Preservation Maryland, in partnership with the Maryland Historical Trust, Baltimore Heritage, Inc., and the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), are proud to announce the third and final round of grants awarded by the Baltimore City Historic Preservation Fund.
Financial support for the grant program is provided by a fund established several years ago at the Baltimore Community Foundation. The goal of this program is to provide direct assistance for capital and non-capital activities which advance efforts to preserve historically significant properties in the City of Baltimore.
In its final year, seven projects totaling $53,000 in grants were selected from a highly competitive field of applicants. The projects selected represent a wide variety of building types and uses. In addition to looking at historic significance, reviewers also sought projects that are important to neighborhood identity and contribute to the revitalization of communities.
Recipient: African American Fire Fighters Historical Society
Type: Planning and Feasibility
Project Name: International Black Fire Fighters Museum & Safety Education Center Planning
Description: The African American Fire Fighters Historical Society seeks to transform a 1904 firehouse in the Oliver neighborhood of Baltimore into the International Black Fire Fighters Museum & Safety Education Center. The long vacant firehouse will be become the brick and mortar home of the group whose mission is to collect and preserve the history of firefighters of color. This grant will fund the first step in achieving this goal, which is to complete a historic structures report to inform the restoration effort.
Amount: $10,000
Mount Clare Station, part of the B&O Railroad Museum. Photo from Maryland Historical Trust.
Recipient: The B&O Railroad Museum
Type: Bricks and Mortar
Project Name: Preservation of the Historic B&O Mount Clare Depot
Description: The 1851 Mt. Clare Depot is the oldest building at the B&O Railroad Museum and today serves as exhibit space. A combination of floor damage and the COVID-19 pandemic have led to the closure of the space since mid-2020. Work is underway to create a new exhibit for the space telling the stories of freedom seekers who traveled through Mt. Clare Station. This grant will help fund the necessary work to the depot, including floors, walls and ceiling, to reopen this space to the public.
Amount: $15,000
Recipient: Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation
Type: Bricks and Mortar
Project Name: Restoration of Stained Glass Windows
Description: The Baltimore Urban Leadership Foundation, also known as The Door, is located in Baltimore’s East Monument Historic District in a former church building. The organization provides several direct services to the community including food distribution, serving as a resiliency hub, and providing space for a wide variety of community events. This grant will help fund the restoration of three of the site’s interior stained glass windows which have started to experience breaks and cracks.
Amount: $9,000
Recipient: Central Baltimore Partnership, Inc
Type: Bricks and Mortar
Project Name: CSX (B&O) Tunnel Original Fence Restoration
Description: The Central Baltimore Partnership is working to restore and reinstall a section of the 1895 B&O iron fence that sits on the 2500 block of N. Calvert and adjoins the 200 block of 26th Street. Thhe grant awarded will help support those efforts In addition to the preservation of the historic fence, the project will create a community green space above the railway tunnel and install an interpretive sign telling the history of the railway corridor. The timing of this project coincides with a major revitalization of the CSX corridor from Baltimore to Philadelphia that is underway.
Amount: $5,000
Recipient: Cylburn Arboretum Friends
Type: Bricks and Mortar
Project Name: Conservation and Restoration Historic Lady Baltimore Statues
Description: Located in the expansive gardens of Cylburn Arboretum are a pair of limestone Lady Baltimore statues that once stood on the St. Paul Street bridge. The statues have stood in Cylburn Arboretum since 1975 and are in need of conservation. The grant will help fund this work to help ensure the continued presence of these historic structures at the Arboretum.
Amount: $9,000
Recipient: Druid Heights Community Development Corporation
Type: Education and Research
Project Name: Sphinx Club: Igniting a Renaissance in the 20th and 21st Centuries in West Baltimore
Description: The Druid Heights Community Development Corporation is looking to expand awareness of the importance of the Sphinx Club and the Pennsylvania Avenue Black Arts and Entertainment District though public programming and other outreach initiatives. Starting in the late 1940s the Sphinx Club was not only a place to enjoy great entertainment, it also served as a key networking site for city leaders. This grant will help fund proposed public programming that will help share the story of the club as part of work to revitalize this site and the surrounding community.
Amount: $5,000