june 2007
B A L T I M O R E ’ S
C U R I O U S
HISTORIC PRESERVATION a property trading game of chance?
HOME SUSTAINABLE HOME: WILL BUYERS PAY MORE FOR ECO-FRIENDLY FEATURES? PENGUINS AND PRAIRIE DOGS: BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE MARYLAND ZOO
issue no. 36
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urbanite june 07
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june 2007 issue no. 36
B A L T I M O R E ’ S
C U R I O U S
issue no. 36
f e a t u r e s
june 2007
june’s cover: This month’s cover is an adaptation of the classic Monopoly board game.
HISTORIC PRESERVATION
cover photo composite by Jason Okutake
a property trading game of chance?
48
HOME SUSTAINABLE HOME: WILL BUYERS PAY MORE FOR ECO-FRIENDLY FEATURES? Penguins and Prairie dogs: Behind the scenes at the Maryland Zoo
ahead of the game historic preservationists rethink their strategies for salvaging baltimore’s best by karen houppert
a recent spate of teardowns in baltimore has raised alarm among urbanites who worry that something unique to the rich historic fabric of baltimore may be incrementally slipping away, one demolished building at a time. many in the preservation community are now waking up to the reality that they need to think and act differently.
52
and the walls came tumbling down when his alma mater drew up plans to level his old east baltimore neighborhood, the author thought the change would be exactly what he needed by lionel foster
parts of baltimore are changing radically and quickly. many welcome such developments as long overdue. but as someone who was born into a neighborhood’s downswing and asked to move for the sake of progress, lionel foster has reservations. several years after watching the buildings in his neighborhood razed to make room for johns hopkins’ new biotechnology park, he asks himself, “how do we know what’s worth saving, and can we ever take full stock of those losses in advance?”
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departments june 2007 issue no. 36
31
15
what you’re saying
19
what you’re seeing
21
what you’re writing
25
corkboard
27
have you heard …
31
food: move over, olive
got something on your mind? this is the place for feedback from readers
photographs from the streets of baltimore, submitted by readers
original, nonfiction essays written by readers. this month, the topic is “possession”
six not-to-miss events around town
people, places, and things you should know about
cooking with different types of oil can make all the difference in a dish by mary k. zajac
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baltimore observed: happy feet urbanite’s junior corps of reporters goes behind the scenes at the maryland zoo by karen houppert
42
space: shipping news a one-acre plot on greenmount avenue exemplifies the potential and pitfalls of neighborhood development by elizabeth a. evitts
35
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sustainable city: home sustainable home new environmentally sensitive rowhouses are going up in baltimore. but are buyers biting? by mare cromwell
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out there: where everyone has a seat at the table pay-what-you-can restaurants serve healthy fare while serving humanity by donna m. owens
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63
recommended
73
resources
78
eye to eye
books, bands, exhibits, and more
further reading on topics covered in this issue
a closing thought, curated by creative director alex castro
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Urbanite Issue 36 June 2007 Publisher Tracy Ward Durkin Tracy@urbanitebaltimore.com Creative Director Alex Castro General Manager Jean Meconi Jean@urbanitebaltimore.com Guest Editor Roberta Brandes Gratz Managing Editor Marianne Amoss Marianne@urbanitebaltimore.com Senior Editor Karen Houppert Karen@urbanitebaltimore.com Copy Editor Angela Davids Editorial Assistant Carey Polis Carey@urbanitebaltimore.com Contributing Editors Elizabeth A. Evitts, William J. Evitts, Heather Harris, Joan Jacobson, Susan McCallum-Smith Contributing Writer Jason Tinney Editorial Intern Tykia Murray Design/Production Manager Lisa Macfarlane Lisa@urbanitebaltimore.com Traffic/Production Coordinator Bellee Gossett Bellee@urbanitebaltimore.com Designer/Photographer Jason Okutake Contributing Photographer Gail Burton Production Interns Madeline Gray, John MacConnell Web Coordinator George Teaford Community Coordinator Lionel Foster Administrative/Photography Assistant La Kaye Mbah Senior Account Executive Susan R. Levy Susan@urbanitebaltimore.com Account Executives Abber Knott Abber@urbanitebaltimore.com Rebekah Oates Rebekah@urbanitebaltimore.com Kristin Pattik Kristin@urbanitebaltimore.com Alex Rothstein Alex@urbanitebaltimore.com Bookkeeper/Sales Assistant Michele Holcombe Marketing Kathleen Dragovich Kathleen@urbanitebaltimore.com Founder Laurel Harris Durenberger Advertising/Editorial/Business Offices P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, MD 21211 Phone: 410-243-2050; Fax: 410-243-2115 www.urbanitebaltimore.com Editorial inquiries: Send queries to editor@urbanitebaltimore.com (no phone calls, please). The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Urbanite does not necessarily support the opinions of its authors. To subscribe or obtain assistance with a current subscription, call 410-243-2050. Subscription price: $18 per year. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission by Urbanite is prohibited. Copyright 2007, Urbanite LLC. All rights reserved. Urbanite (ISSN 1556-8105) is a free publication distributed widely in the Baltimore metropolitan area. If you know of a location that urbanites frequent and would recommend placing the magazine there, please contact us at 410-243-2050. Postmaster: Send address changes to Urbanite Subscriptions, P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, MD 21211.
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urbanite june 07
note
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE PAST IS PERHAPS THE GREATEST OF ALL CRIMES. —Simone Weil, French mystic and philosopher
quotes
photo by Mitro Hood
publisher’s
courtesy of www.roadstothefuture.com
Baltimore’s waterfront neighborhoods—Fells Point, Federal Hill, Harbor East—are some of the city’s jewels. Formstone rowhouses, locally owned boutiques, dog parks, restaurants and bars, condos with views of the water— together, these create a vibrant corridor that both harks back to Baltimore’s past and indicates its future. But imagine, instead of those neighborhoods, a sixteen-lane superhighway cutting straight through downtown. This plan, one of at least twelve plans of its kind proposed between 1942 and 1970, would have radically altered the landscape and the spirit of the city. Luckily, a groundswell of citizen action prevented this concrete monstrosity from being built and preserved the waterfront for generations of Baltimoreans to come. Even though much of the recent discussion about preservation has been about buildings, in reality it is about a much larger issue: What do we want Baltimore to be? How do we want it to feel? What is “authentic” Baltimore, and what does it look like? Every decision that is made, to save or to raze, forms a part of that answer. These days, it seems that we’re losing more than we’re gaining, and with every historic building lost, we say goodbye to a piece of ourselves as well. And yet, there are many instances of successful adaptive reuse in the city, and the solutions that arise from working with the city’s existing fabric often prove to be inspiring beyond expectation. Take the American Visionary Art Museum, for example: The former copper paint factory was gutted and re-formed from the inside out. It is now the perfect cradle for the vibrant art housed inside. This approach retains a sense of history and of the people who came before while simultaneously providing a handshake to the future. This month, Senior Editor Karen Houppert takes a look at Baltimore’s preservation community and the challenges it faces in attempting to salvage the true fabric of Baltimore (p. 48). And Lionel Foster, Urbanite’s community coordinator, tackles the issue from a personal standpoint, reflecting on his years living in East Baltimore and the loss of his grandmother’s house to the Hopkins biotech expansion (p. 52). Foster’s article asks, How do we know what to save? Houppert takes that question one step further, asking, Who gets to decide what’s worth saving? These articles are only the beginning of a longer conversation, one that will continue both in future issues of the magazine and out on the street, as you read and reflect and discuss with your neighbors and friends. We are creating a new Baltimore every day.
LET US, WHILE WAITING FOR NEW MONUMENTS, PRESERVE THE ANCIENT MONUMENTS. —Victor Hugo, French poet, novelist, and artist
THE STRENGTH OF A NATION IS DERIVED FROM THE INTEGRITY OF ITS HOMES. —Confucius, Chinese thinker and social philosopher
WE SHAPE OUR BUILDINGS; THEREAFTER, OUR BUILDINGS SHAPE US. —Winston Churchill, British prime minister, author, and soldier
CITIES NEED OLD BUILDINGS SO BADLY IT IS PROBABLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR VIGOROUS STREETS AND DISTRICTS TO GROW WITHOUT THEM. —Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian urbanist, writer, and activist
OUR DUTY IS TO PRESERVE WHAT THE PAST HAS HAD TO SAY FOR ITSELF, AND TO SAY FOR OURSELVES WHAT SHALL BE TRUE FOR THE FUTURE. —John Ruskin, British art and social critic
—Tracy Ward Durkin
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urbanite june 07
contributors
behind this issue
photo by Madeline Gray
courtesy of Robert C. Knott
photo by Madeline Gray
Bernard Canniffe Bernard Canniffe, originally from South Wales, has chaired the Maryland Institute College of Art’s undergraduate graphic design department since 2001. He has spoken at design conferences all over the world, and books and magazines like Graphics Design Annual, HOW Magazine, and STEP Design magazine have featured his work. Canniffe is a member of the Environmental Justice Partnership, which addresses public health problems in East Baltimore, and he also created and currently teaches a MICA/John Hopkins University Design Coalition class, which develops design solutions for Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers. Canniffe earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Wales and a master of fine arts degree from The Savannah College of Art and Design. He designed this month’s cover. Lionel Foster Lionel Foster is Urbanite’s community coordinator and web editor. The Baltimore native earned a bachelor of arts degree in the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars. Following college, Foster attended the London School of Economics and Political Science, where he earned a master of science degree in both regional and urban planning studies, and social policy and planning. In 2005 Foster returned to Baltimore to work as the special assistant to the director of Baltimore City’s Department of Planning. He wrote about JHU’s Baltimore Scholars Program for Urbanite in February 2007 and participated in The Urbanite Project, featured in the March issue. Foster’s personal essay about the destruction of his grandmother’s East Baltimore home appears on page 52. Robert C. Knott Self-described “unrepentant music junkie” Robert C. Knott has lived in Baltimore almost his whole life. Knott, who has a collection of thousands of CDs, is copublisher of the music blog EarSponge.com and a guitarist. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in professional writing from Wheeling Jesuit University and works in Washington, D.C., as the executive vice president and corporate communications group head of Edelman, a global public relations firm. He lives in Roland Park with his wife, Judi, and two children, Olivia and Aden. Knott’s writing appears frequently in Urbanite’s “Recommended: Music” department; this month, he writes about the Baltimore band Thrushes. Carey Polis Urbanite’s editorial assistant Carey Polis graduated from the Johns Hopkins University Writing Seminars in May 2007 with a bachelor of arts degree. Originally from Bethesda, Polis has enjoyed spending the past four years exploring Baltimore’s quirky neighborhoods, culinary delights, and cultural opportunities. A former editorial intern, this month Polis wrote about a new clothing and tattoo parlor for “Have You Heard” and about alley greening laws for “Update.”
courtesy of Roberta Brandes Gratz
courtesy of Bernard Canniffe
with guest editor roberta brandes gratz
Roberta Brandes Gratz is an award-winning urban critic and expert on urban development issues. In collaboration with the late, celebrated urbanist and activist Jane Jacobs, Gratz founded The Center for the Living City at Purchase College in 2005 to develop a variety of programs that address city building issues with a multidisciplinary approach. Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Gratz to the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission in 2003. Gratz is also a trustee and former head of public policy for the New York State Preservation League and a board member of the Project for Public Spaces, a nonprofit group dedicated to developing and preserving public spaces that build communities. She wrote The Living City: Thinking Small in a Big Way in 1989 and Cities Back from the Edge: New Life for Downtown in 1998. Both books deal with the regeneration of cities in an organic and incremental way. In 1986 she founded The Eldridge Street Project, which is restoring the historic Eldridge Street Synagogue on New York’s Lower East Side as both a continuing synagogue and national heritage center. She lectures globally about urban revitalization and has written two articles for Urbanite: one about community reconstruction in New Orleans (April 2006) and the other about Baltimore’s Comprehensive Master Plan (May 2006). Gratz champions the concept of “urban husbandry,” or the idea that a city’s growth should occur slowly and organically. Downtowns should not be shaped by large-scale development projects that destroy whole swaths of neighborhoods, she believes, but rather by preserving what already exists and building in an appropriate manner. “A distinction must be made between downtowns rebuilt and downtowns reborn,” Gratz says. According to Gratz, preservation has finally been placed on the front burner, with people now supporting and demanding the preservation of real places with new buildings added appropriately. “Over time, people have come to understand the value of a layered history of place,” she says. Although Baltimore might be trailing behind other cities in downtown regeneration, Gratz believes there are now many instances of successful conversion, preservation, and renovation of older buildings. “Baltimore is a little later in the game than some other cities,” she says, “but you’ve got it. People don’t recognize how much is there to be preserved and reused, and they also don’t recognize how much is already happening.”
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Catering exotic flavors
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what you’re saying
A Grand Building june 2007
B A L T I M O R E ’ S
C U R I O U S
issue no. 36
F O R
HISTORIC PRESERVATION a property trading game of chance?
I am a true lover of old Baltimore buildings, from rowhouses to grand churches. Although I'd passed the Tremont Grand several times, I knew nothing about it and I certainly had never entered. I did a Google search and discovered your article about the Tremont Grand (“A Grand Idea,” April 2007). It has given me more insight and has piqued my interest even further. Thank you for sharing your gift of writing. Keep up the good work. —Chrystal Gibson was born and raised in East Baltimore. She now lives in Laurel and works as a counselor.
HOME SUSTAINABLE HOME: WILL BUYERS PAY MORE FOR ECO-FRIENDLY FEATURES? Penguins and Prairie dogs: Behind the scenes at the Maryland Zoo
If Walls Could Talk We commend your March 2007 issue for addressing some of Baltimore’s toughest dilemmas and for promoting a fresh approach to problem solving. As residents of Baltimore and graduate students in public health, we regularly grapple with the issues raised by the authors on personal, academic, and professional levels. We strongly believe in the power of good ideas—no matter how initially outlandish they seem—to effect positive change. In commissioning innovative ideas for the future of Baltimore, The Urbanite Project has made a laudable step toward a much-needed public conversation and brainstorming session. We were excited by many of these creative approaches to Baltimore’s problems, but we were deeply troubled by the plan to wall off innercity neighborhoods. While we share the authors’ concern with the desperate poverty and violence experienced by many city residents, the notion that enclosing children in walled spaces would somehow protect them from the influence of harsh surroundings ignores basic social realities apparent to careful observers
and well-documented by research. Children are not solitary targets for intervention: They live in families with connections that span more than a city block or a single generation. Families live in larger social spaces. They need good schools, clean streets, reliable services, and safe parks. Families’ lives are also influenced by the presence and quality of markets, workplaces, and community centers. These spaces, which are vitally important to the health of any community, do not fit within the confines of walls. One cannot address the long-term challenges of Baltimore by focusing on children to the exclusion of their families, or by focusing on individuals to the exclusion of the structures that shape their resources and opportunities. To truly make a difference in the long-term prospects of Baltimore’s poorest neighborhoods, we need meaningful, systemic, and sustainable change. Baltimore has an enormous intellectual capacity to generate creative solutions to its problems. It is for this reason that we were so disturbed to see this article—coauthored by people who are in a position to make a real difference—reflect a vi-
sion that is so divorced from Baltimore’s real needs and concerns. True sustainable change can only be accomplished with inclusive partnerships, collaboration, and political will situated in a deep understanding of local culture and history. We encourage Urbanite to continue providing a public forum for this debate. —Michal Engelman, Tina Falle, Stephanie Farquhar, Danielle German, Jay Graham, Lara Ho, Marissa Mika, Faraz Naqvi, Lindsey Reynolds, Emma Tsui, Alezandria Turner, and Rachel Weber are students at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
We want to hear what you’re saying. E-mail us at mail@urbanitebaltimore.com or send your letter to Mail, Urbanite, P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, MD 21211. Submissions should include your name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
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urbanite june 07
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update
In the May 2006 “Sustainable City” department, Fern Shen wrote about Baltimore residents’ attempts to “green” their alleys, turning trash- and rat-infested areas into plant-filled community spaces. With support from the Mayor’s Office, Patterson Park resident Patti Fortner and her neighbors put up gates and locks around their alleyway (giving local emergency vehicles keys to the locks) and began planting. Next, they wrote an ordinance to help other neighborhoods secure their alleyways and begin similar projects. That’s where things got tricky—Fortner’s bill, first introduced to the City Council on February 14, 2005, hit some red tape early on. The City argued that everyone whose property borders the alley must approve the greening project. Even if just one tenant refused, or was non-responsive or missing, then the project could not move forward. Kate Herrod, director of Community Greens (an initiative that seeks to develop shared green space in residential neighborhoods), has been working with
community members on the bill. With her help, the community proposed that one-hundred-percent consent should not be needed and was unnecessarily obstructing a project largely supported by the community and most City Council members. Finally, the City agreed. This spring, Mayor Dixon signed Bill 05-0034, sponsored by the City Council president as a request from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhoods. The bill establishes standards and procedures for the gating and greening of alleys and, most importantly, allows petitions to move forward even if several homeowners are unresponsive or are unable to be located. But before Baltimoreans dust off their gardening tools, the Department of Public Works must write a set of regulations that citizens will have to follow in order to undertake their own alley greening projects. (The use of Baltimore’s 456 miles of alleyways is primarily the responsibility of the Department of Public Works; permission must be granted by the DPW for any alley alteration.) As of
courtesy of Kate Herrod, Community Greens
Alley Greening and Gating
press time, the regulations were still being formalized; they will be available on the City’s website (www.baltimorecity.gov). For more information, contact Kate Herrod at Community Greens: kherrod@ashoka.org or 703-600-8224. —Carey Polis is Urbanite’s editorial assistant.
PuRCH ase a C ond o
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-14 covered parking spaces privately owned with elevator access -ADA compliant building -Spectacular views
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Creating real estate opportunities
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Leo McDermott, Sr. Vice President John Hamilton, Sr. Vice President
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Providing Consulting and Advisory Services To Commercial Real Estate Investors & Owners In Baltimore & Washington For Over 20 Years w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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what you’re seeing
Welcome to the new “What You’re Seeing” department. This is the place for photography that captures the true spirit of Baltimore, showing the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the sad—and don’t forget the wild, zany, and spectacular! Each month we will choose a topic; you send us one photograph that speaks to that subject. Along with your photograph, please include a brief description of the image along with your contact information. For more information on how to submit your photograph, please visit www.urbanitebaltimore.com/wyseeing. PLEASE NOTE: By sending us a photograph, you are giving us full permission to publish the image in its entirety. This permission extends to the models and/or subjects in the photograph. It is essential that all people in the photograph be aware that the image may be published. Please read the limited license agreement on our website, www.urbanitebaltimore.com/wyseeing.
Show us …
Deadline
Publication Date
A City Secret A Peaceful Place The Oddest Thing A House with Character
June 15, 2007 July 20, 2007 Aug 17, 2007 Sept 19, 2007
Aug 2007 Sept 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007
Visit www.urbanitebaltimore.com/wyseeing for more information on how to submit your photograph.
A Street Corner by Denny Lynch
“I love the geography of this corner in Southwest Baltimore. It is located just south of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum. As you face north, the wall that appears in front of you has a mural that celebrates the great B&O. It feels like a stage set, and for this photographer it is always visually exciting to take in.” —Denny Lynch
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Urb_InvestorsUnited_Jan2007.pdf
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CM
MY
CY
Enhancing ThE BalT imorE Sk y linE onE Building aT a TimE
CMY
20
K
Creating real estate opportunities
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Ready to buy or sell? Now couldn’t be a better time! Invest in Baltimore & your future. Call Leo McDermott, Sr. Vice President
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urbanite june 07
12/19/06
1:38:47 PM
“What You’re Writing” is the place for creative nonfiction from our readers. Each month, we pick a topic. Use the topic as a springboard into your own life and send us a true story inspired by that month’s theme. Only nonfiction submissions that include contact information can be considered. We have the right to edit heavily for space and clarity, but we will give you the opportunity to review the edits. You may submit under “name withheld” to keep your essay anonymous, but you do need to let us know how to contact you. If you’ve already changed the names of the people involved, please let us know. Due to libel and invasion of privacy issues, we reserve the right to print the piece under your initials. Submissions should be typed (and if you cannot type, please print clearly). Only one submission per topic, please. Send your essay to Urbanite, P.O. Box 50158, Baltimore, MD 21211 or to WhatYoureWriting@urbanitebaltimore. com. Please keep submissions under four hundred words; longer submissions may not be read due to time constraints. Due to the number of essays we receive, we cannot respond individually to each writer. Please do not send originals; submissions cannot be returned. The themes printed below are for the “What You’re Writing” department only and are not the themes for future issues of the magazine itself. Topic
Deadline
Publication
A Day’s Work Serendipity Origins White Lies
June 15, 2007 July 20, 2007 Aug 17, 2007 Sept 14, 2007
Sept 2007 Oct 2007 Nov 2007 Dec 2007
The debate among my fellow jurors was
about the charge of possession. The police said he threw the plastic baggie as he was chased. So then, some asked, how could he be in possession? Twice a note was sent to the judge, and twice we climbed the stairs up from the hot confines of the jury room to hear the legal definition of “possession” read. The judge was patient, the accused stoic, his court-appointed attorney indifferent and tired. The explanation did not answer, for some, the question at hand: Can you possess something without having it in your possession? To me the answer was easily yes. I’d watched it happen on The Wire. I’d lived downtown for more than ten years. I’d seen enough gatherings on corners, read the paper, watched the news. How could this kid be doing anything other than what he was accused of? Tempers flared. There were roaches in the basement room where we were to stay until we came to a consensus. The dividing line among the jurors was not purely racial or gender based. The grandmotherly woman was adamant that the defendant didn’t do it, that they got the wrong kid. The radiology assistant was sure he was guilty. The sour old man with the cane agreed to whatever the majority felt as long as we agreed on something and he could get outside quickly for a nicotine fix. After more than four hours of deliberations, we were any-
photo by Erick Gibson; used as art for Baltimore band More Dogs’ self-titled 2003 album
what you’re writing
thing but unanimous. We adjourned and went home for the night, unable to discuss with anyone the frustrations we felt. The next morning we met again, this time seemingly more clear-headed than the previous day. A quick vote confirmed a change of heart among some during the night. The form was filled out, with the boxes clearly checked. The foreman quietly admitted to eleven near-strangers that he hadn’t learned to read in his 63 years, and I explained that all he needed to do was tell the judge our decision. My stomach was clenched as the verdict was read. I felt hot and shaky. The defendant’s jaw dropped open and his eyes rolled upward as he fought back tears. For just a moment, he looked like the young man he was. But it didn’t change the decision we’d made just minutes before. Guilty on all five counts, including possession. —Claire Mullins is mom to an energetic 4-year-old girl and has lived in Federal Hill for almost eleven years. She has been called for jury duty about seven times and has been selected for a jury twice.
I spent
my first year of teaching on a fierce, fevered quest for books. At the beginning of the year, I had walked into a classroom not just bleak but wholly barren of reading material. Not that there weren't books around, but it was months before someone showed me the defunct school library, hardcovers locked to their shelves—no librarian to check them out, no teacher allowed to free them. It didn’t matter. By December, I had nearly four hundred books. By May, a thousand. Four score or so dragged in from home; a dozen slipped from the school stacks. The rest I picked up or purchased after hours of pacing around stores, circling, debating: Did I really need to buy another one? The answer was always yes. Jonathan Franzen describes a reader as one sustained by connection to the literary world, “that at some point you’ll begin to feel a gnawing, almost remorseful need to be alone and do some reading.” I got that; I’d had that since time before memory. But it was in teaching that I learned the gnawing, almost remorseful need to have books themselves. I admit it’s irrational. I give books away as fast as I get them, but that’s partly the point. I am posw w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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M A R Y L A N D
G E N E R A L
4/30/07
10:02 AM
H O S P I T A L
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Smart medicine. 22
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sessed. Unshakable is the idea that with a little more effort I will get the right book before the right eyes. I’m not looking for twenty-five capital-R readers; just twenty minutes where everyone is caught by paper and ink. Just the start of something different. Just the first time to say, with wonder, with conviction: “This a real good book, Ms. Teagarden.” Borges saw Paradise as some sort of library. My classroom is far from either. Still, I bring books in and give them out. Like they were keys to the kingdom, holy writ. Better yet, feathers, from that thing in the soul. And myth-like: With enough of them, we’ll make ourselves some wings. I know things aren’t the way to heaven, and “education” and “reading” are not perfect synonyms. But it’s what I have, right now. I can say, “Here are some books I thought you might like. Here’s a handful of hope.” As Rilke said, “I like to think of my books as in your possession.” —Alexis Teagarden teaches language arts at Hamilton Middle School through Teach for America and believes she can reasonably claim to hold weekend office hours at The Book Thing.
There was a house fire in my
neighborhood once. We were all standing around on the sidewalk, far enough from the fire to be safe but close enough to feel the heat. The older lady who owned the house was hysterical, screaming, “He’s in there! He’s in there!” One of the younger firemen said, “Okay, I’m going in.” We could see him appear and disappear past the licks of flames, through the first-floor windows. Then we saw her. The lady must have sneaked in through the back, because there she was, in the burning living room, hands out in front of her, groping for something. The older fireman out in front of the house started cursing. He radioed the young one: “That woman’s in the house. Go, go!” Next thing we knew she was being eased down the front steps, gasping and coughing, clutching a framed picture to her chest. The older fireman was really angry. He leaned down and yelled at her, “Lady, what possessed you to do that? You could have been killed!” The young one said, “Easy, man, it’s fine. She’s gonna be all right.” She was covered in soot and the ambulance guys were trying to get at her with the oxygen mask, but she pushed them away. She held up the framed photograph. It was an old black-and-white of a guy in a military uniform. “This is my most precious—” and she choked up. The frame glass had broken, and it fell to the sidewalk like crystal. She cried and cried, and as she wiped her face her blood mixed with her tears. —Monique Tello has been living and working in East Baltimore for two years, and she believes writing helps her to be a better doctor.
Clearly the ball had landed in her
yard. The thin strip of untrimmed weeds served as a crude but distinct border. “Mine!” my son cried when the little girl scooped up the toy football and disappeared into her house. “Mine now!” she squealed as the screen door slapped shut behind her. A few seconds later, KJ was screaming, then prostrate on the sidewalk, kicking and screaming. For KJ, age 2½, the concept of sharing was still a novelty, loaning and borrowing completely foreign. “My ball!” he insisted over and over. “Keisha’s just going to play with it for a little while, honey. Then she’ll give it back.” My consoling didn’t seem to help much. Fortunately, time did, and after a good five-minute tantrum, KJ decided that his old Superman kickball would be an okay substitute for the confiscated Nerf. That summer saw tennis balls, soccer balls, Wiffle balls, miniature basketballs, and beach balls, but no Nerf footballs. The day after the Ravens opener, our neighbors moved. KJ forgot all about the ball. I certainly never asked for it back. He didn’t care, and the ball was worth what? A few dollars? Come to think of it, I’m not sure how we came to possess that ball to begin with. I certainly don’t remember buying it … —Lara Caldwell teaches high school English in Baltimore County and lives in Canton with her son and husband.
It was my first piece
of jewelry, and it felt strange against the skin between my fingers. The weighty gold pulled noticeably at my hand at first, and it was a long time before I did not take conscious note of its presence. The first time we saw it was in early summer as it bathed in a sliver of sunlight in the jeweler’s case. It glowed warmly on the dark blue velvet, standing out among its gold and silver companions, a fine filigree vine carved into the band. Sadly, it was out of reach; its price was beyond our means. We told ourselves that an outward symbol such as this need not be ornate; elegance is most effective when understated, and a wedding ring would not be any less a proclamation of our love for its plainness. This we said to ourselves, but not without a slight trace of regret. The following weeks were taken up with wedding preparations, and I gave the decision no further thought. Finally the day arrived. I will forever remember standing in tiny Christ Episcopal Church, its 180-year-old brick walls fairly bursting with an overflow crowd of family, friends, and parishioners. When the time came for the blessing of the rings, Margot produced the very band we had seen in the jeweler’s display case that sunny summer afternoon! Astonished, I exclaimed my joyous disbelief out loud, much to her embarrassment.
Over the intervening years the ring has lost the burnished glow it once had in the jeweler’s case. Instead, it has acquired a patina of nicks and scratches that seem fitting as a metaphor for a life of love and labor. Every time I look at my precious wedding band, it gives me pause, looking back over the years to that warm, sunny morning in September when Margot’s life and mine were inextricably intertwined. —Sam Shields is a former Baltimore City Public School Japanese teacher. He worked at and really misses Louie’s, and the Baltimore of the 1990s.
I’m watching afternoon traffic
lurch down York Road through the cracked window of my most valuable possession. This house, just beginning to feel like my home, has stood here for 85 years. It’s old. It may not have seen carriages rattling by on the way to York, but undoubtedly Model-Ts, Edsels, maybe one or two DeLoreans, and certainly hybrids have all rolled past this same smudged, paper-thin window. This house is old enough to have a generous amount of what one might call character, that apparently ubiquitous stuff that includes all things kitschy, worn, or wooden. But that really says nothing. The meaning of that word has become lost in an abyss of empty real-estate jargon. Better just to say that when I’m here, I feel like I’m surrounded by something. The walls don’t just keep out the cold (in fact, they really don’t even do that). There is a history told out in the seventeen layers of paint, much of it undoubtedly lead-based. There is a warmth from the cold wood floors that just can’t be explained. When I touch the solid oak of a mantel or the tarnished copper of an old doorknob, I know that I’m not in a building—I’m in a home. The wood and walls of this place have been made alive by the countless touches, the sweat and oil of every hand attached to every body that’s lived and breathed here. I, too, am becoming a part of this place. In a brand-new house, everything is perfect and you become obsessed with trying to keep it that way. Here, nothing is perfect. I am liberated from my duty to maintain perfection and come to covet every creak and hiss. I am allowing myself the guilty pleasure of this happiness—pride is not the right word—that comes with owning something that truly makes you feel good. I think we are exempt from accusations of materialism when it comes to the places we sleep, laugh, raise our kids. We’re allowed to indulge. We’re allowed to have exactly what we want, even if that’s a creaky, drafty old house. ■ —Mike Jacobson is an airline pilot and a recent transplant to Baltimore.
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BOlTOn hill. The beauty of Bolton Hill is unsurpassed. Tucked away within the heart of our great city, this neighborhood boasts an eclectic gathering of grand homes both contemporary and historic, along tree-lined, manicured streets and close to everywhere you want to go. Call Anne or Jessica (Bolton Hill Resident) for more information about the many gems of this and other areas throughout the Baltimore Metropolitan region. Baltimore natives representing Baltimore homebuyers and sellers.
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urbanite june 07
the henslee dailey team anne henslee 410.967.2652
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A Fresh New Look.
CORKBOARD CORK Pop art
This month is Black Music Month, and The Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center celebrates with A Timeless Collective Album Cover Retrospective. The exhibit contains albums, dating from the 1930s to the present, whose covers stand alone as art.
Urban + Suburban = Art
Suburbia Redefined: Intersections of Urban and Rural is the inaugural exhibit of the Towson Arts Collective. The work, selected by photographer Connie Imboden and artist and Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts Visual Arts Coordinator Gary Kachadourian, contains interpretations of suburbia and suburbanites, from realism to abstraction.
847 North Howard Street Through July 7 Call 410-225-3130 or go to www.eubieblake. org for admission prices and hours
410 York Road, lower level, Towson Through July 22 Open Thurs–Sat and by appointment 410-916-6340 towsonartscollective.googlepages.com
SHOWCASE OF NATIONS This month marks the start of Baltimore’s ethnic festival series. The Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts presents the five-month showcase, which gives Baltimoreans a chance to sample the traditional foods, dances, and music of a variety of cultures. The season kicks off June 1 through 3 with the Polish Festival; subsequent festivals occur almost weekly throughout the summer, ending with the Russian Festival October 19 through 21.
410-752-8632 Go to www.bop.org for locations, dates, and times of festivals
Reservoir Hill Garden & Home Tour The thirteenth annual tour invites you to wander through more than twenty of the neighborhood’s beautiful gardens and homes. The twoday event offers self-guided tours beginning at the corner of Park Avenue and Reservoir Street. This feast for the eyes is accompanied by refreshments and live music.
June 9, 11 a.m.–4 p.m., and June 10, 1 p.m.–4 p.m. $10; tickets can be purchased on the corner of Park Avenue and Reservoir Street on tour days and ahead of time at www.livebaltimore.com 410-225-7547 www.reservoirhill.net
Tour Dem Parks, Hon This bicycling fundraiser for Baltimore’s parks, now in its fifth year, gives a “bike’s-eye view” of the city’s park system. Three routes (12, 20, and 30-plus miles) begin and end in Carroll Park. A barbecue and live music follow the ride. The first three hundred participants receive a free T-shirt and water bottle. Don’t forget your helmet!
1500 Washington Boulevard June 10 Adults $25 in advance ($30 day of event), teenagers up to 16 years old $15, children up to 10 years old $5 Pre-register at www.tourdemparks.org or register on-site the day of the ride
Feed Me, Seymour Comedy and cuisine combine when Toby’s Dinner Theatre presents Little Shop of Horrors. The theater celebrates its twenty-eighth year at its Columbia location with this audience favorite, which tells the story of a down-and-out floral assistant who discovers an exotic plant with an appetite for blood.
5900 Symphony Woods Road, Columbia June 14–August 19 410-995-1969 Go to www.tobysdinnertheatre.com for ticket information and showtimes
Photo credits from top to bottom: courtesy of Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center; painting by Craig Graceffo; photo courtesy of www.stnicholasmd.org; photo by Howard K. Fink; courtesy of Tour Dem Parks, Hon; courtesy of Toby’s Dinner Theatre
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urbanite june 07
Licensed • Bonded • Insured MHIC# 91626
have you heard . . .
edited by marianne amoss
Clothes and Tattoos …
courtesy of Have Fun Be Lucky
“I originally just wanted to make a few T-shirts,” says Joe Lathe-Vitale about his apparel store and tattoo parlor, Have Fun Be Lucky . Lathe-Vitale and his business partner, MICA graphic design graduate Sean Davidson, have designed an entire line of custom apparel featuring “Made in Charm City” labels to supplement the tattoo side of the business. The retail section (which includes jewelry and art) opened this winter. Lathe-Vitale, a tattoo artist for the past nine years and formerly of Saints & Sinners in Fells Point, plans to start tattooing (by appoint-
ment only) this month. If the Have Fun Be Lucky lifestyle appeals to you, check out the Have Fun Be Lucky Pleasure Club, which consists of semimonthly theme parties held at area bars. After all, says LatheVitale, “You have to put some fun into everything.” Open Tues–Sat 12 p.m.–8 p.m., Sun 12 p.m.–6 p.m. 820 West 36th Street; 410-235-5930; www.havefun belucky.com or www.myspace.com/havefunbe luckyclothing. —Carey Polis
Eatery … The only thing better than reasonably priced Japanese and Korean food is reasonably priced Japanese and Korean food late at night. Soho Eatery , which opened this past winter on Light Street, features a range of Asian dishes, from sushi to teriyaki chicken to bibimbap (a traditional Korean mixed rice dish) with miso soup, as well as wraps, salads, smoothies, and a range of coffees and teas. Eat there, or if the
weather’s nice get Soho’s to go and watch the sunset from the promenade in Tide Point, just a short drive down Fort Avenue. Open Mon–Thurs 11 a.m.–9 p.m., Fri–Sat 11 a.m.– 2 a.m. 1504 Light Street; 410-685-2989. —C. P.
Library …
photo by Jacqueline Watts
It’s been thirty-five years since the Enoch Pratt library system added a new library. The muchanticipated Southeast Anchor branch , the replacement of the Highlandtown location, opened May 14. More than ten years in the making, Southeast Anchor will be officially dedicated on June 9. Once the site of a movie theater, the new building at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Conkling Street in Highlandtown will have the city’s first drive-up checkout window, not to mention a self-checkout station, gift shop, teen area for group studying, computer lab, free wi-fi, cafe with extended hours, and a Spanish-
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language section. Especially exciting is the arrival of the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Knight Bus Tour on June 15 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., during which fans can participate in a slew of activities and board the bus itself, a triple-decker replica from the Harry Potter novels. Open Mon, Wed, Thurs 10 a.m.–8 p.m., Tues 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., Fri–Sat 10 a.m.–5 p.m. 3601 Eastern Avenue; 410-396-5430; www.prattlibrary.org. —Tykia Murray and Carey Polis
Have you heard of something new and interesting happening in your neighborhood? E-mail us at haveyouheard@urbanitebaltimore.com.
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BilligAdvUrb4
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AFTER
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Professional Tooth Whitening for $285.00 until June 30th 100% goes to children’s charity. Call today for an appointment. DENISE M. MARKOFF, D.D.S., F.A.G.D. & DEBORAH A. KLOTZ, D.D.S. | 835 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21230 | 410-727-3388 | www.FederalHillSmiles.com
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urbanite june 07
have you heard . . .
Kayaking …
photo by Mike Shamblin
If you find outdoor adventure appealing but terrifying, don’t worry—now you can control the elements. A manmade, fully controllable whitewater course opened on Memorial Day weekend at Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), located atop Marsh Mountain near Deep Creek Lake. Measuring 1,700 feet long, the course is designed to replicate a natural waterway’s landscaping and water flows. The facility uses a new technology called “wave shapers” that allows the rapids to be rapidly
adjusted (twenty minutes is all it takes) to provide an experience suited for any skill level or activity, from calm kayaking to turbulent class-four whitewater rafting. If you get tired of the water, ASCI offers a variety of other outdoor activities. 1393 Wisp Mountain Road, McHenry; 1-877-300-ASCI; www. adventuresportscenter.com. —Tykia Murray
Restaurant … Two Sisters Bar & Grille is a welcome addition to the Remington/Charles Village area. Sisters Cathy Carter and Debbie Crum called on their many years of experience in food service to open this family-run restaurant. Previously the home of Korean karaoke bar 1.7th Generation, Two Sisters now serves affordable comfort food. Breakfast staples like eggs, grits, scrapple, and blueberry pancakes are available until 3 p.m. The lunch/dinner menu contains standbys like chili and burgers, along with new additions like freshly prepared corned beef. And don’t miss the free spaghetti dinners on Thursdays from 5 to 8
p.m. The friendly service is what makes Two Sisters worth the repeat visit—there aren’t many places where the owner personally comes over to ask how your meal is. But don’t forget to stop by the ATM on your way there: They run a cash-only business. Open Mon and Tues 7 a.m.–2 p.m., Wed 7 a.m.–9 p.m., Thurs 7 a.m.–8 p.m., Fri 7 a.m.–11 p.m., Sat 7 a.m.–2 a.m., Sun 7 a.m.–3 p.m. 127 West 27th Street; 410467-0550. —Molly O’Donnell
photo by Lisa Macfarlane
Shopping … Urban Outfitters has opened its first store in Maryland, in the Inner Harbor. Occupying two floors of the Light Street Pavilion, the store will now provide Baltimoreans with its signature funky women’s and men’s apparel, footwear, accessories, home goods, and gifts. The opening of the urban chain, which caters to hip, young consumers, is evidence of a grow-
ing retail presence downtown, which now includes Best Buy, Levi’s, and Filene’s Basement. Open Mon– Sat 10 a.m.–9 p.m., Sun 12 p.m.–6 p.m. 301 Light Street; 410-685-3115; www.urbanoutfitters.com. —T. M.
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food
by mary k. zajac
photography by la kaye mbah
Move Over, Olive Cooking with different types of oil can make all the difference in a dish
Above: Different types of oil, like walnut and hazelnut, are joining olive oil in many kitchens.
When I was growing up in the 1970s, there was always a bottle of Wesson Vegetable Oil in the cabinet above the stove. My mother would use the pale, nearly colorless oil (or maybe Mazola Corn Oil, with the perfect ear of yellow corn on the label) in salad dressing or for frying chicken. But it wasn’t until much later, in the early 1980s perhaps, that a small bottle of Pompeii brand olive oil found its place in our cabinet. Unlike the Wesson Oil, it shone deep golden in a funny conical-shaped bottle that was ridged like a washboard, and I remember that salads dressed with vinegar and oil never tasted the same after that. Now that even most grocery stores offer several types of olive oil—from herb-infused to the standard virgin and extra-virgin bottlings—and warehouse stores sell mass-market brands in multigallon jugs, it’s difficult to remember our kitchens ever being without it. According to the USDA, the amount of olive oil imported to the United States tripled between 1987 and 1997, most likely because of Americans’ attempts to adopt a Mediterranean diet high in the consumption of monounsaturated fats. Coupled with the omnipresence of olive oil in the pages of cooking magazines and recipe websites, the $900 million olive oil market has continued to grow. But while olive oil will always have a place in home and restaurant kitchens, many chefs, both locally and nationally, are increasingly using other oils to vary their cooking.
Chef Annie Somerville, from the acclaimed Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, extols the quality of nut oils made by La Tourangelle, a company that produces artisan oils in California and around the world. Using nuts grown in orchards next to his Woodland, California, oil mill, founder and Frenchman Matthieu Kohlmeyer crafts his oils in the tradition of his family’s Loire Valley mill where nut oils have been pressed since the midnineteenth century. Nut oils can be used in many forms of cooking, from a garnish for fried potatoes to an ingredient in dense nut-based cakes, but Somerville uses La Tourangelle’s roasted walnut and hazelnut oils primarily for vinaigrettes. “I could use them for marinades or drizzle them over grilled vegetables,” she concedes, “but I like the clear flavor you get in using them for vinaigrette.” And in fact, Somerville’s 1993 cookbook, Fields of Greens, was instrumental in introducing American cooks to vinaigrettes made with nut-based oils. In her restaurant, Somerville mixes walnut oil with sherry vinegar and minced shallots and uses the vinaigrette to dress a salad of baby lettuce or spinach, often with apples, pears, and goat or bleu cheese. Lately she’s been dressing a beet and Pink Lady apple salad with vinaigrette made from the roasted hazelnut oil. For the salad, Somerville tosses together a combination of cooked baby beets like Chioggia, small chunks of Pink Lady apples, waterw w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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cress or arugula, red endive, and toasted hazelnuts. The dressing is a blend of La Tourangelle’s hazelnut oil (sometimes cut with a little bit of olive oil if she wants to lessen the intensity of the hazelnut flavor), champagne or apple cider vinegar, a dash of salt, and some diced shallots. Somerville tops the salad with croutons made from sliced baguettes topped with a mixture of bleu cheese and butter that have been toasted in the oven. Although she has plenty of recipes that use La Tourangelle’s hazelnut and walnut oils, Somerville says she’s excited about creating a way to use La Tourangelle’s roasted almond oil (the company also produces pecan and pistachio oils). While oils made from nuts can have subtle shadings, other oils shout their flavors. Sesame oil, for example, has an unmistakable flavor profile— rich, toasted, and nutty. A staple in Asian cooking, sesame oil is often used to sauté food in stir-fries. But it can also be sprinkled over a stir-fry at the end of cooking, as Somerville does, as a finishing oil to brighten the flavor of a dish in the way that salt or pepper can. In Baltimore, chef David Sherman uses olive oil in many of the Spanish tapas he creates for his Locust Point restaurant, Nasu Blanca, but turns to house-infused grapeseed oils as finishing oils in some of his Japanese dishes. Grapeseed is ideal as a base for these infusions, Sherman explains, because it is a “neutral oil” that doesn’t add flavor to the infusion. To garnish his hiramasa sashimi zensai (sliced baby yellowtail), Sherman makes a pale-green jalapeño oil by steeping halved jalapeños (seeds included) in grapeseed oil over very low heat. He lets the mixture sit for several days and strains it before it’s ready to use.
Sherman makes a variety of oils to complement his dishes. For instance, a lamb entrée might be garnished with homemade mint oil; a drizzle of oil flavored with saffron, fennel, or roasted peppers might be the final touch on a stylish small plate. Grapeseed oil has also been a crucial ingredient in chef Spike Gjerde’s restaurant kitchens and will continue to be so in his new venture, Woodberry Kitchen, which opens this summer in Clipper Mill. “Grapeseed is one of the most innovative oils out there,” he explains, “and not a lot of home cooks know about it. Because you can cook with it at high temperatures, it’s perfect for sautéing and searing.” Gjerde warns, however, not to give up on good old olive oil just because you’ve found something new. “The best oil we ever made was a lovage-infused olive oil,” recalls Gjerde, laughing. His parents grow herbs, and his dad has a passion for lovage—an aromatic member of the carrot family. “We had a surfeit of lovage.” The resulting blend of olive oil and herb was a brilliant, bright-green success. “People would see it on a plate of sushi and think it was chive oil or basil, and the clean, celery-like flavor of the lovage would surprise them. It was really unusual. We garnished a lot of dishes at Atlantic with it.” With such a variety of oils readily available through gourmet and specialty stores, it’s not too difficult to add zip to favorite dishes. In fact, it’s a little like giving your car some much-needed pep: Think about changing your oil. ■ —Mary K. Zajac is a freelance journalist living in Baltimore. She writes mainly about food and wine, with a few forays into music, art, and the fascinatingly quirky.
A Brief Guide to Oils Chili Oil:
This hot, spicy oil made from dried red chilies is often used in Asian cooking as a finishing oil or as flavoring in stir-fries.
seeds, can be dark greenish in color. Intense and nutty, it is used mainly for vinaigrettes.
Toasted Sesame Oil:
Grapeseed Oil: Nearly colorless and odor-
less, this neutral oil is perfect for infusions. It also has a high smoke point that makes it good for frying food.
Deep golden brown, this oil is a staple of Asian stir-fries and marinades. It can also be used as a finishing oil for stir-fries.
Peanut Oil:
Toasted Walnut Oil: Light, with a
Used mostly for frying, this nearly flavorless oil can be heated to a high smoking point and will yield crisp, nongreasy food.
Pumpkinseed Oil:
Often difficult to find, even in specialty stores, pumpkinseed oil, made from—you guessed it—pressed roasted pumpkin
slight flavor of walnuts, this variety can be used in vinaigrettes, in baking, or as a finishing oil for cooked vegetables. —M. K. Z.
w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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baltimore observed
by karen houppert
photography by nancy froehlich
Happy Feet Urbanite’s junior corps of reporters goes behind the scenes at the Maryland Zoo
Above: Mike McClure (left) says these 8,000-pound elephants are “approximately as smart as a 4-yearold human.”
The Maryland Zoo in Druid Hill Park has been suffering a bit lately. Plans for a new elephant exhibit were scrapped this spring due to financial woes. The Baltimore Sun came down hard on the place in March: “Cracked wooden steps,” “old and leaky roofs,” “in dire need of repair,” the reporter moaned. The number of visitors has dropped from 537,000 in 1993 to 332,000 last year. And it has been running a $3 million deficit for the last couple of years. Without an endowment, the zoo has been left scrambling to make up most of its deficit by begging for emergency funds from the city, county, and state. Part of the problem is, what’s an aging zoo to do when theme parks and water parks and “Grossology” exhibits up the ante with wild rides and interactive activities? Can zoos, with their creaky mid-twentieth-century charms still attract, delight, and educate us in a fast-paced twenty-first-century world? To explore this question required experts: kids. Urbanite enlisted a crew of tough critics who’d been known to snark about everything from the cruelty of caging animals to the relentless wasps at the zoo’s snack bar. And yet, it must be admitted, they were a team of investigative reporters who remained utterly delighted at the prospect of spending a Friday afternoon “researching” the zoo (and only one of them because he got sprung from school for the assignment). The team: senior reporter Casey Durkin, 12, son of Urbanite’s publisher and a thoughtful and sophisticated observer of animals,
having recently returned from an animal preserve in Costa Rica; investigative reporter Zack HouppertNunns, 10, this reporter’s son, who is a member of the zoo, a great fan of zoos in general and would sell his soul (or at least his Yu-Gi-Oh! collection) to go behind the scenes in the chimp house and meet the zoo’s famous young chimps Asali and Rozi face to furry face; and cub reporter Finn Braman, 8, visiting the city from Peaks Island, Maine, who blithely offered his unfiltered commentary on everything from flamingos that aren’t as pink as they look in books to chimpanzee rumps which are, well, very pink. Born Free? Our behind-the-scenes tour begins with the zoo’s public relations manager, Lainie Contreras, ushering us down Main Valley, a path that is currently closed to the general public. Once the zoo’s chief thoroughfare, it now wends past mostly empty iron cages that have been here since the 1800s. We are taking a shortcut to the goats in the petting zoo farmyard. “Why are the cages empty?” Finn wants to know, thinking this zoo is a big rip-off. “Now we know better than to keep animals like this,” explains Contreras. “We have shut this area down and have put the animals into more naturalistic habitats.” Like zoo folk everywhere, Contreras is subtly directing the children toward the new lingo: cages are out; habitats and enclosures are in. “Check this out!” Zack shouts from a few cages w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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urbanite june 07
obstacle for some. While public transportation could get visitors as far as Mondawmin Mall, the walk from there to the zoo can be daunting for suburban visitors—it’s a good half mile, passes through some fairly dilapidated real estate, and requires pedestrians to cross major roads. “So we really don’t get the tourists,” laments Grieb, who weighed plans to run a bus from the aquarium to the zoo (the A-to-Z shuttle, she quips), but scrapped them when the cost seemed prohibitive. After all, running the zoo as it is can be a pricey endeavor. Consider: Aside from paying 150 year-round employees, the zoo has 1,500 hungry animals to feed each day.
Billie Grieb, president and CEO of the Maryland Zoo, dreams of reducing entry fees to make the zoo affordable for all.
on. He has found an actual animal. It is a cheetah lounging in one of only two occupied enclosures. The children all scramble to stare at the cat. He looks like he is in solitary confinement. “I feel sorry for him,” Casey says, then corrects himself. “Actually, no I don’t. Probably he’s happy not to have all those ugly human faces pressing in on him all the time.” “He looks happy to me,” Finn says. The three boys hang on the fence in silence watching, considering, communing. “Cheetahs are cool,” Zack says finally, diplomatically. Further down the path, the boys spy an enclosure that houses a colony of prairie dogs. “How come the prairie dogs are back here where no one can see them?” Zack wonders. Contreras explains that it would cost a chunk of change to build a new prairie dog habitat in the new part of the zoo—and the zoo just doesn’t have the money for that right now. “Excuse me,” Finn says, interrupting. “Can we see the chimps now?” It’s true the zoo is a bit down-at-the-heels. “Remember, this zoo is 131 years old,” says Billie Grieb, president and CEO of the zoo. “When the zoo ran into serious financial troubles over the last fifteen years or so, one of the ways to cut back on expenses was to defer maintenance. And that’s just what happened.” The reasons for the zoo’s money woes are myriad. As the number of visitors and dollars flowing into its sister institution in the Inner Harbor skyrocket—1.6 million visitors hit the National Aquarium last year, which has a handsome operating budget of $31 million—the zoo limped along with 332,000 visitors on its annual operating budget of $12 million. (On the day before this reporter’s visit in April—during an admittedly cold and rainy spring—only eight folks had passed through the zoo’s front gates.)
Founded in 1876 on 160 acres in Druid Hill Park, the Maryland Zoo is in some ways a product of the times. It marches just a step behind other zoos across the country that have been spending millions on capital improvement projects as they scramble to update rows of ancient cast-iron cages into modern, naturalistic “habitats.” But in Baltimore’s case, it got hit with a double whammy a few years back when former governor Parris Glendening’s administration reduced the zoo’s funding by $620,000 in 2003 and again by $700,000 in 2004. “That really did it for us,” Grieb says. (Fans will remember 2003 as the year the zoo laid off twenty employees, shipped four hundred animals to other zoos, and almost sent its costly pair of elephants to foster care at another zoo, but for a cry from outraged locals.) The zoo gets roughly one-third of its budget from public funding (state, county, and city combined), one-third from private funding, and onethird from ticket sales. Unfortunately, that makes ticket sales integral to the budget—and thus a bit pricey for this town where the median household income is $30,000 and twenty-three percent of residents live below the poverty line, according to the 2000 U.S. Census. At $15 for adults and $10 for kids, the zoo is still a cheaper family outing than the aquarium (which charges $21.95 for adults, $12.95 for kids, and doesn’t have the zoo’s free parking)—and a lot less than some zoos, like San Diego’s, which collects $33 from adults and $22 from kids. “Still, the zoo may be overpriced for this community—at least, the broad community that we would like to include as our visitors,” says Grieb, explaining that eventually she’d like to reduce entry fees. “As an organization we want to reach everyone in our community, not just those who can afford it.” Another challenge the zoo faces has to do with its location. While the aquarium and Maryland Science Center share a huge flow of out-of-town visitors, the zoo’s distance from the Inner Harbor is an
An Elephant Never Forgets Take the elephants, for example. As we held out our hands to the 8,000-pound African elephant Anna, 30 years old, and her buddy, Dolly, 31, they consumed two five-gallon buckets of alfalfa pellets as if they were bags of chips. On any given day these mammoth vegetarians eat around 150 pounds (nearly $40 worth) of food each. This is one of the reasons—aside from their more docile nature—that it makes sense for zoos to populate their elephant houses with females; the males weigh (and eat) almost twice as much. These were just some of the facts the boys consumed, as Elephant Collection Manager Mike McClure made his educational spiel about as hands-on as it can get: Boys hand Dolly an alfalfa pellet, Keeper hands boys another delicious fact. “Did you know elephants are some of the smartest land animals on the planet, approximately as smart as a 4-year-old human?” Boys hold out their hands while Dolly swoops out her trunk to collect the alfalfa. “Do you know they’re so sensitive they can tell from their trainer’s voice if she is feeling upset that day? So our trainers always have to be calm and predictable and quiet when speaking to them.” Anna leaves a trail of dampness on the boys’ hands as she grabs her pellet; boys reflexively wipe it on their jeans. One of the boys drops a pellet on the ground and it rolls beneath Anna’s feet. Without looking down, her trunk immediately locates the pellet. “Did you know the elephant’s sense of smell is even stronger than a dog’s?” Boys are awed. “Do you want to see her teeth?” Boys nod. McClure opens Dolly’s mouth and points to her four oversize teeth and tongue. “Did you know her tongue is such a strong muscle she can move an entire log around with it?” “That would be a very useful hiding tongue, if your teacher caught you with gum,” says Finn, who has been standing a very safe distance away the whole time the older boys have been feeding the animals. “Are you sure you don’t want to try giving them some food?” one of the keepers coaxes. Finn, who has backed up as far as he can against a tree trunk, shakes his head. “Can we go see the chimps now?” This spring, the Maryland Zoo was poised to invite three African elephants from Philadelphia to cohabiw w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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whom today, who wants to sit next to whom,” Karen Zukas says. She speaks fondly of her charges, admonishing another keeper who refers to a goat with an overbite as “funny-looking;” “We think of it as personable,” she corrects. She brings me up to date on a pygmy goat named Angus that was very sad last time my son and I visited him here at the zoo. “He was in mourning for his twin sister Abby,” she explains. “He died himself a week later to the day.” While my son catalogs their differences from humans, I marvel at their similarities.
tate with Dolly and Anna. The Philly girls—Petal, Kallie, and Bette—were looking for nicer digs because their home, which is another very old zoo, could not raise the funds needed to renovate the elephant barn and yard. But in March, the Maryland Zoo announced that it would have to take a pass on the elephant transfer, since it was similarly unable to raise the $10 million in private donations necessary to upgrade its elephant barn and habitat. The plan to expand the exhibit is not scrapped, but merely on hold—and it is just one aspect of the zoo’s long-term plan for improvements and for generating additional funding. For example, it is beginning a push for a “zoo tax” or “culture tax” that would earmark a percentage of city sales tax for cultural institutions. Meanwhile, the zoo does have some major upgrading projects in the works. Not only is it steadily checking off items on its maintenance to-do list, but it is also renovating the African aviary to provide disability access and building a giraffe feeding station so visitors can climb high enough to be eye-toeye with the animals before handing over branches for them to eat. Projects like this, as well as more entertainment-oriented sideshows are all the rage. For example, the Columbus Zoo has a new waterpark planned for 2008. Another crowd-pleaser is, of course, breeding programs—or at least, their results. (At the Maryland Zoo, polar bears Alaska and Magnet mated in March and may become proud parents of a bouncing baby bear in the months ahead; there’s no easy pregnancy test when it comes to these 300- to 600-pound females, so zookeepers typically just wait and see.) Hopefully this will swell zoo crowds for the institution, which falls somewhere in the middle of zoos nationally in terms of visitors and budget. Its annual operating budget of $12 million is a drop in the bucket when compared to zoos like San Diego’s, which spends $160 million each year, but on par with zoos like Atlanta’s ($17.5 million) and Witchita’s ($10 million). Nationally, attendance at zoos is strong, insists
the Association for Zoos and Aquariums, a national accrediting and advocacy organization comprised of 216 members. In 2005, there were 143 million visitors to the nation’s zoos and aquariums, the AZA brags on its website, “more attendance than the NFL, NBA, and Major League Baseball combined.” The number struck me as high, but seems to check out. And why not? Going to the zoo is one of the few family activities that works as well for the 2-year-old sister as her 12-year-old brother. Not to mention their grown-ups who take pleasure in the children’s enthusiasm. (Think of how delightful it is to see their faces light up as they watch a polar bear somersault underwater, as opposed to its usual glow
I am fascinated to learn from zookeepers that the female chimps are sleeping around but—phew!—are on birth control. from the computer screen.) Meanwhile, we adults find our own points of interest. Zoos charm because they work on multiple levels. While my son likes collecting statistics—the elephant has at least 40,000 different muscles in its trunk; crocodiles Captain Crook and Tick Tock consume twenty to thirty rats a week; penguins can’t fly because, unlike most birds, they don’t have hollow bones—the gossip in me likes to collect vignettes about interpersonal (inter-species?) dynamics. I am fascinated to learn from zookeepers that the female chimps are sleeping around but—phew!—are on birth control (a Norplant-style implant). I’m amused to discover that Chimpanzee Keeper Kristen Neat is as loath as any mom to wean her greedy toddlers, 2-year-old chimps Asali and Rozi: “It’s not going to be fun because they really like their bottles!” I love listening to the goat keeper talk about her herd as if it’s Peyton Place. “Every day is something different here—who’s friends with whom, who hates
March of the Penguins Casey, the 12 year old, is suspicious. “Everybody at the zoo is so nice and friendly,” he confides to me in a near-whisper at one point. “Doesn’t it make you wonder what’s going on behind the scenes?” In fact, it hadn’t occurred to me. But I’m the last one to discourage a budding reporter’s healthy sense of skepticism. “What do you mean?” “I’m not saying they’re mean to animals or anything,” he says. “But when they say ‘naturalistic habitat’ it’s not really like living in the wild. Like, you couldn’t let these animals free in the jungle and have them survive, right?” “Right,” I concur. “Have you seen Madagascar?” he asks. I have not. “I suggest you check it out as part of your research for this article,” he says. I ask him to elaborate, but he declines. “Just check it out,” he says mysteriously. Fortunately, our foray to the zoo affords us an opportunity to do a little underground sleuthing. Literally. Toward the end of our visit we are invited into a long damp tunnel that smells strongly of dead fish. “Welcome to Rock Island,” says Penguin Keeper Kim Lenhardt, as we enter the penguins’ cement bunker, nestled beneath the mountain of rocks that forms the penguin’s habitat. Lenhardt reminds the boys to tie their shoes, remove the sweatshirts with dangling sleeves that they have tied around their waists, and to tuck up any backpack straps. “These guys love to go after anything that moves,” she says, explaining that we are actually going to exit the bunker and stand on Rock Island among the zoo’s fifty penguins. “Don’t pet them,” she says, because they might peck. “But don’t be scared. They’re mostly just curious.” Lenhardt opens the door and, nervously, the boys follow her out to stand on the edge of the island. As if we are strangers disembarking a train in a small town, a few penguins eye us suspiciously but pretend to be otherwise engaged. They go about their business of chitchatting with dapper colleagues and hopping up and down the rocks as if they are too busy to bother with a greeting—all the while keeping close tabs on our movement. Eventually, curiosity gets the better of them, and a couple venture over for closer inspection. Two of the boys scramble up on the rocks at their approach and remain there. The distinguished little fellows in their tuxes seem intrigued by the boys’ casual footwear and peck gently at their tennis shoes, wondering how the laces work. continued on page 67 w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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b y e l i z a b e t h a . e v i t t s
courtesy of Kathleen M. Lechleiter
s p a c e
Shipping News A one-acre plot on Greenmount Avenue exemplifies the potential and the pitfalls of neighborhood development
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It’s pitch black, near midnight, on a recent New Year’s Eve. A handful of hooded figures move stealthily along the edge of a vacant grass lot at the corner of Oliver Street and Greenmount Avenue. One of the figures hunches over in the shadows; there is a spark, and then they scatter. Seconds later, a sonic-sounding boom is followed by a colorful spray of fireworks igniting the sky and reflecting in shards of broken windows in rowhouses on Brentwood Avenue. The display attracts neighborhood kids, who appear seemingly out of nowhere, doing wheelies on bikes and screaming “Happy New Year!” A cop car screeches to a halt on Greenmount Avenue. More fireworks go off, this time from a warehouse rooftop. The illegal revelry stops only when the police helicopter circles above, shining a blinding white beam on the dark streets below. Over the years, this vacant lot at 1500 Greenmount has seen a lot of activity. Located on a central
corner, across from the Green Mount Cemetery and on the eastern edge of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, the land has hosted illegal fireworks displays and drug deals, soccer games and bike races. It has served as event parking for the nearby artist warehouse, Area 405. When the grass gets high, it has been a sleeping shelter for the drunk or the homeless. Mostly it has served as a shortcut for neighborhood folks—a mix of low-income residents, artists, and college kids—who wear a diagonal path through the underbrush on their way to someplace else. In October of 2006, the City’s Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), who owns the property, officially offered the land for development. In a request for proposals, the HCD said it was looking for a “real estate developer to develop, own, and operate the site,” which they estimate to value $266,600.
der to draw attention to this site and have a creative reimagining of what is possible in urban design,” Rogers says. Rogers becomes animated when he talks about the architectural possibilities for this location. When asked if he thinks the City will go for such an unusual design, his face darkens a bit. “I don’t know. I try not to let that deter me.” Rogers would have every right to be discouraged. This is not the first time that Baltimore Landmark Homes has gone out on a limb and responded to a City-issued RFP with a different kind of design concept. In 2005 the developers created an environmentally friendly proposal for the Woodberry neighborhood that was supported both by
own “small-area plan,” which would update the severely outdated Urban Renewal Plan written for the area in the 1970s. Greenmount Avenue is also seen as a key target area in the City’s new Comprehensive Master Plan, adopted last year. The plan notes that this corridor is an important link to Station North and a prime area for mixed-use, transit-oriented redevelopment. Any City RFP should certainly support the overarching vision of the community and its own Master Plan process. Yet it is that outdated Urban Renewal Plan that is given as a reference point for potential developers in the HCD-issued RFP. The document makes only cursory mention of the Station North Arts and
Container City, that have successfully transformed used shipping containers into affordable, stylish housing. The containers, which are in abundance in the marketplace right now and easily acquired, come in standard sizes of 8 by 8 by 20 feet or 8 by 8 by 40 feet and can be stacked and configured to create myriad building forms. Rogers called upon Baltimore architect Kathleen M. Lechleiter for design help. Lechleiter created a conceptual plan that includes sixteen two-story, three-bedroom, live-work units that are about 1200 square feet each. The homes have vaulted 24-foot ceilings in the center and would sell for around $220,000. Rogers also wanted to include some aspects of street-level community space, so the team designed a common area and a theater. A roofline that resembles a Quonset hut creates a striking frontage along the busy Greenmount Avenue. “We wanted something very dramatic and different in or-
the community and the housing commission’s own review panel, which included a member of the community. The HCD then disregarded the panel and the community’s wishes and awarded the project to Savannah Development Corp. Chris Shea, an official of the HCD at that time, was quoted in the City Paper in May 2006 as saying that his department’s panel was inexperienced and in the future, he said, community members would not be allowed to sit on review panels. It is not surprising then, that members of the Greenmount West community are very concerned about the City-issued RFP now under consideration in their neighborhood. In fact, both community leaders and the City’s own planning department expressed concern that the HCD was offering this significantly placed lot at this time. According to a city planner who works with the neighborhood, Greenmount West is in the process of creating its
Entertainment District. It is, by all accounts, a pretty basic outline of requirements with little directive about specific goals or community development guidelines by which the entries will be judged. The Department of Planning and the Greenmount West Community Development Corporation (CDC) say they will have their small-area plan completed by September. In it, they will outline the goals and priorities for land use in the neighborhood. “We’re looking to create a mixed-income community,” explains Eric Goods, founder and executive director of the Greenmount West CDC. Goods says that his organization had several discussions with the City about the disposition of land in and around Greenmount Avenue, and requested that the HCD wait until their planning was complete. “We weren’t successful at having the department delay the RFP,” Goods says. “The RFP wasn’t connected to any community-planning initiative at the time that it was
courtesy of Kathleen M. Lechleiter
Brad Rogers, cofounder of Baltimore Landmark Homes, was instantly intrigued. Rogers saw the lot as an excellent opportunity to do something environmentally friendly and architecturally unique in the city, something that could foster the spirit of an arts district and be a part of the neighborhood at large. He had a thought: shipping containers. “Two things are converging right now,” Rogers said recently from his office in Hampden. “In the green-build movement, there’s a renewed interest in modular and pre-fab housing, and there are great improvements in that regard. And the idea of shipping containers is a hot topic because they are both modular and recycled.” Rogers looked to other projects, like London’s
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photo by Martyn Wills
Baltimore Landmark Homes was inspired by Container City, shown here. This walkway connects the two buildings of Container City, located at Trinity Buoy Wharf in the heart of London’s docklands.
photo by Nigel Reid-Foster
released. There may have been other drivers that influenced the release, but they didn’t really say why. There was not any communication with the community in a tangible way.” This points to an interesting conundrum in Baltimore. Our planning department, which is responsible for, well, planning and community dialogue, is not always in lockstep with the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), who has the power to sell and develop City land. In fact, HCD will sometimes move forward on offering land for development without consulting the planning department, let alone the community in question. The lot at 1500 Greenmount is a prime example: When the HCD issued a request for proposals for the lot, it came as a surprise to both the planning department and the community leaders, who were working in tandem to create that smallarea plan. The RFP did not require potential developers to consult with the community, but some of the respondents, like Baltimore Landmark Homes and ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), did on their own accord. (Coincidentally, the Greenmount West CDC has also been considering shipping containers as a possibility for a community center, following concept approval by the New Greenmount West Community Association.) Charlie Duff, director of Jubilee Baltimore, a major investor in the Station North district, also responded to the RFP, in spite of some consternation over its timing. “We think that the City is ill-advised to be offering this site now, all by itself,” Duff says. “We think that the City should be saying that Station North needs a coordinated effort, and the City should be a full partner in this and should not be a hands-off partner.” Duff also thought the language of the RFP was not sufficient. “It was the standard, basic RFP language, nothing very important. And Station North needs more than that. It could serve as an example for Baltimore development and become a model neighborhood.” Goods attended an HCD meeting held in November 2006 to educate interested developers about the site. “There wasn’t much direction for developers,” Goods says. “Mostly, the City said what it didn’t want.” Goods says he asked the HCD representative whether the winning developer would be required to work with the community, and the answer was no. “We just found that very interesting, that there wasn’t a requirement to coordinate with the community on this development.” The HCD has since told Urbanite that it will work with the community. In a statement issued through Acting Communications Director Tania Baker, the department said: “We elected to slow down the review process for the 1500 Greenmount
Cove Park, situated on the west coast of Scotland, uses shipping containers to create an artists’ retreat. The wall of windows provides a beautiful view of Loch Long.
proposals, as the planning department has embarked upon a master planning process for the Station North/Greenmount West area.” The statement also said that a community member would be allowed to sit on the RFP review panel and that “once a developer is designated, the developer will be expected to work fully with the community.” The Station North/Greenmount West area offers a rare opportunity—to champion the entrepreneurial spirit of the artists that live and work there, to foster civil ties with the longtime neighbors, to create, in essence, an inclusive urban enclave. Community members believe that they are at a tipping
point. Sharon Ellerbe, a member of the Greenmount West CDC and a longtime resident of the neighborhood, worries that they could head down the slippery slope of the dreaded “G” word. “It’s a wonderful community and we don’t want gentrification,” Ellerbe says. “We have been working with the City, and we’ve been working with the developers, but somehow, some way, they don’t hear us. We don’t have a lot of money, we just have a lot of ideas. And we could become a model neighborhood.” ■ —Elizabeth A. Evitts is Urbanite’s former editorin-chief. w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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AHEAD OF THE GAME Feature 1-Preservation
B Y
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H I S T O R I C P R E S E R VAT I O N I S T S R E T H I N K T H E I R Mercy Medical Center is getting its new expansion. A block of 1820s rowhouses has been demolished to make room for it. The 100-year-old Rochambeau apartment building fell because it sat in the path of the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s plans for a prayer garden. The Odorite Building in Mount Vernon was knocked down in 2004 to accommodate a student union for the University of Baltimore. St. Stanislaus, a 132-year-old Catholic church in Fells Point, razed its rectory to make way for condominiums. These are the battles that have been making headlines in Baltimore over the past few years. A recent spate of teardowns has raised alarm among urbanites who worry that something unique to the rich historic fabric of Baltimore may be incrementally slipping away, one demolished building at a time. Many in the preservation community are now waking up to the reality that they need to think and act differently. “We really need to get ahead of the game here in Baltimore by collectively recognizing which buildings help define what our history is,” says Johns Hopkins, executive director of Baltimore Heritage, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the city’s history and architecture. “And then, we need to move forward in making sure that those buildings stay standing.” On one level, historic preservation in the city has been successful. “Baltimore has done a great job getting neighborhoods designated as historic,” says Hopkins. With more than seventy-two districts granted federal or local historic status (which adds up to more than 54,000 buildings), Baltimore’s preservationists brag that the city is the “most historic” in the country. But often, that advocacy and protection breaks down when it comes to individual buildings, especially those owned by private interests. Lately, as powerful entities like the Archdiocese or large commercial and nonprofit organizations have developed plans that require demolition of historic structures, the community has learned of the scheduled destruction late in the game. Indeed, one of the biggest challenges the preservation com-
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munity faces is coming into these battles after a building or collection of buildings has already been slated for demolition. Once a building is eyed for development, the fight is pretty well over because it is very hard to retroactively go in and change its status. Forced into a corner, advocates often come off looking shrill and reactive. “The most frequent phone call I get is someone calling [our offices] about a building being torn down in their neighborhood,” says Hopkins, who typically has to give them the bad news that there are no laws in place to protect the building in question. Hopkins sees this as a major challenge: Most residents erroneously believe the issue of protecting historic buildings was taken care of a long time ago. “People would be surprised at how few of our old buildings have any recognition or historic status. When we go downtown and think, ‘Wow, that building’s been there since the fire of 1904,’ we take it for granted that it’s been landmarked, but many of the major signature buildings downtown have no more protection than a rowhouse in Charles Village.” Buildings as significant as Camden Station and American Brewery could, technically, become victims of the wrecking ball. The major example of late is the Mercy Medical Center expansion, with many preservationists still deeply immersed in their Monday-morning quarterbacking about that loss. A recap: Several years ago Mercy developed plans for a new $292 million inpatient tower for their downtown facility. In order to make way for the expansion, the hospital planned to raze a row of 1820s houses in the 300 block of Saint Paul Place, some of the last remaining old rowhouses in that area. Things got ugly last fall when preservationists suddenly realized that Baltimore City Council member Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. had quietly removed protective language regarding the property from a bill without publicly announcing the change or providing any public hearing on it. Squeezing the change in as a kind of small-print amendment to another bill, the building
ST R AT EGI ES FOR SA LVAGI NG BA LT I MOR E’S BEST was freed up for demolition. When preservationists found out, they were furious—not only about the property itself, but about the methods that were used to alter the block’s status, removing it from a list of “notable” properties that can’t casually be demolished and require a year’s waiting period. (Had the building been landmarked by the City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, there would have been an even higher hurdle; Mercy would have had to prove that not demolishing the buildings would have caused an economic hardship, among other things.) Baltimore Heritage jumped into the fray, demanding that the demolition permit be revoked and initiating legal action against the City. The group insisted that the bill’s title was required, by law, to reflect its substance— and the City Council had not in any way honored that. But as legal costs mounted, even in the preliminary stages, Baltimore Heritage decided to withdraw its objections. In February of this year, wreckers began demolition of the 1820s rowhouses. The whole incident made public the private rifts that have arisen among various factions of preservationists in the city, rifts that exist even within the confines of a single organization. “We felt we would just be in the spot of obstructionists rather than preservationists,” Baltimore Heritage President Julian Lapides told The Baltimore Sun in February. “Even if we won our suit it would be a one-year delay. We just decided we didn’t want to be in the posture of obstructionists.” But others in the organization argue that preservationists need to go to bat for these buildings no matter what. “My philosophy is that one has to be willing to engage in battles,” says John Murphy, an attorney active in preservation issues who as a board member of Baltimore Heritage dissented recently when the organization agreed to drop its opposition to the Mercy expansion. The Baltimore Sun reported that “as part of the agreement to drop the challenge, Mercy offered to donate money to a city preservation cause”—an arrangement Murphy finds troubling. (Baltimore Heritage Executive Director Johns Hopkins denies there was any quid pro
quo agreement; Mercy spokesperson Dan Collins says only that Mercy has agreed to give an indeterminate amount to preservation in the city.) Murphy worried that the organization was simply being paid for its silence. He wanted Baltimore Heritage to hold firm with its lawsuit. “The principle at stake was how this whole thing was done,” Murphy says, “that a bill was quietly ushered through that eliminated these historic properties from protection in the urban renewal plan, rather than going through the process of public discussion and debate. That was just wrong.” Still others insist we lost this battle years ago for lack of a broader vision. “In this case, we missed the boat a long time ago,” says Klaus Philipsen, a Baltimore-based architect whose firm specializes in historic rehabs and adaptive reuse projects. “Those types of houses from Charles Street to the east should have been a planning goal much earlier to have made salvaging these viable. Those houses were already surrounded by enormous structures that are entirely incompatible.” He argues that the real goal is balance in the city. “Historic preservation is not an absolute goal,” he says, “because the city is akin to a living organism where a lot of things are going on concurrently. For the well-being of that living organism, a balance has to be stricken every day in some form.” The Mercy debate underscores three major issues: process, transparency, and the economic realities of adapting historic buildings for viable reuse. The positive outcome of these recent battles is that it has led to some soul-searching among preservationists who are now addressing all three of these concerns. In the ensuing dialogue, a range of solutions is being floated. Preservationists are now strategizing about designating more buildings as landmarks in advance, before their fate hangs in the balance. (Other cities, like New York, actually have a designated landmark division dedicated to identifying and preserving important structures.) “In hindsight, that’s really where we need to focus our work,” says Hopkins. “We need to say these are the buildings we Baltimoreans think are the most important w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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structures in our city because they define who we are, and we think they should have special protection.” This means educating both developers and citizens about the various avenues of protection available. The process can be confusing, as there are several types of protection that a building can receive, from national, state, and local entities. A building’s inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, however, does not mean it is immune from destruction. The most protective status is when the City itself has agreed to landmark a structure, which is not an absolute prohibition against demolition, but which means those wishing to raze it must prove that the building absolutely cannot be saved. Any changes to the building then require approval from Baltimore City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP). If the building owner disagrees with CHAP’s ruling, they must appeal their case to the courts. A recent change in the laws should make landmarking easier. One of the obstacles preservationists faced here was a regulation that made it exceedingly difficult to landmark a building without an owner’s cooperation. For example, in trying to landmark a building recently, the owners threatened to sue preservationists for trespassing if they tried to post a notice announcing public hearings on the building in question. Under new regulations, preservationists can simply announce the public hearing in alternative venues, like newspapers. “We had been criticized as a commission for not being more proactive in landmarking buildings, but we just didn’t have the power to do that until now,” says Tyler Gearhart, a CHAP commissioner and the executive director of Preservation Maryland. Gearhart says we need to also focus on strengthening and enhancing CHAP and its guidelines and procedures—which is happening. “That way we can avoid more of these individual controversial building issues,” he says. But landmarking is not the only measure. It’s not enough to swoop in and save a building. One of the challenges with historic preservation is turning an older structure into a commercially viable building that meets current code standards. That can be a challenge in itself—especially as a developer weighs the development value versus the emotional value. Sometimes, the emotional and aesthetic value loses out to the grind of fiscal reality. One of the major tools in encouraging adaptive reuse in the city has been historic tax credits, which have been used for countless projects, from the Can Company in Canton to architecturally sensitive commercial condo rehabs in Mount Vernon brownstones. Without that benefit, developers may not have been able to make the numbers work. Preservationists have also lobbied to reform the current Maryland Heritage Structure Rehabilitation Tax Credit program. The State puts a cap on credits for jurisdictions, effectively limiting the city’s share of tax credits for major commercial building projects that restore historic properties. Until recently, of the $30 million in historic tax credits that the State made avail-
photo by Jason Okutake
photo by Jason Okutake
Baltimore Heritage Executive Director Johns Hopkins believes we ought to be worried: “People would be surprised at how few of our old buildings have any recognition or historic status.”
able for commercial historic restoration, only fifty percent could be used in one municipality. In Baltimore’s case, that meant the city capped out pretty quickly. In 2005 and 2006, historic development projects in Baltimore quickly maxed out their $15 million share. At the same time, there weren’t enough applications for the tax credit in the rest of the state to use up the remaining share of $15 million. Further, the law requires the projects to be completed within twenty-four months, a time frame that may be perfectly reasonable when renovating a private home but one which often proves unrealistic for massive commercial projects. “Since the program does not allow recycling of unspent funds,” Gearhart explained in his March 2007 plea to the Maryland General Assembly, “many worthy projects in Baltimore City were lost.” In April, the state legislature lowered the total amount of money that would be available for these projects to $25 million, but upped the percentage any jurisdiction could get to seventy-five percent. It also allowed the rollover of unused funds from other cities. This is a real victory for preservationists. “These tax credits have been a tremendous incentive and catalyst for redevelopment in Baltimore,” Gearhart says. In addition to those state funds, J. Kirby Fowler Jr., president of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore (DPOB), is now encouraging the city to adopt more of its own incentive-based programs that encourage developers to preserve historic stock. “We’re looking at easements, where the property owner agrees not to demolish a historic building, but instead to designate it as a landmark in exchange for tax credits,” he says. The DPOB recently commissioned a study, with funding from the Abell Foundation, to help them develop a “toolbox” of programs to strike a balance between development and historic preservation. “Another idea we’re investigating is trading credits in some ways,” he says. Based on a model similar to the pollution credits companies trade, this would essentially allow developers to buy rights from property owners who don’t intend to use them, and apply them in different places. For example, if the City wants to discourage high-rises in one area and encourage them in another, property owners in the low-rise neighborhoods would be able to permanently sell
Tyler Gearhart, a CHAP commissioner and the executive director of Preserva tion Maryland, says historic tax credits have proven a tremendous incentive for redevelopment.
their right to build an additional three stories on their property to a developer in the high-rise neighborhood who wants to go higher there than the zoning there actually allows. In a slightly different version of this, owners of a historic property could permanently give up their right to develop it for a tax credit. In this scenario, a property owner would donate their “right to develop” to, say, a historic nonprofit like Baltimore Heritage. The building owner then continued on page 69 w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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And the Walls Came Tumbling Down B y
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F o s t e r mi tr o
h o o d
when his alma mater drew up plans to level his old east baltimore neighborhood, the author thought the change would be exactly what he needed
but the alley it faced had been used as a dumpPa rt s o f B a lt i m o r e are changing ing ground for so long that the stench wasn’t radically and quickly. At first glance, the always worth the trouble. Dead cats lay rotting change seems good. Blocks that, for decades, in the sun, and it wasn’t unusual to see the rats had more boarded windows than residents that might have killed them running back and are being renovated. Property values are rising. forth. Yes, the rats killed the cats, which may New buildings are going up. Many welcome be why the mice stayed inside. such developments as long overdue. But as On those days when the heat was too great someone who was born into a neighborhood’s indoors and the smell too intense in the alley, downswing and asked to move for the sake of you settled yourself on the front stoop. Here, progress, I have reservations. Several years afyou witnessed another kind of struggle, less ter sitting by and watching the buildings in my Wild Kingdom than How the West Was Won. neighborhood razed to make room for Johns East Baltimore had too many problems to Hopkins’ new biotechnology park, I ask myself, name, but the drug trade was its most visible. “How do we know what’s worth saving, and Just one block from Granny’s was an open-air can we ever take full stock of those losses drug market—dealers blasting music and tradin advance?” ing bags around the clock. The dealers and Midway through my junior year at Johns their customers didn’t seem to sleep, and the Hopkins University, I flew home from a seA crumbling house as seen from an alley close to the author’s old home police didn’t seem to care. mester in Italy and arrived on the steps of my grandmother’s house in East Baltimore. Granny, as we called her, had been living in the brick I s o m e h o w m a n a g e d to remain a reluctant albeit fascinated obrowhouse at 1034 North Wolfe Street for thirteen years. Just a few blocks from server for years until the violence touched me. On May 16, 2001, just two my part-time job at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and the free intercampus nights after successfully completing my last exam of the year, I was robbed shuttle, it would be a good place to stay while I finished my degree. at gunpoint. I had spent the evening playing basketball at the Homewood This part of East Baltimore wasn’t new to me. All of Granny’s children gym before catching the last JHU shuttle home around 11 p.m. The only and the oldest of their children had grown up east of Charles Street. Durthing that could make the night even better, I thought, would be an hour ing the holidays, five generations of the Wilsons happily crammed into the of SportsCenter over a pint of greasy Chinese food. The carryout was two ten-foot-wide home. Just as the house became jam-packed with each new blocks away. Two blocks more, and I’d be home. Exams were over. My game entrant, so too did we jam-pack our wild family stories with hyperbole. If had been good. That night’s NBA highlights would be even better. I was a you’d simply been part of the supporting cast in the millionth telling of “That happy man. Day at the Beach, 1984” before you walked in, by the time you hugged and “$5.63,” the cashier said, handing me my paper bag of shrimp-fried rice. kissed your way through the living room, you were the hapless 6-year-old Too happy to think about what I was doing, I pulled out my very plump protagonist in a cautionary tale about scheming uncles who made you cry wallet—full of club cards and IDs, but very little money—and handed over as they coaxed you into the roaring surf. We told stories like this at Granny’s six dollars. Ten steps out the door and I was jumped by two young men who throughout the night, with her small house providing the perfect backdrop; had been waiting on an upcoming order. One forced me to the ground. The several times a year it put each of us at the center of a loving little universe. thin one held a gun while his partner rifled through my pockets. I braced But every other day there was a struggle. The two years I lived with Granmyself for the obligatory kick to the ribs I’d always seen on TV—the one ny, the house was crowded—myself, a cousin, and my great-grandmother that comes whether or not the victim resists. also lived there. The ceilings were low, the rooms small, and the design poor. It never came. There was no central air and few windows to support portable, plug-in units, The gun was never discharged. so it was no surprise to open the paper on a summer morning and discover “Stay down and count to ten or we’ll kill you!” they demanded—then that an elderly person who died of heat stroke the day before lived nearby. took off running down the street. It happened all the time, and none of us who lived there was surprised. The I counted to twenty. backyard was cooler than the interior and quieter than our street-side stoop, w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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And, somehow, I was still alive. aspirations, either. I think each member of our When I got home, I immediately called the family saw this as a reason to move on: I was off police, who showed up in fifteen minutes. (Not to London for two years, my cousin bought a bad for that part of Baltimore.) The officer said house, my great-grandmother moved into nicer I was lucky to be alive, but then chastised me. quarters alongside Granny. “You know better than to pull out a wallet in a So, in spring 2002, when representatives dive like that, right?” he scolded from East Baltimore Development, Inc. (EBDI) I did. came knocking on Granny’s door with an offer He told me that was stupid. to buy her house for $44,743, we understood her I had to agree. decision to go. The police officer left. I cancelled a few Still, not everyone was comfortable with credit cards, ate my Chinese food, watched TV, Hopkins’ plan to level an entire neighborhood and tried not to think about it. to make way for a biotech park. “It makes you The truly frightening part came the folangry,” neighborhood resident Bill Foster (no lowing afternoon. I suddenly realized that the relation) told City Paper in November 2003. men who’d done this to me lived nearby. As I “You actually feel a sense of helplessness. You thought back through the events leading up don’t know what to do. If you go downtown to the robbery, I remembered that one of my [to talk to the City’s leadership], you’re scared assailants had called the carryout owner by to deal with them because they feel it’s for the Photographed in 2006, the author’s block, just north of Johns Hopkins Hospital, no longer has a single building standing. name. And of course, they had both obviously betterment of the city.” My university’s leaderwalked from their house to the take-out. This ship made things even worse. President William was not a destination spot; people ate there Brody referred to my neighborhood as “the most because it was convenient. This meant that I would see the men who had blighted in Baltimore, if not in the country” and told a national gathering of robbed me again soon. And that they probably knew exactly where I lived. his colleagues, “When people get negative, I tell them this area is so bad I thought about buying a gun. I casually priced one through a friend who that the only alternative is calling in the National Guard and declaring said he could put me in touch with someone he knew who could sell me one martial law.” He alluded to tanks and soldiers in a way that made it clear this for around $150. I kept thinking that this would happen again, that I’d be was never about saving a community. This was about getting a community out robbed—and that I’d have protection this time around. Still, as I played out of the way. the scenario in my mind, I realized that if I actually had a gun, and fired a gun, things could get really ugly. I dropped the gun idea. Then, a month later, I saw my attackers. They were sitting on a stoop— Two years after sh e moved to a house just inside of the city-county their stoop, it appeared—just fifty yards from my front door around a corner line, my grandmother died. In her time there she enjoyed the front yard she’d I’d never had any reason to turn. They also saw me, and took off. I called the always wanted and a bit more room to stretch her legs before she passed. police and cited my incident number, but since the men had disappeared I thought about her when I came back to Baltimore for good in 2005. they said there was nothing they could do. I wasn’t a detective, and, apparI would drive by this house we’d shared, feeling both horrified and vindiently, neither were they. cated whenever I saw how empty the surrounding streets were. EBDI had already bought up most of the houses. Most of the residents had moved on. The houses were still standing but the streets were utterly silent. No buses That was six years ago. I lived with my grandmother for one more squealing to a halt. No old women fanning themselves on the stoops. No kids year after the robbery, but we never talked about it. Not me and my grandplaying on the sidewalks. No dealers squabbling. Just silence. It looked like mother, not my relatives, not at any of the family gatherings where our everyone had decided to remain quietly indoors despite the heat—a scene family stories were replayed over and over. This was not one of the tales we I had never before witnessed. Then, some time late last year, I drove by and discussed. Somehow, if we never talked about the fact that I’d been robbed saw that everything was gone. Just like that. Not a house, not a store, not a at gunpoint by a few of my neighbors, it was possible to pretend—for all of bar stood. There wasn’t even any rubble to gawk at or trip over. It was like us—that it had never happened. If we didn’t mention it, the fact that our driving off the edge of a map. lives were in danger in this neighborhood would stop being true. Just like the mugging, I never saw it coming. I couldn’t visualize the scale Being robbed on my own street made me happy to hear in 2001 that of the devastation, because somehow, even after the announcement and the Hopkins intended to raze seventeen blocks of this neighborhood, Granny’s evacuations and the bollards on the sidewalks, I wasn’t fully convinced it was house included. By this time, my grandmother’s health was poor. Between possible to destroy an entire neighborhood. Conflicted, I stare at the devastaarthritis and diabetes she could barely get up and down the stairs. I knew tion each time I pass by and wonder, how can a bulldozer do in minutes what that selling the place might help her afford more of the amenities she needed, decades of poverty and neglect never quite managed? ■ like a disability-friendly bathroom, a single-level floor plan, and the type of open green yard she hadn’t enjoyed since childhood. She wasn’t alone in her —Lionel Foster is Urbanite’s community coordinator.
w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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Home Sustainable Home
New environmentally sensitive rowhouses are going up in Baltimore. But are buyers biting?
Above: A floorplan of the Decker Walk Envirowhomes. These renovated rowhouses in Patterson Park contain green features like Energy Star appliances, tankless water heaters, and dual-flush toilets.
A deeper shade of green housing seems to be cropping up more and more these days, with new and renovated eco-sensitive homes available to the buyer. In Baltimore, two innovative projects, one in Patterson Park and the other in Locust Point, show the potential for going green in an urban rowhome setting. But what exactly does this mean for the homebuyer? In Patterson Park, it means amenities like permeable pavers, a living green roof, bamboo flooring, tankless water heaters, and dual-flush toilets that conserve water. These are just a few of the many features that the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation (PPCDC) is incorporating into their Decker Walk “Envirowhomes,” nineteen contiguous houses that the organization is renovating en masse just several blocks east of Patterson Park. A handful of the Decker Walk Envirowhomes are already listed, with prices starting at $280,000, and PPCDC anticipates the completion of all of them by early next year.
From its inception, the ten-year-old PPCDC has purchased and rehabbed close to five hundred buildings, or one out of six homes in the neighborhood, sparking a renaissance in the community. When the PPCDC purchased a block of nineteen adjoining homes, the organization saw it as a perfect opportunity to push the green envelope and comprehensively incorporate environmental amenities throughout the block. Each Envirowhome will be certified to meet the EPA’s Energy Star standards. This ensures that the homes will be at least fifteen percent more efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code. An outside consultant determined for the PPCDC that the average savings in energy costs to homeowners may range from $263 to $292 per year for each home. Sustainable design details also include community-building efforts to support strong neighborly ties. In back of the homes, the PPCDC decided to remove all the fences and create an open space laid w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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with porous paving stones that will further reduce storm water runoff to the Chesapeake Bay. The openness and invitation to socialize in the rear of the block will be a quantum shift from what the area harbored several years ago. The Decker Walk Envirowhomes are coming into reality in what was once the most crime-ridden part of the Patterson Park neighborhood. “Drugs controlled those streets
runoff to protect the Chesapeake Bay. Fifteen of the nineteen houses will have a minimum of fifty percent of their roofs covered by the low-maintenance plants. “Our goal is to set ourselves apart from other renovators. We want to keep on getting smarter with the renovations,” says Eric Jones, sales and marketing manager for the PPCDC. The PPCDC isn’t the only organization setting
but also the added challenge of the construction. Green homes require special skill sets from construction crews, many of whom are limited to industrystandard building practices. “There has been a bit of a learning curve for our subcontractors,” Hairston says of the Envirowhomes. “The plumber installed the first dual-flush toilet backwards. The energy audit expert provided a two-hour tour for the HVAC
and druglords chased people away in the late 1990s,” says Ed Rutkowski, executive director of the PPCDC. “It’s exciting to see the change there now.” “Our hope is that people will move in and come to see themselves as part of a tight community,” says Heather Hairston, project designer for Decker Walk. Thanks in part to the creative efforts of the PPCDC, the Patterson Park neighborhood has made a huge turnaround in increased home ownership and decreased crime stats. As the organization’s successes have snowballed, in some ways it makes sense for the group to set their sights on building for the future with the environment in mind. In truth, the organization has been incorporating some green features into their renovations for more than four years. But the Envirowhomes include a package of approaches that promise new homeowners a far more cost-effective home to own. To start, each house is tightly sealed with caulking and insulation so there is very little air leakage. Energy Star appliances, lighting, windows, and thermostats will be installed, which will reduce energy use by fifteen to fifty percent depending on the appliance. The homes are to be finished in ceramic tile (with natural non-petroleum-based finishes) and hardwood or bamboo floors, along with no-VOC paints and decks made of recycled plastic. To top it off, PPCDC will be installing a living green roof of plants that will reduce storm water
itself apart with green building practices. Dan Rieth, a developer and Realtor, has created an eleven-home, Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED)-certified and Energy Star-qualified project in Locust Point called Green Harbor Point. Rieth used environmental practices throughout the homes, right down to mitigating the amount of waste the construction created. His product waste was limited to 2.5 pounds per square foot, nearly forty percent less than the national average, saving precious landfill space. “In this market, with major home developers coming in and creating big-scale projects, I decided that I could set myself apart by going green.” Sales of the homes, which hover in cost around $500,000, haven’t been as swift as Rieth had anticipated, with some homeowners balking at the added cost of a green home. “It’s a very competitive market,” Rieth says. “Most homebuyers don’t want to hear about energy savings down the line, they want to know what you can do for them today. It’s like buying a car.” Still, Rieth is hopeful. “I definitely foresee the market expanding,” he says. “I actually had one couple purchase one of my homes because it was green. They were not even looking for a new home initially.” “But these projects do require more of an investment to start,” he adds. The increased investment comes not just in the added expense of environmentally friendly supplies,
contractors and framers to help them understand the overall approach. But once the contractors understood the techniques and rationale, they’ve been quite supportive.” Rieth estimates that the construction of Green Harbor Point homes costs twelve percent more than traditional townhouse construction. The PPCDC estimates that their total expenses are six percent higher compared with a standard renovation effort. Currently with the shifting real estate market, the PPCDC strategy is to internalize those costs and not pass them onto the buyers. “Everything is price-driven today,” says Ari Gerzowski of Re/Max Sails, who believes the PPCDC is taking a wise strategy by swallowing the additional costs at this time. “Everyone is looking for a deal with the market softer now than it was a year ago. If there were some tax or other incentive for people to buy ‘green’ that would be different though. More people would be seeking it out.” “I’ve never had a client specifically want ‘green,’” says Erin Fallon of the same Re/Max office. Cindy Conklin and Andrea Griffin of Coldwell Banker believe that more people are, in fact, responding to green. “We find that one out of four people find eco-sensitive features more appealing,” Conklin says. “They want to buy such a continued on page 70 w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table Pay-what-you-can restaurants serve healthy fare while serving humanity At One World Cafe in Salt Lake City, Utah, diners are served a side of social justice along with the sandwiches, and a cup of goodwill with the coffee and tea. First-time customers are often stunned by what they see—or rather, don’t see—inside this cozy eatery and coffee shop known for its tasty, organic fare: no menus and no set prices for any of the food or beverages. “You price your own meal—what you can afford, or whatever you think is fair,” explains Denise Cerreta, who launched the business four years ago this month. “You leave your money in a little box that we’ve set out. Most people give what the going rate is. It’s the honor system.” Americans spend 47.9 percent of their food budget on restaurants, according to the National Restaurant Association; the trade group predicts sales in the nation’s 935,000 restaurants will top $537 billion this year. But a restaurant sans menus? Paying only what you think a meal is worth? It might seem the antithesis of culinary capitalism, but a handful of “pay-what-you-can” or “voluntary-pay” restaurants have begun cropping up in places like suburban Seattle and New York City. These eateries blend altruism and the pay-itforward concept: Those patrons who can’t afford to pay much leave only what they can, while those who can afford to give a little extra do so, which ideally covers the less fortunate.
“We’re living in an age where a lot of people are skipping meals or eating Ramen noodles to make ends meet, even though they’re working,” says Cerreta, a licensed acupuncturist who studied the healing arts in New Mexico. “My acupuncture practice was thriving, but I felt a nudge—I guess you could say it was spiritual, from the Universe— to close that business and open the cafe.” She later launched a companion foundation, One World Everybody Eats, whose mission includes serving food free of pesticides and antibiotics, supporting local organic farmers, and, on a larger scale, working to eradicate world hunger. There’s also an emphasis on social responsibility, such as making sure that food-service workers (often paid the current federal minimum wage of $5.15 an hour) are paid a living wage. “I pay my team between $10 and $14 dollars an hour, plus meals,” says Cerreta, who has seen her one-woman operation grow into a staff of twelve, including an executive chef. Along with fair-trade coffee, the cafe serves gourmet sandwiches, soups, side dishes, and desserts, all prepared using organic, seasonal produce. The fare includes vegan and vegetarian entrées.
The set-up is cafeteria style, with the staff serving customers to better determine portion size and help eliminate food waste (part of the overall mission). Seating is informal—patrons choose their own tables. Cerreta also embraces a “hand-up, not a handout” philosophy. On any given day, a bevy of volunteers works alongside the staff, performing tasks that range from serving meals to weeding the garden (in which some of the cafe’s food is grown). Cerreta gives volunteers a meal voucher for each hour they work. “They can use it for themselves or give it to someone else,” Cerreta explains. “You don’t know who’s volunteering because they want to or need to, and we don’t judge either way.” Still, to ensure that all who enter the cafe can eat, even if they can’t leave a donation, there’s a daily complimentary entree, often featuring a high-protein carb like red beans and rice. Children under 8 also eat for free. “Our door’s open to everyone,” says the Ohio native, who moved to Utah in 1997. And although Cerreta says she’s been asked whether the majority of her patrons are indigent or homeless, that’s not the case. “We have judges, lawyers, doctors, single parents, students—every economic bracket. As a side effect, it’s really about building communities.” Strengthening their community is what inspired husband-and-wife team Brad and Libby Birky to open SAME Cafe (the acronym stands for So All May Eat) in downtown Denver, Colorado. continued on page 71
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There is a growing buzz surrounding the Baltimore-based Thrushes. The self-described “dream pop” group, whose sound recalls The Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, and The Velvet Underground, has deservingly garnered more than a few rave reviews for their debut full-length album, Sun Come Undone. The band is the focus of considerable and overwhelmingly positive online chatter as well. When asked if Sun Come Undone is deserving of the praise, guitarist and vocalist Casey Harvey, with neither hesitation nor bravado, responds: “It definitely stands up. We have a very different aesthetic than other indie bands.” That aesthetic consists of simple, melodic songs—Harvey characterizes them as “lullabies”— wrapped in an ambient, feedback- and reverbsaturated wall of sound. The Phil Spector allusion is apt; Thrushes claim The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las, girl bands the studio Svengali all but invented, as their foremost musical influences. Despite the meticulous sleight of hand implied by such influences, Thrushes are not a product of the studio. Not only was Sun Come Undone
recorded in a mere day and a half, much of which was consumed with setting up the band’s gear to achieve the desired sound, but the album is largely devoid of overdubs. During a recent performance at the Ottobar, Harvey—along with lead vocalist and guitarist Anna Conner, bassist Rachel Tracy, and drummer Matt Davis—demonstrated that their music is best consumed live. The band’s spirited, if brief, set included such Sun Come Undone standouts as “Ghost Train,” “Wake Up,” and “Aidan Quinn.” An outing that could have been compromised by the venue’s muddied mix was offset by a band that, cliché notwithstanding, is clearly greater than the sum of its parts. Save for Davis, who is Thrushes’ bedrock, no member of the band is a particularly gifted musician. And therein lies their charm: This is an ensemble whose members are in absolute creative lockstep with one another. Following their performance, the band retired to the Ottobar’s upstairs bar where they continued to exude the energy they had created onstage. There they sat in a small hometown club seemingly indifferent to the bigger and better things that Sun Come
ART
detail of Peinture/Nature Morte by Patrick Henry Bruce
If when you hear “modernism” you think “cold concrete,” an ambitious show at the Corcoran will be a revelation. A rare and sexy automobile—the Czech 1938 Tatra T77a—greets visitors in the lobby, while rows of reproductions of Dutch designer Gerrit Rietveld’s 1923 Red Blue Chair flank the museum’s grand staircase (the original chair can be seen inside the gallery). With encyclopedic breadth, “Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914–1939” explores these concurrent movements that sought to positively rebuild the world for the masses after the terror of World War I. A whirlwind of more than four hundred high-impact By Sarah Tanguy
POETRY
Too often, contemporary poetry can By Dan Gudgel seem like a withered grammarian, lecturing for the benefit of the words rather than the good of the audience. Reading poet Adrienne Su’s 2006 collection, Sanctuary, felt like the coffee conversation after the lecture: more interesting, more honest, and in the end, more satisfying. Su doesn’t flinch from illuminating her own struggles, as in “Bargain” when she makes “the trade / Of what looks like less punishment for what looks like less living.” In direct, precise language—which makes me glad she’s teach-
Undone portends. As a photographer rattled off a series of promotional shots, the band members leaned naturally into one another, utterly content in the moment.
pieces of art, design, and architecture brings to life the key themes of the era: utopia, the machine, and the natural world. In contrast to today’s art market that gives excessive attention to money and status, this show boldly proclaims a more democratic role for the arts, and evokes modernism’s ambivalent legacy: We can still enjoy Finn designer Alvar Aalto’s 1936 Savoy wavy glass vase, but the ultraviolet sun lamp, manufactured in 1928 by Hanovia, is a poignant indicator of the utopian dream gone bad. —Sarah Tanguy is an independent curator and critic based in Washington, D.C.
ing future writers at Pennsylvania’s Dickinson College— Su picks at stereotypes and assumptions of femininity, motherhood, and her own Chinese-American culture. The poems speak openly of the doubts, revelations, and joys of being both a part of America and apart from it. And throughout, Su points at the humor inherent in life’s trials. One poem, “Female Infanticide: A Guide for Mothers,” is both hilarious for its brazenness, and horrible for its truth. Sanctuary is a rare and worthy book that charms while it bites. —Dan Gudgel has a master of arts degree in writing from Nottingham-Trent University.
courtesy of Manic D Press
By Robert C. Knott
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One summer day in a June long ago, my father took a photograph of me sitting on my elder sister’s lap. Our siblinghood is undeniable, not because of the matching gingham outfits and matching feet dangling hen-toed in waterproof plastic sandals, but because of something intangible yet identical in our expressions. The bond between sisters is a combustible brew laced with rivalry, love, emulation, and resentment, making it a favorite ingredient when concocting a detective yarn. In Kate Atkinson’s 2004 Case Histories, Julia and Amelia Land ask Jackson, a laconic flatfoot, to try to discover what happened to their younger sister who disappeared more than thirty years before. Indeed, many people disappear in this book, both literally and emotionally, conveying the fragility of life. “That was how you lost people,” writes Atkinson, “a little carelessness and they just slipped through your fingers.” There is something peculiarly British in Atkinson’s tone—a comic common sense—which allows her to navigate some unsavory subject matter including murdered children, incest, and maternal fury. One young girl, who was spared the molestation suffered by her sisters at the hands of their father, matures into a woman who feels, shockingly, not blessed by her fortunate escape, but bitterly envious and sexually unattractive. “He never interfered,” she pouts, in a tone akin to regret, revealing both her lack of self-worth and the author’s coal-black humor. If you prefer your sibling mysteries more gothic in nature, try Diane Setterfield’s 2006 debut, The Thirteenth Tale, which has the added perk of being a book about books and boasts
a plethora of sisters—and sisters of the spookiest form. Some people find clowns creepy, others are scared witless by Tom Cruise, whereas it’s twins that give me the heebie-jeebies. Don’t be put off by The Thirteenth Tale’s cheesy cover and aggressive hype; Setterfield’s intricate plot is lovingly indebted to Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and rendered in prose teetering pleasantly close to purple. Margaret Lea, an introspective biographer haunted by her dead twin sister, is commissioned to write the life story of an elusive best-selling novelist. Lea moves into Vida Winter’s ancestral pile (never go into the attic!) and begins to peel back layers of the Winter family’s history, including a fatal fire, insanity, and sibling complications. Identical children emerge with a frequency not seen since The Village of the Damned. I assume Setterfield is working on her followup; maybe she should quit while she’s ahead. Laura Lippman, on the other hand, need have no fear of the page when she sits down (as she probably has already) to write her next novel. I have a confession to make; I haven’t read a book by Lippman for many years, and the excellent What the Dead Know taunts me that my reading time could have been better spent. Two young sisters disappear on Easter weekend in 1975 from a mall in Baltimore, leaving behind a stunned community, shattered marriages, and a police detective haunted by his failure to solve the most important case of his career. More than twenty years later, a woman arrested after a car accident claims to be one of the missing girls, yet despite her intimate knowledge of all the facts of the case, her behavior is erratic and devious, leaving the police to question her identity and motivations. Even more impressive than Lippman’s ability to reel a reader in is her canny understanding of human nature. Her characterizations of the missing girls capture the simultaneously obnoxious and
vulnerable nature of many teenagers, as the sisters sneak around manipulating each other’s emotions and jostling for parental affection. Lippman also skewers the failure of most of us to offer more than pat, shallow condolences to those who, like the girls’ mother, Miriam, have endured an unspeakable ordeal: “People tried on Miriam’s pain … modeled it for her, almost as if they expected her to be flattered by their interest. But they never had any trouble shedding it when the time came. They plucked it off and handed it back to her, continuing with their blessedly uneventful lives.” This latest novel places Lippman firmly in the company of P. D. James and Ian Rankin, whose similarly accomplished novels are often not given serious literary consideration due to their marginalization as “genre” fiction. Though, frankly, dear reader, I don’t imagine Ms. Lippman gives a damn. ■ —Susan McCallumSmith is Urbanite’s literary editor.
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Happy Feet continued from page 39
A few penguins eye us suspiciously, but pretend to be otherwise engaged.
Lenhardt points out one plump and disheveled fellow and explains that he is molting. Apparently the birds have a binge/purge mentality at this time, bulking up with food in preparation for shedding their feathers. Because they can’t swim during this time, having lost their waterproof feathers, they know they can’t catch the fish they need to eat for a while, thus the weight gain. “Other times, they can be not so good about eating their food,” says Lenhardt. “They’d rather play than eat, so we have to coax them.” Finn, from his very high rock, observes, “Sort of like someone’s mom that wants you to eat when you really want to play?” “Exactly,” Lendhardt answers. “Can you make them swim?” Finn wonders. “I can’t,” she says. “We don’t really make them do anything.” “I’d like to be a penguin,” Finn muses. A penguin hops up on a rock to get closer to him. He
scootches away. “Can we go see the chimps now?” I follow up on Casey’s research suggestion and rent Madagascar, the 2005 DreamWorks flick about a gaggle of animals that escape from Central Park Zoo. Lest you’re one of those grown-ups who’s popped the DVD in for your kids a hundred times and promptly escaped to read the paper, let me summarize: One of the characters, a zebra named Marty, sets the tone for the movie in its opening shot. In the early morning hours before the zoo is open to visitors, he jogs on his treadmill while daydreaming that he is running wild (soundtrack: “Born Free”). Marty’s yearning to escape his monotonous confinement is clearly the connection Casey wanted me to make as we considered the animals—and their daily lives—in the Maryland Zoo. And I can’t help wondering how many other kids made that connection in the aftermath of the
movie’s release. Clearly movies like Madagascar, Happy Feet, Free Willy, and even old-timers like Dumbo are a double-edged sword for zoos. On the one hand, these kiddie flicks, by personifying animals and giving them human characteristics—like the tears Dumbo’s mother sheds as they are separated—are part of what help us empathize with animals and care desperately about their preservation and treatment. And children’s literature is similarly rife with personified animals; think Toot & Puddle, The Cricket in Times Square, Charlotte’s Web. On the other hand, might such movies engender a generation of animal rights activists who see zoos as the epitome of cruelty? Officially, American zoos and aquariums profess to be unconcerned about the power of animal rights activists to sway public opinion against zoos. AZA spokesperson Steven Feldman insists that most folks love zoos. “There are some extremists out there who are anti-zoo either because they unintentionally or deliberately misunderstand the modern message of zoos as conservationists who connect the public with animals,” he says. “But they are really just a few fringe groups.” Still, regardless of what zoo administrators say on the record, it is clear that they are concerned about animal rights activists. For example, the AZA’s “2020 Trend Report,” a kind of white paper that maps out key trends and action plans for the nation’s zoos and aquariums, repeatedly warns members: “AZA and its institutions will have to take an issues management approach to animal rights. Without it, animal welfare advocates could threaten the ability to keep animals in captivity.” The authors even recommend a little J. Edgar Hoover-style infiltration: “AZA members should join animal rights groups and get to know them personally, including how they think.” Finally, they suggest trying to shape public discourse on the topic by changing the terminology from “animal welfare” to “species welfare,” hoping to signal a shift in zoos’ roles from simply displaying animals to actually helping preserve endangered species. There is nothing sneaky about this agenda. “Certainly there has been a shift from the display of caught animals to now, when we’re all about conservation, with very few animals brought in from the wild,” says the Maryland Zoo’s Grieb, explaining that they try very hard to replicate not just the landscape animals would navigate in the wild, but also herd size and breeding opportunities. “I think we inspire people to care about wildlife and wild places and become conservationists,” she continues. “If you don’t ever see the wild animals, then why would you work to protect the planet?” As we leave the zoo and tramp through the parking lot, I ask the boys what they thought of their visit. “That was so cool,” Zack says. “Awesome,” Finn agrees. “Do you think you can get an assignment to go behind the scenes at the aquarium next?” Casey wonders.“ Now that would be great!” Ouch. ■ —Karen Houppert is Urbanite’s senior editor. w w w. u r b a n i t e b a l t i m o re . c o m j u n e 0 7
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Ahead of the Game continued from page 51 gets a tax credit for the value of the donation and Baltimore Heritage gets the pleasure of knowing another historic structure in Baltimore has been saved. (The value of the donation is determined by a formula that sounds complicated but is actually pretty straightforward: how big the building is allowed to be under current zoning minus how big it actually is. The difference of that square footage gets a per-foot market rate attached to it.) At the end of the day, though, Murphy insists that more transparency in city government is vital to the success of any preservation effort. Worried that Baltimore faces a lack of real commitment from civic leaders, he
granite countertops
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Tempted? the most spacious new apartment homes on the water. Architect Klaus Philipsen worries that the city’s lack of confidence in itself jeopardizes its fate.
sees preservationists as playing a vital role as watchdogs since, when push comes to shove, he says, Baltimore’s politicians often back down. “The inherent problem is that even though Baltimore is more prosperous today than before, there’s still a high degree of economic distress, and when a developer comes in with a proposal and talks about the big economic benefits for the city, I have yet to see the city fathers hold their ground. Under those circumstances, they’re inclined to give historic preservation second rank and put the economic benefit as their first priority.” Ultimately, though, this is not just about politicians and preservationists. This is about all of us understanding and advocating for our city. Some argue that any of the “tools” in this preservation tool chest need to be accompanied by a change in mindset among Baltimoreans. “If we were like Boston, where every last corner of the city was occupied, invested in, and flourishing, preservation in Baltimore would be a different story,” says Philipsen. “But we are a city with a high level of disinvestment and a high number of historical structures.” He worries that the city’s lack of confidence in itself jeopardizes its fate. “We’re famous for having very low self-esteem over the decades and little hope about what we can achieve,” he says, speculating that our notoriously high crime rates, severely troubled public schools, and spotty social services have played a role in how we conceptualize ourselves. “We used to be so glad that anybody wanted to build anything in the city that we would let them run all over us.” Pointing out that this attitude began to shift under Mayor Martin O’Malley, Philipsen suggests Baltimore needs to be more choosey these days about the projects it approves. “We’re not a beggar city anymore. We need to think about the long-term plans, the master plan for the city. We need to ask, ‘How do we want our city to look at the end of the day?’” n —Karen Houppert is Urbanite’s senior editor.
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Home Sustainable Home continued from page 59 house because it feels good and not exclusively to save money on energy costs over the longer term. They usually have children and are concerned about the future.” Green building is becoming increasingly mainstream as more and more builders recognize the
This is a sign that there is greater interest in integrating environmental decisions into the business world and our government decisions. value of sustainable design and as more commercial products come to market. By the end of 2007, says the National Association of Home Builders, more than half of its members will be incorporating green practices into the development, design, and construction of new homes. According to Jonathan Passe, communications coordinator for Energy Star residential programs at the EPA, approximately twelve percent of new home construction begun in 2006 was Energy Star-qualified, a percentage that continues to increase each year. Developer and Realtor Dan Rieth estimates that the construction of Green Harbor Point homes (pictured above) costs twelve percent more than traditional townhouse construction.
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Chris Lynch, a nurse practitioner at Union Memorial Hospital, has already put in a contract to purchase one of the Envirowhomes. She will be relocating from a home in Baltimore County. “Patterson Park has improved so much in the past few years that the location really appealed to me,” Lynch says. While she wasn’t specifically looking for a green home, she was happy to have the option. “I really like that I can choose my own upgrades, and the environmentally friendly features are a bonus.” For developers, being green may not yet be as fiscally sound as traditional construction, so it means making a conscious choice to invest in the intangibles. It means being thoughtful about human health and the health of the environment at large, a way of thinking that more and more people are embracing, and some are starting to seek out in their homes. “It’s about people being thoughtful about what they’re doing,” says Rutkowski. ■ —Mare Cromwell holds a master’s degree in natural resources and has worked in the environmental field for twenty-six years, both internationally and in the Baltimore-Washington region. She is the author of If I Gave You God’s Phone Number ... Searching for Spirituality in America.
Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table continued from page 61 The couple, both thirtysomething professionals and longtime community volunteers, often spent time at soup kitchens and homeless shelters. “We loved doing volunteer work, but some of the food wasn’t of the highest quality; it was often out of cans,” says Brad. “We thought, why not make food from scratch using fresh organic produce and make it available to all?” Inspired by One World’s business model (and with Cerreta’s moral support), the pair opened their own pay-what-you-can cafe in October 2006. “We believe offering good, healthy food to everyone is important,” says Libby, still working full-time as a private-school teacher. “And since organic food is normally out of the price range of many people, we wanted a place that could reach a broad base of people.” Brad took culinary courses and is now the cafe’s chef, though he continues to do computer consulting part-time. He enjoys whipping up soups, salads, and creative dishes like Brie and cranberry pizza with organic semolina flour. As at One World, the eatery utilizes volunteers (who receive food vouchers) and has begun establishing ties with local advocacy agencies geared toward women and children. They have also established a foundation and website to help other budding restaurateurs. So far, they say, the mix of good food and good vibrations has proven a recipe for success.
“We have fun, we eat good food, and we get to talk to great people,” Brad says of his experiences at the cafe. “We serve our food at the counter, but we have seven tables in our dining room as well as the ability to do take-out.” There’s a box for donations, and the couple says that folks leave their fair share. (They count patrons daily and estimate average tabs between $7 and $9.) “The response has been overwhelmingly good,” says Libby. “We had some skeptics who said, ‘How is this gonna work?’ But we are seeing from our success that it’s doable.” The couple says that although they are not yet drawing salaries (typical in start-up businesses), they’ve seen the number of customers increase each month. Cerreta says that while she’s occasionally had to admonish people who try to take advantage of the system, most patrons leave their fair share—and then some. But she admits that launching the cafe was tough in the beginning. Her car was repossessed, and she says there were days when her bank account dipped precipitously. And once she began making a profit, Cerreta says she still made common business mistakes: hiring more staff than was needed, for instance. Yet, the trials have strengthened both her business acumen and, she says, her belief in the innate goodness of people. “My business has made solid profits for the last two years,” she says, adding that in December 2006,
she achieved nonprofit status for the cafe in order to pursue her broader anti-hunger mission. “I believe if you give people an opportunity to do the right thing, they do.” Would a pay-what-you-can restaurant work in a city like Baltimore or other parts of Maryland, where restaurant sales are expected to top $8.1 billion this year? At least one industry spokeswoman believes it could, given the right circumstances. “To our knowledge, we don’t know of any local entrepreneurs who are pursuing this business model,” says Licia Spinelli of the Columbia-based Restaurant Association of Maryland, which represents 3,000 members statewide. “It could have legs in the right community, one that would really support it.” Cerreta plans to head to the Big Apple in the fall to see if her pay-what-you-can concept will work there (similar efforts by other restaurateurs have not met with resounding success). She is presently seeking backers to open restaurants in other cities and believes the concept can work on a widespread basis. “I believe many communities would welcome this,” she says. “This type of restaurant can work if only people expand their hearts.” ■ —Donna M. Owens is an award-winning journalist who reports for print, broadcast, and Internet outlets nationwide. She lives in Baltimore.
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31 Move Over, Olive
61 Where Everyone Has a Seat at the Table
Chef Annie Somerville of Greens Restaurant has published the cookbooks Fields of Greens: New Vegetarian Recipes from the Celebrated Greens Restaurant and Everyday Greens: Home Cooking from Greens, the Celebrated Vegetarian Restaurant. Both are available from The Ivy Bookshop in Mount Washington (6080 Falls Road; 410-377-2966). The website for San Francisco’s Greens Restaurant is www.greensrestaurant.com. Go to La Tourangelle’s website (www.latourangelle.com) to order from their selection of nut oils. Many of the oils mentioned in the article are available at Whole Foods Market (www.wholefoodsmarket.com). Nasu Blanca is located at 1036 East Fort Avenue in Locust Point (410-962-9890; www.nasublanca.com). Woodberry Kitchen is located in the Clipper Mill development (www.clippermill.net).
The website for One World Everybody Eats is www. oneworldeverybodyeats.org. The website for So All May Eat is www.soallmayeat.org.
63 Recommended
Art: “Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914–1939” is at the Corcoran Gallery of Art (500 Seventeenth Street NW, Washington, D.C.; 202-639-1700; www. corcoran.org) through July 29.
photo by Nancy Froehlich
Music: For news and tour dates, go to the Thrushes website at www.thrushesrule.com.
57 Home Sustainable Home Get more information on the Patterson Park Community Development Corporation’s projects, including Decker Walk, by calling 410-732-1609 or going to www.ppcdc.org. For more information on Energy Star and energy-saving products and practices, go to www.energystar.gov. Learn more about the environmentally friendly Green Harbor Point homes at www.greenharborpoint.com.
For more on the state of the Maryland Zoo in Druid Hill Park, see page 35.
How do you breathe life into Baltimore? Coming Next Month: Guest Editor Margaret Footner, executive director of the Creative Alliance in Highlandtown, joins us as we look at how artists energize our community.
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3627 Keswick Rd Baltimore, MD 21211 410-878-2039
Join Now! www.funfitnezz.com
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Designed and Built One at a Time On Your Lot or Ours To Match Your Family’s Needs, Taste, Budget and Lifestyle. Custom…Not Costly 410.559.0000 x121 www.AshleyHomes.com 1605 Union Avenue Baltimore, MD 21211
Ponds/Waterfalls Landscape Lighting Patios & Walkways Retaining Walls Landscape Design & Installation
Let our expertise & creativity make your dreams a reality! 410-665-8887 Phone 888-665-8887 Toll Free info@signaturelandscapes.biz www.SignatureLandscapes.biz
ALL NATURAL PET FOODS & TREATS, SUPPLEMENTS & REMEDIES SUPPLIES & ACCESSORIES FOR YOUR BEST FRIENDS
Your best friends deserve the best!
336 N. Charles Street, Lower Level (P) 410-837-0440 (F) 410-837-3600 w w w. f f i t . n e t
MHBR No: 126
ESCAPE TO PARADISE7/21/06 ... IN YOUR OWN BACK YARD
Nutrition & Training Advice Self Serve Dog Wash
Physical Therapy Personal Training Wellness Coaching Breast Cancer Post-rehab
Are you in on the Secret?
conservation framing, printing & gallery
EHO
3512 Keswick Rd Baltimore, MD (410) 235-CHOW hampdenpets@gmail.com
10:35:40 AM
Find Your Inner Canoe.
burger bistro
Mortgage Consultant
Coffee Books Food Music Community Outdoor Seating
Burgers, Salads, Wraps, Pastries, Soups The Shops at Kenilworth Towson, MD
4337 Harford Road | 410-444-4440
410-828-5559
www.redcanoe.bz
The Ron Howard Sales Team RE/MAX Sails
TASHA LINTON
MIM
I will provide a friendly, affordable and simple solution for any home financing needs! Cell 443.992.0783 Fax 410.771.0480 Toll Free 866-855-0783
tasha@mtglender.net 170 Lakefront Drive Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Material Alchemy Juried by Marlene True June 23rd to July 28th 2007 Opening Reception June 23rd 7:00 to 9:00 pm
410-814-2404
www.baltimoreshowcase.com
Made In Metal
Higher Standards l Better Results
3600 Clipper Mill Rd., Suite 130 Baltimore, MD 21211 410.662.6623 www.madeinmetal.net
32nd Street Farmers Market
Distinctively Traditional to Transitional ONLY at Alex Cooper’s 908 York Road, Towson 410.828.4838
Specializing in Container Gardens & Urban Landscaping Commercial & Residential Design - Installation - Maintenance
Gallery Hours Mon. Tue. Wed. Fri. 9am-5pm, Thurs. 9 am - 8pm, Sat. 10am - 4pm & Sun. closed
www.baltimoregarden.com
www.alexcooper.com
4007 Falls Road Baltimore, MD 21211 410-366-9001
COSMETOLOGY
“Where you taste before you buy.”
“A Beautiful Career”
Our graduates are working in some of the finest salons in the area.
Mon - Fri 11am - 5pm Sat 10am - 5pm Sun 12 - 5pm
Baltimore Studio of Hair Design (410) 539-1935 Maryland Beauty Academy of Essex (410) 686-4477 Maryland Beauty Academy (410) 517-0442
17912 York Road Parkton, Maryland 21120
410-357-8644 www.woodhallwinecellers.com
www.baltimorestudio.net
RENEWAL
Window and Patio Door BYReplacement ANDERSON™ Window Patioa free Door Call me and to arrange Replacement in-home consultation! 443-690-4698 Call me to arrange a free Litaconsultation! Yoast in-home Sales and Design Consultant 443-690-4696 litayoast@andersencorp.com Lita Yoast Sales and Design Consultant litayoast@andersoncorp.com
MHIC #121441
MHIC #121441
Taste The Adventure! Waverly Farmers Market Saturday’s 7am till Noon Mill Valley Garden Center and Farmers Market Thursday - Sunday 8 am till 4 pm Friday till 8pm www.whiskeyisland.com 2800 Sisson Street Baltimore, Maryland 21211 410.236.0001
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*Breakfast till 11 am, Lunch till 5 pm Brunch on Saturdays & Sundays: 9 am - 2 pm
1000 Hull Street Baltimore, MD 410 837 0073
You haven’t been to Lillies yet? Gourmet Food Beautiful View Daily Food and Drink Specials Ample Free Parking Hours: Mon-Fri 4-10pm Dinner Sat & Sun 11-3pm Brunch 3-11pm Dinner 500 Harborview Drive, Baltimore, MD 21230 Phone 410 230 0704
Chestnut Ridge Farm Market featuring
The NY Pizza Company • All items made fresh to order! • Fresh made salads, sandwiches, subs, prepared foods & bakery items. Mon-Wed: 6am-8pm Thurs-Fri: 6am-9pm Sat: 7am-9pm & Sun: 7am-3pm
410-252-9100 12124 Greenspring Avenue
NEOPOL
Innovative INNOVATIVECuisine CUISINE andAND Housemade HOUSEMADE BBeers EERS OPULENT Setting SETTING in IN anANOpulent 1106 N CHARLES ST
1106(410) N. Charles 547-6925 St WWW .THEBREWERSART (410) 547-6925 .COM www.thebrewersart.com
breakfast lunch catering 400 East Pratt Street open Monday - Friday breakfast(across lunch catering from the Aquarium) 6:45 am - 4:00 pm www.bohemecafe.com INNOVATIVE CUISINE 400 East Pratt Street open410.347.9898 Monday - Friday breakfast(acrosslunch catering from the Aquarium) 6:45 am - 4:00 pm
HOUSEMADE BEERS 400 East Pratt Street (across from the Aquarium) SETTING IN AN OPULENT 410.347.9898 AND
410.347.9898 www.bohemecafe.com open Monday - Friday 6:45 400 am - 4:00 EastpmPratt Street www.bohemecafe.com
(across from the Aquarium)
410.347.9898 1106 N CHARLES ST catering breakfast lunch (410) 547-6925 open Monday - Fridayopen Monday - Friday 400 East Pratt Street 6:45 am - 4:00 pm (across from the Aquarium) .COM 6:45 am - 4:00 pm WWW.THEBREWERSART www.bohemecafe.com 410.347.9898
www.bohemecafe.com
Baltimore’s ONLY smokery, specializing in smoked seafood and meats, savory cheese pies, gourmet foods, smoked seasoning salts and chef’s supplies. Belvedere Square Marketplace, 529 E. Belvedere Square
410-433-7700
Dionysus Restaurant and Lounge Located in Baltimore’s Cultural District, Dionysus offers serious diners and drinkers a relaxing haven. Enjoy Mediterranean cuisine in the attractive upstairs dining room or experience their fine selection of spirits at the cozy downstairs bar. Restaurant: Sun-Thurs 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 5pm-11pm, Sunday Brunch 10am-4pm Bar: Daily 5pm-2am 8 East Preston Street Baltimore, MD 410.244.1020
FEED YOUR HEART Women’s Growth Center is a small, non-profit collective of therapists. We offer individual, couples, family, and group therapy.
Women’s Growth Center Since 1973 Psychotherapy for Women & Men
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5209 York Road #B12 410-532-2GROW (2476) By Appointment Only www.womensgrowthcenter.com
“life is short, eat dessert first” 4 Frederick Road Ellicott City, MD 21043 410.465.BAKE (2253) 410.465.9161 (fax)
PICK US UP MONTHLY AT OVER 600 LOCATIONS IN THE BALTIMORE AREA
Operating Hours Mon. - Fri.: 7 am - 5 pm Sat: 9 am - 2 pm
Canton Catonsville Charles Village Columbia Downtown Dundalk Ellicott City Federal Hill Fells Point Govans Harbor East Highlandtown Lauraville Mount Vernon Mount Washington Pikesville Randallstown Timonium Washington Village visit our website for a complete list of locations
www.urbanitebaltimore.com
eye to eye
As a means of understanding these images, one can concern oneself with either the psychological and physical sense of lifelessness and desolation that they project, or with their abstract patterns and formal relationships. These works are equally successful as social commentary and as abstract composition. Born and educated in Argentina and now living in Baltimore, Sofia Silva is a no-nonsense photographer who knows how to make a clear statement without affectation. Consider how destructive to the work the addition of any other element might be: a bird, a strong shadow, an abandoned newspaper. One feels that nothing can be added here, and nothing taken away. —Alex Castro
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Sofia Silva sam’s club, 2004 mart, 2005 parking garage—outside, 2004 each 20 x 80 inches Digital c-prints All images taken with Tomiyama Art Panorama 240
I filmed my own sex tape and “accidentally” sent it to everyone.
The pop made me do it.
William knows all too well what pop music can do to your life. If you or someone you know is dealing with a pop addiction, there is hope. WTMD 89.7. STOP THE POP INSANITY.
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window & door replacement 1
Valid on purchases of Pella windows and doors of $1,000 or more made between 06/01/07, and 07/31/07, on a PROJECTLINE Plus credit account. On promo purchase, no monthly payments are required and no finance charges assessed if (1) promo purchase is paid in full in 6 months, (2) any minimum monthly payments on account are paid when due and (3) account balance does not exceed credit limit. Otherwise, promo may be terminated and finance charges assessed from purchase date. Standard terms apply to nonpromo purchases, optional charges and existing accounts. As of 04/01/07, variable APRs: 20.24% and, on all accounts in default, 28.99%. Minimum finance charge of $1.50. Subject to approval by GE Money Bank.
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