Open Letter from Katy Greene Davis

Fellow Baltimoreans,

We are under an unimaginable threat to our historic buildings all over downtown Baltimore. The developers are poised to tear down one and a half acres of historic properties right in the heart of nationally famous Historic Fell's Point (the original city on the shores of the Patapsco River). Saint Stanislaus Church will be gutted, and the Mother Seton Convent, the Friary of the Franciscans, and all the adjacent buildings down Aliceanna Street will be fodder for the wrecking ball if we don't stand up and put some heat under the rear ends of the politicians, the archdiocese, and the developers. This kind of sneaky behind-the-scenes, back-room dealing is old and stinks of greed. The developers (who, by the way, sit on the board of the Mother Seton…how convenient!) have been presented with an alternate plan to save the church, the facades, and the Mother Seton Convent, but they have turned it down.

People in Baltimore wake up, politicians wake up and listen to your people. Do the people of Fell's Point want giant townhouses on their quaint streets, NO! Do the merchants of Mt. Vernon want a garden for the Basilica or an apartment building full of consumers for their goods, DUH!!!!! Did the National Trust want to tear down a city block (part of the original footprint of Fell's Point) of turn-of-the-century warehouses to make a parking lot (an illegal one at that) for a swanky restaurant, NO, NO, NO.

I grew up in Annapolis. I now know how lucky I was to live in a place where historic preservation rules and greedy, visionless developers are kept in check by ironclad preservation guidelines.

Fells Point Landmark at Risk

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 28, 2006

CONTACT: Ellen von Karajan, 410-675-6750, ex. 14, or online at www.preservationsociety.com

Mother Seton Academy and developers to demolish Fell’s Point landmark site

Baltimore, MD- The wrecking ball may soon destroy St. Stanislaus Kostka parish buildings and church interior in historic Fell’s Point if Mother Seton Academy and developers of high-end condominiums have their way. Though all the buildings could be profitably rehabbed, the Conventual Franciscans have applied for the permit necessary to demolish five historic buildings there and the church interior. This ill-considered wrecking-ball proposal would do an irrevocable disservice to Baltimore and to Fell’s Point, a National Register of Historic Places site visited by over 500,000 tourists annually.

The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, Baltimore Heritage, Inc. and National Trust for Historic Preservation have expressed grave concerns for the future of St. Stanislaus Kostka and its Fell’s Point neighborhood. They have joined hundreds of Southeast Baltimore residents to appeal to the Mother Seton Academy, the Conventual Franciscans, the Cardinal and the Mayor to show their support for this architectural and cultural landmark. Thousands have signed a petition opposing the demolition and daily picketing began last week.

Wrecking ball casualties on Aliceanna Street would include the last of four of Fell’s Point’s 18th century four-bay captain’s “mansions”, and the “Hall” that served as the 1912 strike headquarters for longshoremen. During the strike, AFL president Samuel Gompers came to the Hall and spoke in support of the strikers’ demands for unionization. Longshoremen met here again in 1936 to support a wildcat seaman’s strike. On Ann Street, the convent and friary will be razed.

The Maryland Historical Trust has determined that federal and state historic preservation laws do not apply to St. Stan’s because there is no federal or state involvement. However, in a January 20, 2006 letter, the Trust stated they were “extremely concerned that the plan…proposes demolition of a very significant number of historic buildings surrounding the church.” The Trust’s letter also stated “eliminating virtually an entire block of historic properties would have a devastating effect on the integrity of the Fell’s Point Historic District.”

The City of Baltimore can boast a fine record in preservation that may soon be honored by its inclusion in the highly competitive federal “Preserve America” program. Fell’s Point is an important part of that record, yet 30 years ago church officials resisted the inclusion of St. Stan’s parish in the City’s preservation-friendly Urban Renewal Plan for Fell’s Point. Each time pastor and parishioners asked to put St. Stan’s under the protection of City preservation guidelines, church officials refused. City historic district designation, applied for in March 2005, which would prevent demolition, is not yet approved. Bottom line: No statutory protection from demolition applies to rescue the site.

For generations, St. Stan’s has evoked old world Eastern Europe and speaks volumes about the social history and aesthetic of 19th and early 20th century settlers. All that may be destroyed soon. Not only would the wrecking-ball proposal raze a whole block of sturdy old buildings, the church itself would become a “gutted” shell. Preservationists, neighbors and the Polish community protest this build-out on the 1.7-acre site because it will cause great harm to the traditional character of the neighborhood. In fact, everything diverse and charming about the buildings on Ann and Aliceanna Streets (which could be saved and adapted for new uses) would be rubbed out to favor a repetitious design.

Central to the wrecking-ball proposal is expansion of the Mother Seton Academy. Located now in the former convent, it would be rebuilt in the gutted shell of the church. Developers state that the sale and development will generate funds to support aging Conventual Franciscans, and the Academy’s expansion. These are noble purposes, but many question whether such extreme measures are necessary. Rehabilitation of historic buildings in Fell’s Point is profitable, and could generate funds for both purposes. Additionally, the Academy could expand in place or relocate nearby at St. Patrick’s or Holy Rosary school, or at Highlandtown or Lombard Middle both soon to be vacant.

In an effort to offer alternatives to demolition, the Preservation Society commissioned a study that demonstrates that continued productive use of this mix of buildings is both economically and architecturally feasible. Prepared by Richard Wagner, A.I.A. - a Ph.D. in the Economics of Historic Preservation and head of Goucher College’s preservation program - this plan features a mix of 25 condo units compared to 23, with parking that meets code requirement at 55 spaces compared to 71, and preserves the magnificent upper church while adapting the lower as an assembly area. Unfortunately, Mother Seton school officials have rejected this plan.

St. Stan’s depends completely on its “place” and buildings to enable future generations to connect with the heritage of Baltimore’s Polonia, the single largest ethnic group to settle in the City’s southeast. Like many 19th century churches, St. Stan’s provided continuity of language, religion and culture to newly arrived immigrants who were coping with the shock of forging new lives in a new land. They have no more cherished landmark than this place, which holds meaning and irreplaceable memories for them, as well as architectural distinction and history.

Much loved by many, but vulnerable to the bulldozer, St. Stan’s may soon give way to sleek new condos, so uncharacteristic of the neighborhood, that will serve as enduring reminders of the apparent contempt some still harbor for the heritage of Fell’s Point. The preservation community, at the local, state, and national levels, stands at the ready with technical resources and financial incentives to save St. Stan’s and continues to ask that the Mother Seton Academy and the Conventual Franciscans rehabilitate rather than raze these buildings so central to Fell’s Point’s history.