St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church was designed by the noted architect Joseph Evans Sperry. Its sanctuary is the work of the Tiffany Studios, best known for its stained-glass windows. The church is considered a textbook example of the Italian and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. Yet no public body ever determined that the 1898 building should be given landmark status - until now.
Baltimore's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation voted this month to add the stone church at 1920 St. Paul St. to the city's landmark list. The designation still must be ratified by Baltimore's Planning Commission and City Council and Mayor Sheila Dixon before it's official, but CHAP's action already has raised the spirits of those who have worked to see the church declared a landmark.
"Internally and externally, the building is spectacular. It's amazing it has gone this long and not been designated," said Margaret Shamer, a church member who was instrumental in getting CHAP to consider the designation. "I hope it will attract some attention."
Adding a building to the city's landmark list means that owners can't change the exterior without approval from the preservation commission, and that will help protect it, said the Rev. Dale Dusman, the church pastor.
"We want to be good stewards for the present, but we also want to look to the future," he said.
St. Mark's is the latest in a record number of buildings and districts that were recommended for addition to Baltimore's landmark list this year.
The designations were part of an effort by the commission to be more aggressive about "landmarking" significant buildings and places before they're threatened with demolition or defacement. Panel members stepped up designation efforts after the city lost several key buildings during the past few years because they were not protected by landmark designation, including the Rochambeau apartments on Cathedral Hill and a row of early 1800s houses near Mercy Medical Center.
In some cases, adding buildings to the landmark list also means that owners will be eligible for tax credits for historic preservation.
In all, the preservation commission recommended adding more than two dozen buildings and places to the landmark list, which had about 160 properties at the start of the year. It also recommended adding three districts and expanding one more, to join the previous roster of 29 local historic districts.
