central Baltimore. They were built almost exclusively with generously scaled three-story, three-bay wide rowhouses on wide, long lots. The north-south streets, although nearly as wide as the east-west streets, are generally built with two- or three-story, two- or three-bay wide houses on narrower, shorter lots. In most respects these houses differ in degree, but not in kind, from the houses of the east-west streets. The unit block of north Collington is offset from the Poppleton grid, and the disposition of alley streets is also highly irregular. A preponderance of east-west alleys is not typical of the surrounding communities, and alleys often terminate in mid-block or are otherwise non-continuous. Finally, the block interiors of Butchers Hill are often laced with pedestrian alleys three to five feet wide, a feature that is also atypical of the surrounding communities. A source of variety unique to Butchers Hill is its peculiar topography. From the crest of Hampstead Hill (roughly Duncan and Fairmount), the land
of Butchers Hill slopes down to the south and west. This topographical
contour necessitated architectural variation as houses "stepped" up- and
downhill from one another throughout the community, adapting to the slope.
In some east-west rows, the slope enabled houses to have ground level
"walk-out" basements in the rear, an architectural feature valued
today. SPRING FLEA MARKET BEST EVER Prayers provided us perfect weather! Everyone enjoyed shopping at the 65 booths, eating grilled goodies by the fountain and mellowing out to the jazz of the Paul Snyder Trio. Including the Marketing Committee, Butchers Hill has many neighbors and friends to thank. Bev Wall for being point person for all the vendors. Bill Novakowski and his crew: Adam, Ashley, Beth, Rob, Teresa, and Tom started with 7 AM coffee and muffins and grilled great dogs and burgers till 3 PM. Butch Mount and Carol Richman orchestrated traffic and vendor placement 6-9 AM. Martha DelPizzo and her crew: Carolyn, Dottie, Kittie, Maureen, Sue and Tish ran the Butchers Hill Flea Market booth to benefit the Education Committee. John Murphy made and put up those large signs at Pratt St. and Eastern Avenue. The Parks Department crew Bob Wall, Doug Goldman, and Gerald Gilliam along with the Friends of Patterson Park folks Nancy Supik and Tim Almaguer provided canopies, cut grass, strung up the banner and provided a base of action that made using the park possible. Finally, the following businesses provided prominent poster space to advertise the event: Santoni's, DiPasquale's, D. J. Liquidators, the Highlandtown Market, Caesar's Forum Hair Salon/Day Spa, Nelson and Lili Adlin Phoenix Realty, Broadway Market Management, Shockets, Long & Foster Realtors, Whole Foods, and Safeway. Please patronize these community-conscious businesses. We are looking for someone to run the Butchers Hill Flea Market booth at
the September 11th Flea Market. We also need volunteers to work the food
concession. If you can help with either, please contact Sandy,
410-558-0149. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD THE ART WALL
AT SIMON'S OF BUTCHERS HILL CHRISTOPHER SIMPKINS Christopher Simpkins has been a resident of Butchers Hill for the past eight years, during which he completed his medical training at the Johns Hopkins University and is currently a resident in surgery at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. A member of the Baltimore Creative Alliance, Chris has had a life-long interest in the arts and has practiced in multiple media. Most recently, he has developed a series of abstract digital images using vivid colors and symmetric designs which are printed on photographic paper. The initial shapes are rendered as self-similar repeating geometric designs known as fractals which are layered, distorted, colored, and shaded using a number of graphics and photographic manipulation software programs. Chris's portfolio can be viewed on his website, The Pulse Gallery (www.pulsegallery.com). Simon's of Butchers Hill is now presenting live jazz on Fridays 8-11, Saturdays 8-11, and Sundays 7-10. Featuring the very best of regional jazz artists. Also, outdoor dining seating now available. Summer Day Camps
The following zoning appeals for neighborhood properties are coming up for hearings. Zoning appeals hearings are held before the Board of Municipal and Zoning Appeals in City Hall Room 215 and are open to the public. There are no dates available yet for most of these appeals; look for the appeal to be posted on the side of the relevant building, or check the biweekly zoning docket, downloadable as a .pdf file, at: http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/zoning/index.html.
The Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) is
undergoing a successful move from Housing and Community Development to the
Planning Department. They will have the same budget, and they will keep
the same staff. PLAY GROUPS AND CHILD CARE Parents & Expectant Parents! Several people with little ones in the neighborhood have expressed an interest in networking with other parents in the neighborhood for the purpose of setting up play groups, discussing child care options, or just to have adult conversation. If you are interested in getting connected with other parents or you know of existing play-groups that parents should be directed to, e-mail Cathy Buccheri: catherine@pluto.org. Please indicate age of children (or due date) and whether you are available during the days or evenings, and whether you are primarily interested in play groups, exchanging information about child care, or both. MERCY MEDICAL CENTER PRESENTS MUSIC IN PATTERSON PARK PRODUCED BY THE FRIENDS OF PATTERSON PARK AND WYPR 88.1FM Concert times 6:30 - 8:30; Enter park at E. Lombard Street and S. Patterson Park Avenue. For more information, call 410-276-3676 JULY 13: THE ZIM ZEMAREL ORCHESTRA. Based in Balti- Rain date: 7/14 more and specializing in highly danceable music, Zim Zemarel features the best of Broadway and the Big Band Era as well as more recent hits. Come out and shake a leg! JULY 25: 9bobNote. Combines lyrical intelligence with a Rain date: 8/01 power-pop edge. Melodic and driving, defying boundaries and attracting diverse audiences with their original, neo-60's sound. 2357 |