Baltimore History

Baltimore's mayoral race, already full of unusual twists and turns, has yet another wrinkle: The next mayor could serve a five-year term, instead of the regular four.At issue is a ballot question, asking voters to change city elections to coincide with the presidential election, which is held the year after Baltimore's municipal elections. If approved, the proposed charter amendment would change the next city election from 2003 to 2004, giving the mayor and other city elected officials an extra year in office.

AS I SAT in a pew at Old St. Paul's Church at Saratoga and Charles streets and glanced at the exquisite English-made stained-glass windows her family had donated there in the 1880s, I couldn't help but think what an exceptional Baltimore life Eleanor Miles led in the 96 years that ended last week.It was fitting that her funeral was at this venerable altar. She had been the friend of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. She had entertained Richard and Pat Nixon in Baltimore; she could tell a story about the city with the best of them.

With four weeks to go in the city's turbulent mayoral primary, City Councilman Martin O'Malley gained the endorsement yesterday of state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer.A former governor and mayor, Schaefer stood near the entrance of the West Baltimore elementary school he attended and called O'Malley the best candidate at a news conference."I've never seen so much energy," Schaefer said of O'Malley, a 36-year-old defense attorney and former prosecutor. "Martin seems to understand the issues.

On a downtown street, with the bright sunshine and a television camera on his face, Neil Fisher promised Maryland a lavish, $100 million Ritz-Carlton hotel, hundreds of jobs and a fortune for a charity aiming to "build back the glory of Baltimore."His message appealed to many. "People need hope and something to dream for," he concluded in his pledge to help make Baltimore better.But what the public didn't see on that October day were the other sides of Fisher: the tough-talking real-estate syndicator accused of multimillion-dollar fraud; the repeatedly bankrupt developer who says he likes the sport of being sued; the snakeskin-booted land dealer whose partner on the Ritz deal was once convicted alongside Maryland's most infamous swindler, Jeffrey A. Levitt.

With four weeks to go in the city's turbulent mayoral primary, City Councilman Martin O'Malley gained the endorsement yesterday of state Comptroller William Donald Schaefer.A former governor and mayor, Schaefer stood near the entrance of the West Baltimore elementary school he attended and called O'Malley the best candidate at a news conference."I've never seen so much energy," Schaefer said of O'Malley, a 36-year-old defense attorney and former prosecutor. "Martin seems to understand the issues.

A coalition of a-rabbers, the itinerant vendors who have a long Baltimore history of selling fruits and vegetables from horse-drawn carts, filed a class-action federal lawsuit yesterday seeking to block what they call city efforts to shut them down.The a-rabbers, who have sold their produce on city streets for more than 150 years, have struggled to stay afloat amid not only changing times but also changing city ordinances that are clamping down on them."If Baltimore loses the a-rabbers, a bit of the city soul is lost," said Steve Blake, the president of the Arabber Preservation Society, which filed the suit against the city in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

Philip Kahn Jr. wove the threads of family, Baltimore's Jewish community and the city's once-flourishing garment industry into the tapestry of his life.An author, historian, painter, collector and retired men's clothing company executive, Mr. Kahn died of cancer Friday at Sinai Hospital. He was 80."He had one of the most meaningful retirements of anyone I know," said William T. Conklin III, a friend for 25 years. "He was so fulfilled, so interested. He was a quintessential Baltimorean."A scholarly man so interested in the city and its history that he would rather drive through its streets than circle Baltimore on the Beltway, Mr. Kahn stitched his interests in the clothing industry and the city's Jewish community into two books.

When 40 of the 45 Senate Democrats came to town this weekend for their annual spring retreat, it wasn't only to talk politics. They also brought their families to see the charms of Baltimore -- from a Friday night Orioles game to a tour of Fort McHenry and dinner at the Walters Art Gallery yesterday."

It's a problem more than one football team has faced in Baltimore: How do you create your own identity while paying homage to the heritage of the Baltimore Colts?For the Ravens, the city's new NFL franchise, the answer is to maintain two record books.The team will come out next month with its official media guide, the statistical record book used by reporters and fans. It will include two sets of records: one for the Ravens and another for "Baltimore Pro Football History."The sleight of hand will create a new home for the passing records of John Unitas and defensive stats of Art Donovan without expropriating the history of the Indianapolis, nee Baltimore, Colts.

More housecleaning neededHats off to Orioles management for getting rid of pitching coach Pat Dobson. Next on the agenda is getting rid of catcher Chris Hoiles. Since he signed that $17.5 million contract several years ago, he hasn't been worth much. He hits his hat size and he can't throw out Mother Teresa.Virg SpeakLittlestown, Pa.Myers is no starterAs I sat reading The Sun on Oct. 31, my eyes did a double take reading page one of the sports section concerning erratic Orioles pitcher Randy Myers being considered as a starter.

Mystique will give way to history when 22 of the world's best soccer players rendezvous on the freshly sodded pitch of M&T Bank Stadium before a sellout crowd of 71,000 on Friday night. If Florent Malouda is any indication, there will be as much curiosity on the pitch as there is in the stands when Chelsea FC stares down AC Milan in the World Football Challenge exhibition, known as a "friendly" in soccer parlance. Malouda, a 29-year-old French winger playing for Chelsea, was clearly intrigued with the prospect of a packed stadium on U.S. soil.

Convene a contest for new state song With all the discussion about the state song, I find it interesting that no one has referred to Baltimore's Municipal Anthem, "Baltimore, Our Baltimore," as a model to emulate when considering new words for the state song ("Why not an old song - and a new one?" Second Opinion, April 10). As a Baltimore public school student in the 1940s, I learned a great deal of Baltimore history through the verses of the municipal anthem that spoke of Charles Carroll, clipper ships and the defense of the city against the British.

One of Baltimore's most distinctive buildings is hunting for a tenant. The four-story Fava Building in Jonestown, featuring a cast-iron facade salvaged from an 1869 warehouse, has been largely vacant since Gardel's Restaurant and Supper Club went out of business last fall. It formerly housed the Baltimore City Life Museums. A private entity, the 1840s Corp., owns the building at 33 Front St. and last year opened the 1840s Carrollton Inn, a 13-room, $2 million bed-and-breakfast inside three other former City Life buildings on the block.

Ilearned some potent lessons in Baltimore history on winter Sunday afternoons in the 1950s. With my father, Joe Kelly, at the wheel, and my mother, Stewart, providing lively commentary to her children, we would be off to the old Peale Museum, Fort McHenry and most of the other local places that regularly had exhibits about the city. Along the way, my parents told compelling stories about the Baltimore that passed by the windshield. There would be Sundays when I was assigned to St. Ignatius Church with my father.

The Washington Monument stands like a chess piece on a barren board. Three buildings - the houses of Greenway, Howard and Tiffany Fisher - are the monument's only neighbors. There are no cars, no people, no Peabody, no Donna's in the picture. This is Baltimore's Mount Vernon, circa 1845. And it's for sale. One of the earliest photographs of Mount Vernon and the Washington Monument is up for auction today in New York at Sotheby's sale of photographs. The 1845 daguerreotype (photographer unknown)

Johns Hopkins Jr. wants you to visit his neighborhood. As the director of Baltimore Heritage Inc., Johns Hopkins Jr. makes a life out of working to salvage Baltimore's history - its long blocks of Victorian rowhouses, grassy parks and centuries-old churches. His favorite city artifact? The slice of Bolton Hill where he lives. "For me, the 1200 block of John Street is the best of historic neigborhoods," he said. "Architecturally it's probably a B-plus block - they are not anywhere near the fanciest houses or the most ornate windows or natural pieces.

Eleanor Betty Hirsh, an educator who championed preservation of the Lloyd Street Synagogue and was a founder of the Jewish Historical Society, died of cancer Sunday at her Pikesville home. She was 83. Born Eleanor Betty Rosenthal in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington, she was a 1940 graduate of Forest Park High School and earned a bachelor's degree in education from Goucher College. She was known by her initials, E.B. She joined Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, and in 1975 became the second woman to serve as its president.

Earl Pruce, a local historian and retired librarian of the old News American who saved as many old newspaper stories and photographs as his department could house, died of cancer complications Tuesday at his Northwest Baltimore home. He was 97. Born in Baltimore and raised on Quantico Avenue, he attended Forest Park High School, Maryland Institute College of Art and the old European Conservatory of Music on St. Paul Street, where he studied piano. In 1927, he joined the Baltimore American, then a daily morning paper, as a personal copy boy to the managing editor.

The tale of Mary Pickersgill, the hardworking Baltimore seamstress who made the Star-Spangled Banner in 1814, will soon be told in signs outside her East Pratt Street house in 17 different languages. Following in Boston's Freedom Trail footsteps, Mayor Martin O'Malley unveiled a new Heritage Walk yesterday on the Inner Harbor promenade, near the trailhead of a 5-kilometer Baltimore history lesson that will be installed over the summer. O'Malley said the path would enable city dwellers and visitors to connect dots in a tapestry of time spanning four centuries.

Baltimore's vacant Peale Museum would be turned into the Baltimore City History Center, a cultural attraction where people can learn about Baltimore history and architecture, if proponents can reach agreement with city officials on plans to transform it. The history center would house three nonprofit organizations that work to encourage public interest in Baltimore history and architecture - the Baltimore City Historical Society, Baltimore Heritage and...