Location

E 33rd Street, between Ellerslie Avenue & Ednor Road (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 45.00″ N 76° 36′ 5.40″ W

History

Built in 2006, this location is also known as Thanksgiving Place Labyrinth, and was a joint project between the Govans Ecumenical Development Corporation and the TKF Foundation, “a private grant-making foundation” involved in a civic development project called “Open Spaces, Sacred Places,” integrating meditative green spaces in the midst of bustling urban locations. The Bell Tower at Stadium Place stands just slightly west of what was once the entrance gates of old Memorial Stadium, the former location also of another significant Baltimore monument, the Memorial Urn, the urn, which contains soil from military cemeteries around the world, was moved to Camden Yards.

Notes

The Bell Tower park at Stadium Place also features a stone labyrinth on the ground, surrounded on one side by a white wooden structure, trees, flowering gardens and benches. Nearby is the state’s largest YMCA and the retirement community called Stadium Place. There is also an all volunteer-built playground behind the YMCA on 33rd and Ellerslie. When a fire burned most of the playground, volunteers assembled once again to re-build it, a testament to the civic spirit of area residents.

Nearby

• Reese Monument
• Martin Luther
• Mother’s Garden

Links

• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

Sisson Street & Wyman Park Drive (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 17.54″ N 76° 37′ 40.88″ W

History

Dating back to 1937, this sculpture is by R. Tait McKenzie and is also known as the Ideal Boy Scout. It stands outside the Morris and John D. Schapiro Scout Service Center, headquarters of the Baltimore Area Council. McKenzie’s sculpture has been duplicated for more than thirty Boy Scout centers across the nation. A small version of this scuplture was originally crafted as a desktop statuette by McKenzie in 1914. Between 1914 and 1937, a total of five scouts served as models for the completion of the life-sized statue which is a composite of these individuals. The Boy Scouts are one arm of the worldwide Scouting movement which was formed “…in 1907 when Robert Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army, held the first Scouting encampment at Brownsea Island in England.” Scouting is an informal method of especially practical outdoor education intended to aid in the personal development of children to become valuable members of society.

Notes

The re-purposed Stieff Silver building is across the street to the north, and it houses the Scout Shop of Baltimore City, along with other businesses and non-profits. Across from Stieff Silver is also the trailhead for an excellent bike path which drops down a switchback to follow the Jones Falls along Old Falls Road. Or, you can cross the bridge to the west into Druid Hill Park, home of many monuments, sights and some great under-used bike paths.

Nearby

• Servicemen’s Memorial (Hampden)
• Servicemen’s Memorial (Remington / Wyman)
• Harris Bust

Links

• On Flickr & on Panoramio
• Smithsonian entry

Location

N Charles Street & University Parkway (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 59.71″ N 76° 37′ 6.07″ W

History

Donated by the State of Maryland, this monument is by J. Maxwell Miller, the artist behind the Star-Spangled Banner Centennial Monument. The memorial depicts two stoic women, one of whom is standing looking off into the distance, while the other kneels down clutching the body of a fallen soldier who has dropped his flag. The inscription reads, “In difficulty and danger, regardless of self, they fed the hungry, clothed the needy, nursed the wounded and comforted the dying.”

Notes

The Confederate Women monument is one of several in the city of Baltimore dedicated to the Civil War, including: Union Soldiers & Sailors, Spirit of the Confederacy, and Lee & Jackson.

Nearby

• Peace Cross
• Sidney Lanier
• Creator’s Game

Links

• On Panoramio & Flickr
• A Baltimore City Paper article which mentions the Confederate Women monument
• Smithsonian entry

Location

Art Museum Drive & Wyman Park Drive (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 27.48″ N 76° 37′ 11.65″ W

History

Dedicated on May 1st, 1948, this monument is by artist Laura Gardin Fraser and was paid for by the $100,000 left in J. Henry Ferguson’s will, who idolized the Confederate generals as a youth. Ferguson died in 1928, a design contest was held in 1935 and Fraser won the commission. Architect John Russell Pope created the base and the dedication took place on the anniversary of the eve of the Battle of Chancellorsville (1863). On April 18th of 1861, as Civil War hostilities heated up, Lee turned down an offer to become a major general in the US Army, resigned two days later and took up leadership of the Virginia state forces on April 23. General Lee was appointed general-in-chief to the Confederate army on January 31st, 1865. He was quickly named one of the five full generals of the Confederate States of America, but refused to wear the insignia of general, instead wearing the stars of a confederate colonel, equivalent to his last rank in the US Army. Lee is depicted in this double equestrian monument astride his famed horse, Traveller. Stonewall Jackson (depicted astride “Little Sorrel”) is considered by some to be “one of the most gifted tactical commanders in United States history.” Jackson was accidentally shot by Confederate pickets during the Battle of Chancellorsville. His left arm was amputated but he survived for eight days, at which point he died due to complications of pneumonia. Upon hearing the news, Lee is said to have pronounced, “He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right.” Completion of this monument was held up by the onset of WWII, and there is a note inscribed on the base thanking the business partners for honoring pre-war contracts and pricing of materials.

Notes

This statue rests at a beautiful high-traffic geographic location within the Remington/Charles Village neighborhoods. The land slopes southward dramatically behind the figures down to the valley of Wyman Park. According to the sculptor, the geography itself mimics the conditions at Chancellorsville. The Baltimore Museum of Art is visible just up the street. This monument is extremely well-kept and one may often find memorial wreaths and other artifacts laid around its base. Each year, Civil War reenactors meet to commemorate the birthdays of Lee and Jackson on January 19, 1807 and January 21, 1824 respectively. Until recently, the Clipper Room at Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins campus was rented out for post-celebration festivities. But the annual rental has been disallowed by Hopkins’ new president. A writer for the Maryland Record has even called for this extraordinay historical statue to be razed on account of the Confederate ideals which it commemorates.

Nearby

• Harris Bust
• Union Soldiers’ & Sailors
• Sea Urchin Statue – JHU

Links

• On Panoramio & Flickr
• Smithsonian entry

Location

W 29th Street & N Charles Street (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 25.64″ N 76° 37′ 4.17″ W

History

This work, by Adolphe A. Weiman, was dedicated in 1909, and originally sat in Druid Hill Park (which may be what is depicted in this postcard). It was moved to its current location in 1959 to make way for an expressway. The monument depicts a Union soldier striding forward with the Goddess Victory to his right and the Goddess Bellona (War) to his left. Behind Bellona rises a fig tree. Reliefs on the south and north sides of the base, respectively, depict a naval battle and an land battle with infantry and cavalry.

Notes

Union Sailors & Soldiers has the distinction of being the only public Civil War monument in the city to pay homage to the Northern/Union sacrifices made during that conflict. Diagonally north-east across Wyman Park, on Art Museum Drive is the double-equestrian Jackson-Lee memorial. Not far from that is the Confederate Women monument to the north across Hopkins campus. And then you have the Spirit of the Confederacy right in Bolton Hill.

Nearby

• Lee & Jackson
• Chapin Harris Bust

Links

• On Panoramio and Flickr
• Smithsonian entry
• Wikipedia list of Soldiers & Sailors monuments in other cities

Location

Decker gardens at Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus

GPS: 39° 19′ 46.79″ N 76° 37′ 20.60″ W

History

In 1926, Edward Berge’s the Sea Urchin, was installed in front of the Lafayette Monument at Mount Vernon Place. Thirty-four years later his son, Henry Berge, created a larger copy of the statue, replacing the original. The smaller cast was then donated by Frank R. Huber, the man financially responsible for the 7′10″ reproduction, to Paul M. Higinbotham, who gave the sculpture to Johns Hopkins University.

Notes

The sea urchin sits inside a lily pond on the front lawn of the school president's home. The man made lagoon features a fountain at the base of the statue, and is dedicated to trustee Alonzo G. Decker, Jr.. Just south of Homewood field, the Decker gardens provide a remote hideaway on campus grounds. A bench at the edge of the park offers a perfect seat for sunset watching.