Francis Scott Key Fountain Monument in Bolton Hill (Baltimore, MD)
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Location
Eutaw Place & W Lanvale Street (Street View)
GPS: 39° 18′ 14.24″ N 76° 37′ 34.15″ W
History
This multi-faceted sculpture is one of two major memorials dedicated to Francis Scott Key, the author of the Star Spangled Banner, which only became America’s National Anthem officially in 1931. The other is located in Ft. McHenry, though there are several markers and smaller memorials dedicated all around Baltimore to the actual song itself. The Bolton Hill piece was commissioned in 1907 by Charles and Theodore Marburg, part of a prominent mercantile family at the time and executed by French sculptor Marius Jean Antonin Mercie. Dedicated on May 15, 1911. In 1996, residents from the local neighborhood raised money to restore this monument, receiving significant financial boosts in 1997 from the Maryland Military Monuments Commission, and in 1998 from the Save Outdoor Sculpture initiative (funded in large part by Target stores), along with grants from the City of Baltimore. At this location, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech on the importance of preserving historical markers in 1998. Restoration was completed by the summer of 1999.
Notes
Standing amidst a broad park which runs north and south along Eutaw Place, the monument heroically depicts Key as poet in a row boat with another sailor humbly manning the oars. Key is standing, holding a manuscript of his poem up as an offering to the allegorical figure of Columbia, defined by Wikipedia as “a poetic name for the United States of America and the feminine personification thereof.” The figure of Columbia is gilded, and stands atop four pillars waving a flag. The historically preserved house of Daniel Coit Gilman, first president of Johns Hopkins University, stands across the street from the fountain.
Nearby
Links
- On Panoramio & Flickr
- Project profile on Save America’s Treasures
- Historical information and old images of the Bolton Hill Key monument
- Bolton Hill Historic District From National Park Service