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.

Nearby

• Spirit of Music
• Sidney Lanier

Links

• Johns Hopkins at wikipedia
• Brief summary on JHU website
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

W 31st Street & Wyman Park Drive (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 29.35″ N 76° 37′ 15.72″ W

History

The story of formal dentistry begins with Chapin A Harris. Between 1839 and 1840, Harris was instrumental in starting the first dental college, the first society for dental surgeons, and the first dental publication, the American Journal of Dental Science. The original list of subscribers to this pamphlet was discovered by G V Black, the seminal dentist to use nitrous oxide, and published thereafter, providing a transcript of the origins of dentistry. Harris published numerous books during his lifetime, many of which were used as medical guides throughout the world. He acted as dean and as a professor at the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery until his untimely death in 1860.

Notes

Nestled within a loosely trimmed hedge, the memorial bust rests atop a podium with Chapin’s last name and life dates on the front. Harris wears a dignified jacket with scarf and stands facing the university’s main campus. The sculpture, dedicated in 1922, is yet another piece created by Baltimore’s Edward Berge. Directly south, on Wyman Park Drive, is the double equestrian statue of General Robert E Lee and General Stonewall Jackson.

Nearby

• Lee & Jackson
• WWII Seviceman’s Memorial at JHU

Links

• The Principles and Practice of Dentistry (a book by Harris)
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

In front of Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus

GPS: 39° 19′ 36.46″ N 76° 37′ 12.50″ W

History

H L Mencken, once known as the Sage of Baltimore, wrote a 1935 Baltimore Sun article about William H Welch and his life of excess. According to Mencken, Welch had little or no concern with his own health, instead concentrating on the conditions of others. He chose study over sleep, food instead of diet, and meditation before activity. He was a career physician, having learned at Yale and in Germany, eventually becoming the first dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. During his later career he was elected president of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Medical Association, accomplishments only trumped by his various appetites. William Welch was a beer for breakfast kind of guy, yet he was able to move the medical profession as far forward as anyone in his generation. He lived to be eighty-four years old.

Notes

To the left of Shriver Hall’s entrance, on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus, the statue stands tall on it’s pedestal. To the memorial’s immediate left is the Isaiah Bowman Bust, with Daniel Coit Gilman’s monument only a few paces beyond that. Welch is posed with his right hand’s index finger pointing upward, as though he were making one final speech. Sidney Waugh created the structure and it was erected in 1957.

Nearby

• Daniel Coit Gilman
• Isaiah Bowman Bust
• Spirit of Music

Links

• H L Mencken article in Baltimore Sun on Welch
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

In front of Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus

GPS: 39° 19′ 36.43″ N 76° 37′ 13.58″ W

History

Asked in 1875 to be the first president of Johns Hopkins University, Daniel Coit Gilman left the campus of California University, where he was dean, and accepted his new post in the east. Gilman attended Yale, and was a member of the secret society, Skull and Bones. He is co-founder of the Russell Trust, the organization that funds Yale’s famous ambiguous association. He is highly regarded for his ability to assemble premiere scholars and teachers for his universities, establishing these schools as top academic institutions. He wrote several books, including the still-published Life of James Monroe. In 1898 he edited and wrote an introduction to Democracy in America, the classic volume by French author Alexis De Toqueville. In 1908, after a long and successful life, Daniel Coit Gilman passed away in the city of his birth, Norwich, Connecticut.

Notes

Flanked to the right of Johns Hopkins University’s Shriver Hall, the Gilman statue stands tall and regal. Installed in 1957, the monument shares its historic site with the Isaiah Bowman Bust and the William H Welch statue. The likeness of Gilman was designed by the artist Sidney Waugh.

Nearby

• William Welch
• Isaiah Bowman
• Spirit of Music

Links

• Life history on Wikipedia
• Democracy in America text
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

Shriver Hall on Johns Hopkins University’s main campus

GPS: 39° 19′ 36.48″ N 76° 37′ 13.00″ W

History

Isaiah Bowman was born in Canada in 1878. His immense talent for Geography was recognized early in his life by his hometown teachers, and he eventually studied at Harvard and Yale. He taught at Yale for ten years and while there he wrote several scholarly pieces on physical terrain. In 1916 Bowman was named director of the American Geographical Society, serving in that post until 1935, when he became president of Johns Hopkins University. He was an adviser to Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Teddy Roosevelt during his illustrious career, and the true scope of his contributions to the world will likely be unknown until his personal diaries are made public.

Notes

Placed under the facade of Shriver Hall, the Bowman bust is difficult to locate at first glance. The statue is situated to the left of the Hall’s front door, hiding from unsuspecting eyes. Illuminated at night by lights, this tribute to one of the world’s great geographers greets students and concert goers daily. Laura Gardin Fraser, sculptor of the Lee and Jackson monument, created the statue, and it was dedicated in 1957.

Nearby

• Daniel Coit Gilman
• William Welch
• Spirit of Music

Links

• History at Answers.com
• Bowman on Wikipedia
• On Panoramio & Flickr

Location

3436 N Charles Street on the eastern edge of Johns Hopkins University’s Campus (Street View)

GPS: 39° 19′ 52.45″ N 76° 37′ 5.19″ W

History

Born in 1842, Sidney Lanier’s life was forever shaped by the Civil War. Upon graduating Oglethorpe College in Milledgeville, Georgia, the War Between the States broke out and Lanier enlisted in the Confederate Army. He was captured by Union soldiers near Wilmington, North Carolina, and placed at Point Lookout Prison in Saint Mary’s County, Maryland. Lookout was by far the worst Union POW camp, with bitter cold conditions and no barracks, the captured soldiers and civilians died by the scores. Of the fifty thousand detainees, some four thousand perished, and countless others contracted tuberculosis. Lanier was not spared, and he left the jail skinny and emaciated, bound to suffer from consumption for the rest of his short life. Lanier wrote his only novel, Tiger Lilies, about his tumultuous time at Point Lookout. After the Civil War he traveled extensively in search of a cure for his disease, eventually landing in Baltimore, where he was asked to fill the first flute chair in the newly formed Peabody Orchestra. In a letter to his wife, he expounds on the benefits of Charm City, explaining that they could “dwell in [this] beautiful city, among the great libraries, and [in the] midst of the music, the religion, and the art that we love–and I could write my books and be the man I wish to be.” He continued creating poetry and literary papers, writing some of his most loved pieces while in Baltimore. Towards the end of his life, Lanier took a teaching position at Johns Hopkins University. He passed away in 1881 and is buried in Green Mount Cemetery. In 1942, a monument designed by Hans Schuler was dedicated in his honor.

Notes

The relief style monument depicts Lanier sitting tranquilly under a tree as the sun sets behind him. He is holding a pencil in his right hand and has a journal on his lap. His flute rests next to him on top of an open book. The bronze cast is set into a stone embankment, making this one of the more unique memorials in the city. There are two benches flanking the monument, and a stone path between them, allowing for an intimate view of the structure.

Nearby

• Johns Hopkins Monument
• The Spirit of Music

Links

• A brief history by Christopher T George
• Sidney Lanier on Wikipedia
• On Panoramio & Flickr