The plan was to give Glen Burnie a little respectability, distinction even, with four large welcome signs strategically placed at the community's limits.
But after three months of talks on financing and design, the commission appointed to oversee the project stumbled upon a rather important -- and apparently difficult -- question.
Where is Glen Burnie?
"Ask anybody, nobody knows," said Joe Corcoran, second in command of the community's sign commission.
The once simple plan has thrown the community into an identity crisis. The commission is thinking about creating another commission to study the weighty question. One civic leader said the community might have to hire a consultant.
The answer has remained elusive.
The U.S. Postal Service says Glen Burnie is the area contained within the ZIP codes 21060 and 21061. But those ZIP codes also encompass Marley, which is considered part of Pasadena, and Ferndale which is, well, Ferndale.
"This is definitely not Glen Burnie," Ed Wilson, a 46-year veteran of the Ferndale Fire Department, said with a huff. "Ferndale is Ferndale. Nobody comes in and nobody goes out. Glen Burnie is full of transients. If people put up a sign calling this Glen Burnie, well, we will probably have a civil uprising."
Several Glen Burnie residents have offered unsolicited advice, commission members say. One suggested Glen Burnie "starts at the Kmart." Or it "goes until you reach Pasadena; once you're in Pasadena, you're not in Glen Burnie."
A local business map, which includes Marley, but not Ferndale or Solley -- another point of contention -- comes with a disclaimer: "We can not guarantee complete authenticity," it reads across the bottom. "We would appreciate additions or corrections."
It seems two things are known for certain: Glen Burnie is in the northern part of Anne Arundel County and its center is the Anne Arundel Community College building on Crain Highway and Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, once the WB&A Railroad station and now the heart of "town center" revitalization efforts.
Many people say they know when they are in Glen Burnie; they just aren't sure when they leave it.
"I know people who live up by the Wal-Mart, and that's Glen Burnie," suggested Cathy Dittmar, who works at Tangles Salon on Crain Highway near the community college. "And down by the votech school is also Glen Burnie, so maybe it ends somewhere in there."
