Monument City » Business

George Peabody Monument (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:12:04 +0000

Location

East Mount Vernon Place (Street View)

GPS: 39° 17′ 51.18″ N 76° 36′ 54.33″ W

History

Born in 1795 in the town of South Danvers, Massachusetts (later renamed Peabody, MA), George Peabody was an entrepeneur and philanthropist who moved to Baltimore in 1816, where he lived for twenty years overseeing the dry-goods mercantile business he co-founded, Peabody, Riggs, and Company. In the 1850’s, while in London, Peabody became involved in banking, forming a prominent partnership with Junius Spencer Morgan, father of financier JP Morgan. A number of large financial institutions, including Morgan Grenfell, JPMorgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley, can trace their roots directly back to Peabody’s handiwork. For this reason, a statue of Peabody quite similar to Baltimore’s was unveiled before his death beside the Royal Exchange in London. Peabody is also considered to be father of modern philanthropy. In 1857, Peabody founded the first music conservatory in the United States in Baltimore, the Peabody Institute (now a part of Johns Hopkins University). In 1862, he set up the Peabody Trust in London to provide housing for the city’s deserving poor. After the American Civil War, he established the Peabody Education Fund to educate children from the Southern States, and is known to have donated some $8 million dollars to charitable trusts and organizations during his lifetime. His philanthropic acts served as a model for others, including Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and Bill Gates.

Notes

Peabody’s Baltimore monument rests in the park just east of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. Immediately to his south is the historic Peabody Institute building, with the Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church to the north.

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Saint Paul Street Bridge Statue (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:54:50 +0000

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Location

Mount Royal Terrace & Lennox Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 18′ 42.64″ N 76° 37′ 34.53″ W

History

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Baltimore’s 1729 town charter, the citizens and government threw an elaborate party and parade. To commemorate the event, the artist Herman Henning was commissioned to create four Lady Baltimore statues to be placed at each corner of the ornate old Saint Paul Bridge. For close to 80 years the monuments greeted locals as they crossed over the Jones Falls and railroad tracks, leaving or entering downtown. In 1960, the bridge was renovated as part of the Jones Falls Expressway project. The over-pass was torn down, and the ladies were moved to new locations. Two were placed inside Cylburn Arboretum, in northern Baltimore, while a third was given to Ireland, in 1974, by Baltimore’s Friendly Sons of St. Patrick Society. The remaining statue was installed nearest to it’s original location, on Mount Royal Terrace, just north of the Col. William Watson Monument.

Notes

The limestone lady loosely holds a sledgehammer in her right hand, while a shield, with the Battle Monument on it’s front, rests to her left. An anchor, gear, anvil and steam engine are represented around the base of the sculpture. Situated in a small park at the foot of Druid Hill, the statue sits inside a neglected garden. A plaque adorns the front of the structure, listing the Commissioner and Engineer of the bridge.

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Johns Hopkins Monument (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 01:30:54 +0000

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Location

N Charles Street & E 33Rd Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 41.02″ N 76° 37′ 4.55″ W

History

In 1873, Johns Hopkins died. In 1875, a university in his name was established, one of many institutions that would eventually use his moniker. A Quaker of modest beginnings, Hopkins and his brothers first business was selling supplies from covered wagons in the Shenandoah Valley. Occasionally they traded goods for corn whiskey, repackaged the liquor, and sold it to Baltimoreans as Hopkins Best. With these earnings, the brothers bankrolled the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, bailing the company out of debt several times. During and after the Civil War, Hopkins thrived as an investor and professional, becoming one of the richest men in American history.

Notes

The bust of Johns Hopkins, sculpted by Hans Schuler, rests atop a tall foundation and is flanked by two statues, one a young female and the other a youthful male. During warmer months a fountain trickles water from it’s base. Originally located at N Charles Street & E 34th Street, the structure was moved a block south due to numerous automobile accidents attributed to its placement. Surrounded by lush vegetation, with the school’s impressive campus behind, the monument presents a dignified view of one of America’s icons.

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John Mifflin Hood Statue (Baltimore, MD)

admin — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:27:49 +0000

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Location

Saratoga Street and St. Paul Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 17′ 32.95″ N 76° 36′ 49.24″ W

History

Depicts John Mifflin Hood, Confederate general and early president of the Western Maryland Railroad. Under Hood’s guidance the railroad was able to regain market share, becoming very profitable. Baltimore City owned considerable stock in the company, resulting in massive profit. After the great fire of 1904, the city used six million dollars of railroad earnings to pay for reconstruction. In appreciation, a monument was erected, one block from the origin of the fire, in Mifflin Hood’s honor. It was later moved to it’s current location in Preston Park. Dedicated May 11, 1911. Artist, Richard E. Brooks.

Notes

Hood’s monument is tucked away in a park known as Preston Gardens which lies in between St. Paul Street’s north and south-bound lanes. The monument is flanked on either side by a fountain and winding staircases connect the upper and lower sections of St. Paul. Curving sidewalks flow throughout this surprisingly placid location.

Nearby

Links

Smithsonian’s Arts Inventory Catalog entry
Information on Hood’s railroad under “The Rise of Tourism”
Alice W. Hood Collection At Maryland Historical Society
On Panoramio & Flickr