Ride along with Olmsted, Hon! at Tour dem Parks on June 9

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Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.

Courtesy Maryland Historical Society.

Baltimore Heritage and the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes are joining together for a relaxing tour through Baltimore parks at Tour dem Parks, Hon! on Sunday, June 9. Tour dem Parks, Hon! is an annual bike ride through Baltimore parks and neighborhoods with routes ranging from a 12-mile Family Ride on the Gwynns Falls Trail to an epic 64-mile Metric Century.

We’re inviting you to join us as we roll along a 25-mile ride and share stories along the way from the history of Carroll Park, Druid Hill and Patterson Park (as well as a few of the landmarks we’ll pass as we pedal across the city). Best of all, spending a day in our city’s unique historic parks offers a renewed appreciation for the contributions of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. His work on the 1904 “Report Upon the Development of Public Grounds for Greater Baltimore” with the influential Olmsted Brothers landscape architecture firm provided an enduring vision for Baltimore’s green spaces that has thrived thanks to the tireless work of park advocates across the past century — advocates that we can continue to support today just by going for a ride!

RSVP to join our team, then register for Tour dem Parks on their website. Registration is $45 for adults or $30 for young riders under 15 and proceeds support local non-profit environmental advocacy and cycling organizations.

Baltimore City Archives Alive – Talk on May 3 by Ed Orser on Olmsted Brothers in Baltimore

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Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes board president Ed Orser will be talking this spring at the Maryland Historical Society for the Baltimore City Archives Alive Conference. Ed will also discuss our work to transfer the Olmsted Brothers records and drawings related to Baltimore from the Evergreen House to the Baltimore City Archives.

Baltimore City Archives Alive Conference

Friday, May 3, 8:30 AM – 1 PM
Maryland Historical Society, 201 W. Monument Street, Baltimore.  Sponsored by the Baltimore City Archives, Baltimore City Historical Society, and the Maryland Historical Society. Free!

Baltimore City Archives Alive Conference
May 3, 2013, 8:30 am – 1:00 pm
Free admission; Register by contacting Suzann Langrall baltimorehistory@law.umaryland.edu or 410-706-4529

Baltimore’s City Archives, by the turn of the 21st century, had fallen into disuse, disorganization, and decay. These vital records had been placed in a leaking firetrap of a decrepit warehouse that posed a clear and present danger to both the papers themselves and the intrepid researchers who used them.

But then in late 2009 things changed. Under the good auspices of the Maryland State Archives the records have been moved to a different, adequate storage facility. Researchers are once again welcomed. With grant assistance provided by the National Historical Records and Publications Commission (NHPRC), an arm of the National Archives, professional staff has since cataloged the most important historical documents. Many archival record groups, including the War of 1812 city defense papers, are now digitized and accessible online.

The Baltimore City Archives are alive! This conference will celebrate this revitalization. Members of the Archive staff will speak as to the nature of the collection and it value, and a cross section of active researchers will describe their methods and discoveries in the search for the private history of families and the public history of Baltimore.

Confirmed speakers are:

  • Edward C. Papenfuse, Maryland State Archivist and Acting Archivist for Baltimore City
  • Robert W. Schoeberlein, Acting Deputy Archivist for Baltimore City
  • Matthew Crenson, Professor Emeritus, The Johns Hopkins University
  • Edward Orser, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Malissa Ruffner, Professional Genealogist
  • Paige Glotzer, Ph.D. Candidate in History, The Johns Hopkins University
  • Brendan Costigan, Fellow, University of Maryland, Carey School of Law

Sponsorship of the conference and general revitalization support provided by: MD State Archives, Baltimore City Historical Society, MD Historical Society, National Archives National Historical Publications & Records Commission and the City of Baltimore

Reminder! Don’t forget to join us for the Open Space Forum II: Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace – Connecting People and Places

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We’re following up on last summer’s Open Space Forum with a exciting discussion between local leaders in open space planning and design. Please join us next week!

Sunday, April 21, 3 – 5 PM
Open Space Forum II: Olmsted’s Emerald Necklace – Connecting People and Places.
Featured speakers:  Paul Farragut, former director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council; Barbara Hopkins, NeighborSpace; David Benn, Cho Benn Holback + Associates.
Morgan State University, Schaefer Engineering Building, 5200 Perring Parkway.  Free – RSVP today!

Tour dem Parks, Hon! – Bike through Baltimore parks on June 9

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TDP2013CardThe Department of Recreation & Parks, Department of Planning / Office of Sustainability, Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee present the 11th Annual “Tour dem Parks, Hon!” The annual bike ride that winds through Baltimore’s parks and neighborhoods for a close-up view of Carroll, Patterson, Herring Run, and Druid Hill Park, as well as some quietly tucked away gems. Proceeds support Baltimore’s parks, environment and cycling groups.

Tour dem Parks, Hon!

Sunday, June 9, 7:00AM – 3:00PM “Rain or Shine”
Carroll Park, 1500 Washington Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21230
Learn more and register online.

Take a walking tour with us of Carroll Park on April 28

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Few people know Baltimore’s treasure, the Mt. Clare Mansion of the Charles Carroll family— the oldest colonial Georgian-style structure in the city, surrounded by Carroll Park, originally part of their extensive Patapsco Valley plantation. The tour explores this 1760s historic landmark with its authentic furnishings and traces the 250 years of the estate’s rich history through periods of industrialization, the Civil War and then a pleasure ground. In 1890, the City acquired the property to become the city’s third municipal country landscape park following Patterson and Druid Hill parks.

During the early 1900s, the Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects envisioned the 70 acres as a well-designed park, respecting its multi-faceted history and also integrating health- promoting recreational facilities during the nation-wide Recreation League movement of which Baltimore was a leader. With community input, park revitalization continues under the guidance of the 2001 Carroll Park Master Plan.

  • 1–2 p.m. Tour of Mt. Clare Mansion guided by volunteer docents
  • 2–4 p.m. Guided walk through Carroll Park led by Myra Brosius, landscape architect, former Baltimore City park and environmental planner, lead project manager of the 2001 Carroll Park Master Plan, and Gloria Pestridge, a Pigtown resident, participant in the master plan, and previous chair of the Friends of Carroll Park.

Mount Clare Mansion & Carroll Park

Sunday, April 28 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Meet at Mount Clare Mansion House Entrance
1500 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230 at 12:45 PM

Tour: $35 including
 cost of mansion house tour.
To register, contact Kaleidoscope atexternalprograms@rpcs.org or call 410.323.5500, extension 3045.

This tour is sponsored by the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landcapes through Kaleidoscope. 
Parking is along the upper roadways and parking lot near the mansion. The mansion has no elevators to the three second-floor rooms. Carroll Park has level and gradual inclines on asphalt paths and roadways.

Change of Date for Open Space Forum: Sunday April 21, 2013

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The Open Space Forum II: Olmsted’s Emerald Necklaces scheduled for April 2013 has a new date. Originally scheduled for Tuesday, April 23, the date has been changed to Sunday, April 21, 3-5 pm.

Speakers and location are still the same. We’ll be uploading more information about the forum soon, as well as a way for you to RSVP. In the meantime, please update your calendar. We hope you can join us.

Featured speakers:  Paul Farragut, former director of the Baltimore Metropolitan Council; Barbara Hopkins, NeighborSpace; David Benn, Cho Benn Holback + Associates.
Morgan State University, Schaefer Engineering Building, 5200 Perring Parkway.  FREE.

 

Clifton Park and Mothers’ Garden – Walking tour on May 11

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Celebrate Mother’s Day with us on our delightful walking tour of Clifton Park and Mother’s Garden!

Walking Tour of Clifton Park and Mothers’ Garden

Saturday, May 11, 1 – 3 PM
Led by Eric Holcomb, City Planner, Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, and Jim Bartlett, Friends of Mothers’ Garden. Limited to 25 participants. $15 advance payment; $20 day of tour.

To register before May 11, you can register through Paypal here or mail a check for $15 per attendee made out to FMOPL, along with name(s) of guests, address, cell phone #, and email address to FMOPL, P.O. Box 16244, Baltimore, MD  21210-0244.

pattersonpark-night-header

Thank you for a great year in 2012!

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In the spring, we organized a bus trip to Washington, DC including a tour of the U.S. Capitol Grounds from the U.S. Capitol Historical Society and a visit to the U.S. Botanic Gardens. Together with the Enoch Pratt Free Library and Baltimore Green Week, we hosted a talk by writer Justin Martin on his new book, Genius of Place: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted.

Over the summer, we screened Rebecca Messner’s “Olmsted and America’s Urban Parks” outdoors in Patterson Park in partnership with the Creative Alliance, the Friends of Patterson Park, and the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. Check out our Facebook page for a few photos of this fun event. We organized a well-attended Open Space Forum, “The Olmsted Principles of Design–How Relevant for Achieving Sustainability?” with panelists Mark Cameron, Jackie Carrera, Barbara Hopkins, and Mary Washington.

Finally, this fall we brought back some of our favorite tours exploring the Gwynns Falls and walking along the paths of of Roland Park guided by Judy Dobbs and Kathy Hudson. Thank you to everyone who has supported the FMOPL this year with a donation or just by coming out to an event. In the year ahead, you can expect more great public programs, an expanded website and much more.

Please consider supporting our continued efforts to preserve Maryland’s Olmsted parks and landscapes by making a donation today!

Upcoming meetings on parking proposal for Patterson Park

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Courtesy the Baltimore Brew.

In light of the current controversy regarding proposals for Patterson Park, the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes urges its members and others to inform themselves about the issues involved and to participate as they feel appropriate.

Find more information the information about the proposal and a petition opposing the proposal from the Friends of Patterson Park,

Also, Councilman Jim Kraft has announced a series of open meetings on the proposal, as follows:

  • Monday, October 1st, 6:30-8:00pm Virginia S. Baker Rec Center in Patterson Park (inside the park at Baltimore St. and Luzerne Ave., 2602 E. Baltimore St.)
  • Saturday, October 6th, 10:30am-12:00pm Hampstead Hill Academy, 500 S. Linwood Ave.
  • Tuesday, October 9th, 7:00-8:30pm St. Andrew’s Church, 2028 E. Lombard St.
  • Thursday, October 11th, 7:30-9:00 pm Breath of God Lutheran Church, 141 S. Clinton St.

Gwynns Falls: The Olmsted Legacy in Baltimore – Walking Tour on September 15

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Join Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscape board president Ed Orser for a long walk along the historic Gwynns Falls walk through the developed grounds of the historic Crimea estate of Thomas Winans and make a brief visit at his country mansion, Orianda House. A short walk downhill on a woodland path will lead to Winans Meadow to view the lovely open space and historic water wheel. Today, the Gwynns Falls Trail  passes through the meadow on its way to the Inner Harbor, eleven miles away. If time permits, a brief walk along the nearby Mill Race Path, with some of the city’s most mature trees, will be included.

Gwynns Falls: The Olmsted Legacy in Baltimore

Saturday, September 15, 1:00 – 4:00 PM
Led by Ed Orser
$30 per person. Information about registration can be found in the the Kaleidoscope Fall 2012 course catalog.