Monument City » Bolton Hill

Billie Holiday Statue (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:49:15 +0000

Location

Pennsylvania Avenue & Lafayette Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 4.20″ N 76° 37′ 55.20″ W

History

Born in Philadelphia, Billie Holiday eventually spent her early childhood years in Baltimore City. At ten years old she was put in Catholic reform school, The House of the Good Shepherd, to help ease her troubled early development. After two years relatives and friends were able to remove her from the rigorous program, her mother then moving the family to New York City. By the time she was in her late teens Billie was working in Brothels and singing for tips. On the verge of eviction and penniless, Holiday was noticed serenading in one of Harlem’s legendary nightclubs and the rest is history.

Notes

When I first went to photograph and inspect the Billie Holiday statue in early June of this year the monument wasn’t there, having been removed for renovation and overhaul. When the bronze likeness was returned to it’s home in July, a more complete version of artist James Earl Reid’s original vision was achieved. The relief sculptures Reid had attempted to put around the base of the statue were installed, censorship not standing in the way this time around. Across the street from the plaza is a monument to the Royal Theatre, a famous venue that Mrs. Holiday played during her career.

Nearby

Francis Scott Key Fountain (Bolton Hill)

Links

Hammann-Costin WWI Medal of Honor Memorial (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:35:03 +0000

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Location

Howard Street & Preston Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 16.45″ N 76° 37′ 15.49″ W

History

This monument is dedicated to two Maryland winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor during service in World War I: Charles Hazeltine Hammann, an ensign in the Air Service of the US Navy, and Henry Gilbert Costin, a private in the Army. During an aerial engagement off the coast of Italy on the 21st of August in 1918, Ensign Hammann landed his seaplane to rescue a downed pilot, Ensign George M. Ludlow, though his plane was not designed to carry the double load and there was imminent danger of attack by Austrian planes. The pair flew to safety. Two ships were named the USS Hammann in his honor and served during WWII. Private Costin, a member of Company H, 115th Infantry, was slain in battle during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive near Bois-de-Consenvoye. His platoon was being held up by an enemy machine gun entrenchment. Costin was first to volunteer to storm the nest against heavy artillery, mortar and machine gun fire and he “continued the attack by himself after all his comrades had become casualties and he himself had been seriously wounded, firing until he collapsed.” He died shortly after the successful attack which resulted in the capture of over 100 enemy soldiers and several machine guns.

Notes

This monument is located in a small park between Preston St and Park Ave, where it loops around to intersect with Howard St, across from Sutton Place apartments and the Light Rail which runs nearby. At the top of the memorial is a sculpture of a flame and on either side rests a mortar.

Nearby

Links

On Flickr & Panoramio
Maryland Medal of Honor Recipients
World War I and Maryland
Medal of Honor Winners in WWI from army.mil

Confederate Soldiers & Sailors Monument (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 03:10:41 +0000

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Location

Mount Royal Terrace between Mosher & Lafayette (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 31.75″ N 76° 37′ 21.03″ W

History

Also known as the “Spirit of the Confederacy,” this monument reads upon the front face of the pedestal, “Gloria Victis,” or “Glory to the Vanquished.” Though this sculpture is by Frederic Wellington Ruckstull and was dedicated in February of 1903, “Gloria Victis” is also the title of a 1874 sculpture at the National Gallery in Washington, DC by artist Antonin Mercie commemorating France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War. Mercie is the sculptor responsible for the nearby Francis Scott Key monument in Bolton Hill.

Notes

The monument stands between Mt Royal Avenue proper, and Mt Royal Terrace, a parallel access street for residents of the Bolton Hill neighborhood. Nearby stand several buildings of the Maryland Institute, College of Art. The sculpture is composed of two figures: the allegorical figure of Glory with wings outstretched, who holds aloft a laurel wreath in one hand, and in the other supports a soldier whose strength is failing him. His flag is lowered and he seems near defeat.

Nearby

Links

On Panoramio & Flickr
Photograph of Monument’s erection on MDHS
Two entries for this monument at the Smithsonian index, the second being more complete
“Battling Monuments“, an overview of Civil War monuments by the City Paper

Francis Scott Key Fountain Monument in Bolton Hill (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:12:21 +0000

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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

Col. William Watson Monument (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 15:34:56 +0000

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Location

W North Avenue & W Mount Royal Avenue in Bolton Hill (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 39.60″ N 76° 37′ 31.80″ W

History

Col. William Watson commanded the Battalion of Baltimore and District of Columbia Volunteers during the Mexican-American War. He was killed at the storming of Monterrey on September 22, 1846. The bronze and granite monument to Watson was installed in 1903 by the Maryland Association of Veterans of the Mexican War and was created by Maryland’s own Edward Berge. Watson is mentioned in the fourth verse of the state song “Maryland, My Maryland.”

Notes

Originally placed at W Mount Royal Avenue and Lanville Street, in front of the Maryland Institute College of Art, the memorial was moved to its current location in 1930. The statue stands atop a massive pedestal and is surrounded by two cannons and four shot piles. Holding a sword in is right hand and a monocular in his left, the Colonel faces east down North Avenue, steadily surveying the Monumental City.

Nearby

Links

Artwork of monument from a 1925 postcard
Watson on U.S.-Mexican War Monuments & Memorials
Watson on Wikipedia
On Panoramio & Flickr

Thurgood Marshall Statue (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:30:54 +0000

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Location

Hopkins Place and West Pratt Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 17′ 11.61″ N 76° 37′ 3.03″ W

History

Depicts Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), the great-grandson of a slave and Baltimore native who rose to become the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. He was nominated in 1967 by President Lyndon Johnson. Stands outside the Garmatz Federal Courthouse, Pratt Street entrance. Artist: Reuben Kramer. Dedicated on May 16, 1980. BWI Airport was also dedicated to Marshall in October of 2005.

Notes

This monument is set off the beaten path a little bit from the shops and bustle of the Inner Harbor proper. Across Pratt street is the Baltimore Convention Center, with a large metal public art piece. The old Bromo-Seltzer Tower, the now-defunct Circle One restaurant atop an old Holiday Inn (the dinery once rotated at one revolution per hour). Nice light and good energy flow in this area. Arrayed behind the monument are many concrete pyramids, presumably to prevent cars from driving up too close to the courthouse. Many barrier objects like this were installed around the Inner Harbor after September 11, 2001.

Nearby

Links

Bio on BaltimoreMD.com
The Thurgood Marshall Memorial in Annapolis, MD
On Panoramio & Flickr
Detailed sculpture information from the Smithsonian