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July 2006
Keep cool-July is here and there are a lot of cool things going on. In July we will be having our picnic in Duncan Street Park on July 12th instead of the monthly meeting, so come cool off. Also our new Butchers Hill signs should make us the coolest looking neighborhood and the website updates are as refreshing as a cool front in July, so check them out at www.butchershill.org. I especially want to thank the membership committee for last month's excellent presentation on knowing your house's history. Do visit our website's history page to follow through on any interesting facts you've learned about your house. On June 17th Councilman Kraft invited the district leaders to a breakfast were he went over legislation that he has been working on. Here are some highlights from the meeting: Highlandtown Middle School is now closed and will be sold for condominium development; the new Southeast Pratt library in Highlandtown will be finished in January 2007; a bill for Property Tax credits/deferments for elderly and handicapped homeowners has been introduced; the flyer law is now in effect with a $50 fine to be accessed for each flyer inappropriately placed on your front door or stoop. To enforce this you should contact the business owner and inform them of the new law, and if you continue to receive flyers from that business please contact 311. Track the complaint number that the operator gives you. Photographing the flyer's placement is also a good idea. The police have assured City Council that they will enforce the penalties. Councilman Kraft has asked that all residents who border Patterson Park display a flag of your choosing on patriotic holidays such as July 4th. If any who live along the park want poles and brackets, contact the office so they can be given to you. Finally I need to remind all of the fact that we are half way through the year and many people have not paid membership dues. So I am declaring July, DUES ARE OVERDUE MONTH. I hope we do not have to spend money on a mailer to get the membership dues money in for this year. -Richard Hackett. A special invitation to be part of the
Rain or shine • All ages
Workers from the City's Department of Public Works COMMUNITY DUMPSTER, Thursday, July 20th, 100 block of N. Chester Street. For neighborhood residents only. No building materials, refrigerators, water heaters, washers, dryers, stoves, batteries, wet paint, automotive parts (including tires and rims), or hazardous materials. The dumpster generally arrives around 10 AM and leaves around 2 PM. Please fill from the back. The next dumpster is scheduled for Thursday, August 17, 2100 block E. Fairmount Avenue.
Tuesday, July 4th, Independence Day Holiday: BHA COMMITTEES AND MONTHLY MEETINGS
THERE IS NO BUTCHERS HILL ASSOCIATION GENERAL MEETING IN JULY. BE INFORMED ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD! For the minutes of the June 7th BHA General Meeting, prepared by BHA recording secretary Beth Needham, please go to: http://www.butchershill.org/association/minutes.shtml . OF BUTCHERS AND NAMES When the Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation prepared a historical perspective of our neighborhood in the early 1980's, they found at least four additional names that had been used to refer to the high ground centered on the northwest corner of Patterson Park. The oldest was Hampstead Hill, used continuously from the late 18th century through the 19th century. The name originally referred to the area of ground now bounded roughly by Washington, Jefferson, Milton, and Pratt Streets. Fairmount Avenue was originally Great Hampstead Street. Chinquapin Hill was found in the 1817-1818 Baltimore City Directory under the listing for Jacob Loudenslager, a butcher and innkeeper who settled on the Hill by 1810. Chinquapin was an Indian name. It referred at least to the area immediately around Patterson Park Avenue (originally Gist Street) and Baltimore Street (originally Dulany Street). Prospect Hill was found in the 1819 listing for James Elmore, another butcher who settled in the same area around 1817. Several references to Prospect Hill were found until 1840. Numerous references were found for Loudenslager's Hill during the period of 1822-1835. Jacob Loudenslager was the area's first settler and his inn and butcher shop were thought to be east of Patterson Park Avenue and north of Baltimore Street. The developmental history of the Hill began in 1773 when the Philadelphia road was rerouted to give access to Baltimore over the newly constructed Baltimore Street bridge on the Jones Falls. The Philadelphia Road entered the Hill from the northeast at the intersection of Patterson Park Avenue and Baltimore Street. Here the road joined the newly opened portion of Baltimore Street, giving direct access to the City. Fairmount and Washington were here in rough form by the late 18th century and formed the northeast edge of Fells Point; Washington ran north from the water, terminating at Fairmount and tying the Hill to the harbor. Between 1820 and the Civil War, the butchers came in a steady stream. In addition to Loudenslager and Elmore, John McElroy set up shop at Baltimore and Madeira, and several years later Samuel Moore located in the same area. By 1840, Bankard, Stinges, Banks, Rodley, and Rusk, all butchers, had located on the Hill. The Hill was just outside the city limits, where by law the slaughter houses could be located. That fact, in addition to the proximity to Philadelphia Road, made the area an ideal site for moving livestock from the farms east of Baltimore to the Fells Point Market House, the butchers' main outlet for their products. During the Civil War, Bankard got into the business of packing beef and pork, amassing a war-time fortune. By 1864 he had built the lavish residence and carriage house on the northeast corner of Baltimore and Chester Streets, now known as the Gunther Mansion. -Carolyn Boitnott. EDUCATION COMMITTEE REPORT: BHA still has 8 teachers who have not been "adopted"-come to the picnic on July 12th and sign up. | Martha DelPizzo has begun her campaign through developers and realtors to raise money for world maps for every classroom at the Charter School. | BHA is supporting the Patterson Park Fun Cart, which takes place at the Fountain/Pagoda area every Tuesday night (except June 27th, concert night) from 5:30 to 8:30, and Sunday from noon until 3 with games and crafts, through July. | BHA is invited to participate with the Creative Alliance on July 29 for Family Fun Day from 11 to 4. Entitled Salsapolkalooza, they have expanded this music and dance celebration of the many cultures of Southeast Baltimore. In addition to live performers, there will also be free art making for kids, a variety of food, craft, and flea-market vendors, and more! If you are interested in working to set up outreach activities or vendor tables please contact Tori Simms 410.675.4948 (or email) for an application form. | Carolyn Boitnott is looking for volunteers for two projects this summer at School #27. Contact Carolyn at c.boitnott@verizon.net. One project is new murals; Martha Simons will be helping with this but later in the summer we will need painters, youth and adult ( date unknown at this point). The other project: During the week of July 10th we need a handful of adults during the school day to categorize books and organize them for classroom libraries. The history page on our website, www.butchershill.org, has been updated and we've compiled some resources for researching your house. Do you know your house's history? If you already know some interesting facts about your house, tell us about it by completing the form. This will help us compile a database of information about all the houses in the neighborhood. COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
Critical brick repair work in Halcott Square (Duncan Street Park) has now been completed. The work was done by mason Lonnie Shaulis and his crew, and funded by a grant from the Parks and People Foundation and generous support from the Butchers Hill Association. The park repair project, which began last year with replacement of the old benches and volunteer repainting of the fencing, has been coordinated by Steve Young, working with the BHA Streetscape Committee. We plan on an official rededication of the park in June 2007, which marks the 30th anniversary of Halcott Square. BHA STREETSCAPE COMMITTEE REPORT: This year's Neighborhood Sign Renewal project has been a great success. For years, our neighborhood signs have been showing signs of wear; many were faded or bent. It was clear that these signs needed to be replaced. Starting with only $2,000 in funding from BHA, our project got off to a great start when we received a very generous $2,000 matching fund from the Butchers Hill CDC. This allowed us funds to expand the scope of the project to fifty signs, ensuring signage covered our thriving northern tier north of Baltimore Street. Steve Searles from Maryland Correctional Enterprises helped us with production of the aluminum signs, and made sure the colors, graphics, and typeface matched those of the originals. Metalcraft Industries of Ocala, FL custom-made all of the brackets of powder-coated steel to our specifications. Our neighborhood sign assembly party was also great success, Saturday June 10th, at Halcott Square, thanks to a generous grant from Banner Neighborhoods. We used long-lasting stainless steel hardware to assemble the brackets, and had food, music, and beverages to keep our assembly crews entertained. BHA President Rich Hackett and City Councilman Jim Kraft unveiled the first of our new neighborhood signs after the party, at the corner of Chester and Fayette Streets, at a special ceremony at the site of the new Townes of Butchers Hill development. Over the next three weeks, crews installed the remaining signs throughout Butchers Hill. Thanks go to the office of Jim Kraft and the hard working folks at the Dept. of Transportation who helped ensure the process went smoothly. This year's project showed us how easy it is to help the community when folks work together. We hope our new neigh-borhood signs will benefit the community for years to come. Other Streetscape news: Fundraising for the Betsy Patterson Historical Mural remains on-track, with over half the needed funds raised to date. We anticipate work starting shortly on this exciting project. | Neighborhoods are reminded of the early-July deadline for completing their tree request forms for BHA-sponsored concrete-pit cutting. Residents who would like to learn more should contact Remington Nevin at (240) 401-3628. -Remington Nevin. The Butchers Hill web site, www.butchershill.org, has been updated to include information for new neighbors. Visit our home page and click on the link, Moving In. We've also updated the Useful Links and Merchandise pages and now have a Membership form online. FALL FLEA MARKET, PATTERSON PARK Volunteers needed to make this event another success; the Flea Market benefits Education Committee work and Community Outreach programs. We need people to work the food booth, direct sellers, clean-up and everything else. Contact Ray or Tori at 410-675-4948. Free Concerts on Pagoda Hill-Mercy Medical Center presents the WYPR Concert Series at Patterson Park, 6:30-8:30 PM Sunday, July 9 The Swingin' Swamis. Rain date July 12. With an eclectic mix of jazz and world rhythms, the Swamis specialize in 30's jazz to 70's funk and everything in between. Tuesday, July 25 The Oklahoma Twisters. Rain date July 26. Washington DC's premiere western swing band brings its toe-tapping-Bob Wills inspired fiddle, steel guitar and string bass guaranteed to get you dancing. Sunday, July 30 M2K Jazz Ensemble. Rain date August 2. Billie Holiday Competition award winner, local jazz champion and staunch "anti-diva," Marianne Matheny-Katz and her M2K Jazz Ensemble. 831 |
BHA PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Before and After: Crumbling brick corner now repaired.