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From the President
Dear Friends:
As an 18-year resident, I’m so excited to see the momentum that is growing in our neighborhood. We’re experiencing a flurry of great interest from home buyers. This year, we’ve welcomed many new residents who are renovating homes in the neighborhood and we’ve begun numerous marketing efforts (this newsletter being one of them) which are helping to put us on the map.
As president, my goal is to make our neighborhood more marketable in order to attract more single-family home buyers. That’s why many of you have spotted me out trying to spruce it up. I applaud the efforts of the folks on our Beautification Committee for their efforts too.
But, the park is merely one step in the process. With our upcoming Cookie Tour, our neighborhood will once again be in the spotlight. Things like planting tree wells and picking up litter do wonders for making our neighborhood attractive — not just to us, but to potential home buyers. So let’s get out there and make a difference.
Until next time,
Karen Fretz,
Association President
Park Beautification: Phase One Completed
If you haven’t spent an afternoon in the park recently, you’re in for a real treat. That’s because phase one of Union Square Park’s landscaping project has been completed. Phase one includes the replanting of beds along West Lombard and South Gilmor Streets.
This ongoing project is a cooperative effort of the Beautification Committee and the Neighborhood Design Center. The Beautification Committee is comprised of concerned residents, expert gardeners, and an historian. The committee researched historical records of the park design and obtained information about the Olmstead Brothers’ original plans for the park from Friends of Maryland’s Olmstead Parks and Landscapes.
With a $5,000 grant from Baltimore City, the committee purchased shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennials and began a series of weekend planting efforts, everyone on the committee has been helping in regularly planned park clean-ups, as well as individual weeding and litter removal.
The committee is now looking for funds for phase two — the beds on Hollins and South Stricker Streets. This phase is scheduled to be completed in time for our neighborhood garden tour next Spring. (Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s back.)
Special thanks are in order to all the residents who participated in the planting project, as well as those of you who’ve weeded and planted tree wells around your home. The committee would also like to recognize Ann Lundy, of Landscapes by Design, who donated about 60 hours of her time to develop a blueprint for our park. Ann is also available for private consultations (hint, hint... getting your own garden ready for the Garden Tour). Call her at (410) 366-9635.
If you would like to volunteer to help plant and care for the park, please contact Greg Grass at the NDC. His number is (410) 233-9686 ext. 103.
General Meeting
Wed., 10/1, 7 pm
1401 Hollins St.
Join us for an exciting general meeting to discuss these topics:
Holiday Cookie Tour
Block Beautification Projects
Halfway Houses - Loretta Townsend
Garden Tips, etc.
Home Security - Guest speaker from Southern Police
Calendar of Events
10/9-11 20th Annual
Chocolate Festival at Lexington Market
10/18 African-American Historical Bus Tour
Starts at 9 am at Gordon Plaza; $30. Info: (410) 837-4679 or e-mail: ubbsu@yahoo.com
10/29 BCHS Winter Program, “Baltimore’s African-American Heritage” at the Great Blacks in Wax Museum from 5-7 pm. Light refreshments. E-mail: bchs@mdhs.org to join the Baltimore City Historical Society.
Homes For Sale
$189,900 1607 W. Lombard
3BR/2BA #BA4628751
$165,000 35 S. Carlton
3BR/2BA #BA4624108
$149,900 1407 Hollins
4BR/1BA #BA4583393
$89,900 1105 W. Lombard
3BR/1BA #BA4629177
$85,000 14 S. Gilmor
4BR/2.5BA #BA4523261
$84,900 950 W. Lombard
3BR/2BA #BA4570920
$65,000 1128 W. Pratt
2BR/1BA #BA4591821
$59,900 200 S. Stricker
4BR/2BA #BA4602307
$49,900 1226 Hollins
#BA4627816
$15,000 1228 W. Pratt
1BR/1BA #BA4279947
Heritage Tours Showcase Union Square
On Saturday, June 7, Baltimore Heritage Tours discovered Union Square. Twenty people braved a steady downpour to go on a two-hour tour led by Betsy Nix. The walk started in the park, covered Hollins Market and Franklin Square, then returned to the Square with a side trip to Lemmon Street. The highlight was an unexpected peek inside the Mencken House, courtesy of Phil Hildebrandt.
Betsy, an adjunct professor who teaches Victorian America at the University of Baltimore, would be glad to schedule a tour for neighbors. Her guide experience includes conducting tours of the Mud Island Museum in the middle of the Mississippi River, as well as serving as head tour guide at Yale University during her undergraduate days. Betsy was also a National Park Ranger on the Freedom Trail in Boston (she has the maternity park ranger outfit to prove it).
Lombard St. Goes Both Ways
Look both ways before crossing W. Lombard Street. That’s because the city has officially changed the one-way street to two ways from MLK to Fulton.
This change was the result of a neighborhood study to reduce the speed at which cars travel.
Happily, the residents of the 1700 block of W. Lombard Street report that fewer cars are becoming airborne at the top of the hill.
In addition to some new lines down the street, the footways on W. Lombard Street got a facelift, with new ones installed by Baltimore City. Part of the Neighborhoods First program, footways projects are happening all over the city. On August 6, Martin O’Malley, flanked by members of the local media, assisted crews in laying the sidewalks.
Holiday Cookie Tour Volunteers Needed
Last year, roughly 700 people visited our neighborhood to tour homes decked out for the holidays and filled with sweet treats. This annual event is our largest fundraiser and one of the few opportunities we have to show off our neighborhood to the media and prospective home buyers.
Planning is underway for this year’s cookie tour, scheduled for December 14, 2003 from 12-5 pm.
If you would like to volunteer in any capacity, please e-mail us at unionsquarenews@hotmail.com. We can’t do it without your help.
Volunteer of the Month
Phil has once again brought Hollywood to our neighborhood, with the Urban Drive-In.
To recognize Phil’s hard work to bring us movies in the park this summer, he wins a $20 gift certificate for dinner at Ban Thai restaurant.
Thank You
To all the hard-working members of the Southern Police Department for keeping our neighborhood safe with 24-hour patrols and surveillance.
E-mail story ideas and calendar items to unionsquarenews@hotmail.com
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