Auction Block

NEW YORK -- Once it was shiny and new, the fine, black alligator briefcase that a father bought for his son to symbolize the launch of a promising career.The son and the briefcase fulfilled those dreams of ambition: Together they went, through the halls of Congress, to the Senate and, triumphantly, to the White House. Along the way, the handle had to be repaired and the edges frayed a bit, but the owner would not replace the trusty carrier.How the briefcase of John F. Kennedy ended here, on an auction block in New York -- even though JFK's children had staked their own claim to this particular piece of Camelot -- is an emblematic tale of the '90s.

CSX Transportation is putting 18 Maryland industrial and manufacturing sites on the auction block in the railroad's attempt to sell off surplus land.The sites are valued at more than $6 million, according to the Carlton Group Ltd., a New York-based firm handling the auction.The deadline for bids is Oct. 14.The properties include 13 parcels in Baltimore, two in Jessup, one in Halethorpe and one in the Cecil County community of West Leslie.The parcels range in value from $60,000 to $5 million.

Buy a piece of an island in Chesapeake BayLooking for your own island, or at least a chunk of one? Next month you could get your chance when the 89-acre Pitchcroft property on Smith Island in the Chesapeake Bay goes on the auction block.The property, in the island town of Ewell, is the former site of a historic summer home destroyed by fire about six years ago.The land is listed for sale for $500,000 with Moore, Warfield and Glick, Realtors. But the owners have agreed to sell at auction, setting a minimum bid of $200,000, said Jerry Mueller, auctioneer with the realty company.

It's tough to own a mansion.Just ask scores of Baltimore area millionaires who don't want to live in them anymore -- and are panicking as their luxury estates fall into disrepair, languish on the market and get grabbed at prices as low as half off."It's a terrible ordeal -- very hard on the nerves," said Michael Foundos, 50, a commercial real estate mogul who had tried for two years to sell his Annapolis home for $1.5 million without so much as one offer. "We've been fairly depressed about it."

FOR MUCH OF the 1970s and 1980s, American homeowners witnessed such a hefty appreciation in their property values it was easy to think the sky was the limit. That's why the 1990s have brought a rude awakening for those who overbought and speculated that inflation would keep residential real estate prices rising.Several recent news articles have highlighted the difficulties some Marylanders are having in unloading high-end residences. One Anne Arundel County family's dilemma was particularly striking: Having built a dream mansion, they could not find a buyer at the $1.5 million asking price.

Members of the Westminster Moose Lodge have raised $4,500 for one of their own -- longtime member Virginia Mitten, who lost her John Street home in a fire late last year."

If you have been to Colonial Williamsburg, you know what to expect. Lots of candle-making. And ruly mobs of actors in period costume.You go to Colonial Williamsburg to see 18th-century American history in a prettified, cobblestone-street sort of way. Which is my favorite way. You can stay in lodges with fireplaces. You can order roast boar, cooked the way George Washington's mother might have.It's history lite. Which is fine. It encourages time-travel as amusement, which makes it easy on the kids.

Ever yearn to dress like a celebrity, from the ankle down at least? Here's your chance to walk a mile in Robin Leach's loafers, George Bush's Nike Airs or Kathie Lee Gifford's suede pumps.They're among the 84 pairs of star-worn footwear donated to "Tough Shoes To Fill," a silent auction to benefit the South Baltimore Homeless Shelter. Beginning Friday through Sept. 9, the autographed cleats, boots and wingtips of the nation's bigwigs will be up for bids at Hess Shoes in Towson Town Center.

Too often, we tend to romanticize our past. We remember the stoic Pilgrims seeking religious freedom and the gallant Paul Revere galloping through the streets.But this week, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation set out to portray one of the more sordid sides of our history by recreating a slave auction. The skit was a controversial and emotional departure for the normally conservative Colonial Williamsburg, which until now tended to present programs on such innocuous topics as 18th-century barrel making and tobacco farming.

Auction at Belvedere is put on holdDon't hold your breath waiting for the auction of restaurant spaces at the old Belvedere Hotel tomorrow. It won't happen, the head of the restaurants says."

A man who built an empire on the idea of living large in retirement is having to scale back a bit himself. John Erickson, whose Erickson Retirement Communities operates 19 communities in 11 states, will try to unload his Inner Harbor corporate penthouse in an auction Saturday. Bids for Harborview's Penthouse 4A begin at $950,000. List price for the 3BR, 3.5BA, 3,922-square-foot waterfront condo was $4.6 million when Erickson first put it up for sale a year ago. "The goal of the sale is to support Erickson's ongoing efforts to maintain and enhance liquidity," said Mel Tansill, an Erickson spokesman.

LOS ANGELES - Skywalker's lightsaber going to the auction block Luke Skywalker's lightsaber from Star Wars, Indiana Jones' hat and whip from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Batman's cowl from Batman Begins are going on the auction block. The iconic movie items are for sale as part of Profiles in History's Hollywood auction, to be held Dec. 11 at the company's headquarters in Calabasas, Calif. The lightsaber is expected to sell for at least $150,000. Other items featured in the auction include C3PO's helmet, a complete set of Harry Potter books signed by J.K. Rowling, a three-volume collection of The Lord of the Rings signed by J.R.R.

He buzzed around like a fly behind a windowpane. He could see daylight but no obvious way to break through or go around. He was frantic, panicked. His house was in foreclosure, and in a few minutes it would go on the auction block. Pacing and smoking outside the hulking Baltimore County Courthouse in Towson, 47-year-old Andre Green pleaded his case with just about everyone he saw on the concrete steps. "I'm here to stop this sale!" he declared to auctioneer Ron Osher. Green waved a last-minute agreement with GMAC that would let him pay the lender $1,250 a month - and keep his late mother's brick rancher on a quiet street near Reisterstown Road Plaza.

John Unitas' rookie contract - the one that brought the Hall of Fame quarterback to Baltimore in 1956 - goes on the auction block this month. The cream-colored contract, which Unitas signed with the Colts after his release by the Pittsburgh Steelers, was for $7,000 a year. It is expected to bring nearly that much at auction Feb. 23-24, said David Hunt, president of Hunt Auctions in Exton, Pa. "It's hard to value this particular [memorabilia]," Hunt said. "Obviously, things like this don't come up that often."

A stately Queen Anne manor in Darlington goes on the auction block Saturday, offering bidders all its 19th-century charm and money to help restore it to its gabled grandeur. The three-story, seven-bedroom home was built in 1884 on 13 acres along what was once Harford County's busy highway to Philadelphia and was immediately dubbed Gray Gables. The property, including the home, carriage house and barn, will be sold with a nearly $300,000 endowment that will allow its owner use of the interest to fix up the place.

One of Baltimore County's oldest "country estates" will go on the auction block this week, when James Keelty & Co. offers the former Henry Gwynn House at 6909 Bellona Ave. in Rodgers Forge. The large Italianate villa occupies a prominent corner of the tract where Keelty is building Rodgers Choice, a community of luxury town houses. It dates from 1864 and is one of 17 Towson-area properties that were added this fall to Baltimore County's preliminary landmarks list. The Gwynn house is one of the few remaining regional examples of the "great estates" built by prosperous 19th-century merchants.

In The Region Angelina's eatery of crab cake fame on the auction block Angelina's, a Northeast Baltimore restaurant known for its crab cakes, is going on the auction block at 1 p.m. April 25, according to Alex Cooper Auctioneers. The land, building, liquor license and recently remodeled restaurant at 7153 Harford Road all will be sold on the premises. The Italian and seafood restaurant, opened in 1952 in a rowhouse, has maintained its reputation in the city as a place to go for jumbo crab cakes through three sets of owners.

Real estate, real hype This is the time of year when over-the-top decorations scream "SEASON'S GREETINGS" along the 700 block of West 34th St. in Hampden. Along with the usual blinking lights, Santa Clauses and giant candy canes, a more understated sign stood in one yard recently. It read: "Open House." And it drew potential home-buyers like moths to an overloaded Christmas tree. "It was probably the biggest open house we ever had - 800, 1,000 people. We absolutely lost count," said real estate agent Mike Sloan.

In The Region Schmidt Baking truck drivers vote to join UFCW The Salisbury-based delivery truck drivers for Schmidt Baking Co. voted overwhelmingly yesterday to unionize as part of the United Food and Commercial Workers, a union official said. Tim Goins, organizing director for UFCW Local 27, said the 34-6 vote came because the drivers are unhappy with the lack of respect they receive on the job. They also are concerned about job security, wages and long working hours, Goins said, noting that most of the drivers are on their delivery routes by 5 a.m. and some work as late as 8 p.m. Health America to settle U.S. dispute for $29 million Coventry Health Care Inc. said yesterday that its Health America Pennsylvania Inc. unit will pay $29 million to settle a dispute with the U.S. Office Of Personnel Management related to charges under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.

Ernest Murphy was going with his entrepreneur's heart when he bought the storied Eager House restaurant building in 1992. But he turned to his economist's mind when he decided to put it on the auction block today. Murphy's dream of resurrecting the former restaurant icon did not go as planned. Reviews were good, but the economy was not. The Eager House, which opened in 1947, was often more successful with its menu than with its bottom line. It had experienced several lives when it closed in the early 1980s.