Gatehouse

The whimsical building entered into local legend as the gingerbread home of Hansel and Gretel. The Sheppard Pratt gatehouse is so firmly established as a beloved Baltimore landmark that you almost expect merry gnomes to appear at its slender windows. It's not hard to envision an eccentric witch or two here. There's even a little stream nearby for a troll. What exactly happened behind the walls of this semi-mysterious abode in the woods alongside a busy Charles Street adjacent to the Woodbrook, Murray Hill and Greater Towson neighborhoods?

The whimsical building entered into local legend as the gingerbread home of Hansel and Gretel. The Sheppard Pratt gatehouse is so firmly established as a beloved Baltimore landmark that you almost expect merry gnomes to appear at its slender windows. It's not hard to envision an eccentric witch or two here. There's even a little stream nearby for a troll. What exactly happened behind the walls of this semi-mysterious abode in the woods alongside a busy Charles Street adjacent to the Woodbrook, Murray Hill and Greater Towson neighborhoods?

Sykesville might need a grant to get a grant to make a house a museum.The town has been told it will receive a $5,000 grant from the Maryland Historic Trust for renovation of the state-owned Gatehouse at Springfield Hospital Center, which Sykesville officials want to turn into a municipal museum.But the trust is requiring a property survey of the Gatehouse before it gives the town $5,000 to begin renovations of the property.And at least one town official says the survey could cost the entire $5,000.

A man wanted on an attempted murder charge was arrested yesterday after police said he barricaded himself inside a West Baltimore apartment, prompting heavily armed tactical officers to shut down the neighborhood for more than an hour. The man was taken into custody about 8 a.m. and was seen struggling with officers, kicking a car and screaming as he was led to a transport wagon. Police also took another man, a woman and a child from the house, but they were released. People who lived in the 2800 block of Gatehouse Drive and surrounding streets were told to stay in their homes, and others were evacuated as the standoff near the Forest Park Municipal Golf Course continued.

The Sykesville Historic Commission has postponed indefinitely the Gatehouse benefit auction scheduled for Saturday.Winter weather damaged several rooms in the Gatehouse, which was to be the site of the auction and the beneficiary of the proceeds."

The size of the auction was unremarkable. The fact of it -- another 12,737-square-foot office building in Hunt Valley, another mortgage foreclosure -- was definitely routine. The result, however, was not."We got more than the mortgage," said Paul Cooper, an auctioneer at Alex Cooper Auctioneers Inc. in Towson, after his firm sold the Gatehouse at North Park building for $775,000 to an unidentified local bank.Mr. Cooper said the result was probably the first time in five years the firm had sold an office or industrial project for more than the debt on a defaulted loan.

Sykesville officially took over the Gatehouse last week when the state signed and returned a $1-a-year lease to the town."We are now the proud lessors of the building and all its varying problems and unfinished heating system," said Mayor Jonathan Herman.The town has been negotiating with the state for nearly two years in the hopes of renting the two-story building on Cooper Drive for a nominal fee.With help from volunteers, the town Historic Commission wants to renovate the Gatehouse, once part of the Springfield Hospital Center complex, and make it into a museum for its extensive collection of antiques and town memorabilia.

Sykesville is asking the Maryland Historic Trust for $65,000 with which to renovate the gatehouse at Springfield Hospital Center and a one-room school where thousands of African-American children received their elementary education during the first half of the century.The town submitted two applications to the Office of Preservation Services by the Jan. 1 deadline.Municipal officials said they expect a decision within three months."We have a good chance of getting funding for the projects, especially the schoolhouse," Councilman Jonathan Herman said at the Town Council meeting Monday.

The Sykesville Town Council approved a lease of the "Gatehouse" last night, an action that will allow the town to apply immediately for grant money to renovate the 100-year-old building and make it accessible to the handicapped.The $1-a-year lease with the state reflects town-specified modifications and allows Sykesville to terminate at any time. The town attorney gave his approval to the document.James L. Schumacher, town manager, is to start work immediately on a $40,000 federal grant application, which has a Dec. 31 deadline.

The chairman of the Sykesville Historic Preservation Commission says she is not dismayed at the paucity of replies to the Gatehouse questionnaire."There wasn't much to object to," said Rebecca Herman, commission chairman. "It's a win-win situation for the town."The town is considering leasing the Gatehouse, at nearby Springfield Hospital Center, from the state for $1 a year and turning it into a town museum and meeting place. The questionnaire gave a brief history of the 100-year-old structure and asked residents whether they approve or disapprove of the lease idea.

A developer who wanted to restore a historic gatehouse in Northeast Baltimore has filed a $20 million lawsuit in federal court in Baltimore, alleging that the city "wrongfully manipulated its zoning process" and denied his company an opportunity to put offices in the octagonal structure. The suit, filed by Center Development Corp., says the city breached its lease when it terminated a 50-year lease on the property in Clifton Park. The city said in November that the developer had missed a deadline to begin construction, one of a series of delays since 2002.

Calvary United Methodist Church will hold its annual Christmas At Calvary holiday bazaar from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the church, 3939 Gamber Road (Route 91), Gamber. Christmas crafts, a country store, toys, quilts, a bake table and silent auction will be featured. An oyster platter lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and carryouts will be available. Information: 410-795-9343. Dinner and dance set at Gatehouse Museum The Sykesville Gatehouse Museum will hold its World War II/USO dinner and dance Saturday at the Sykesville-Freedom District fire hall.

Baltimore officials approved yesterday a lease to allow the renovation of a Gothic, 115-year-old building at the entrance to Lake Clifton High School without knowing that the developer has a history of liens, lawsuits and failed projects. The developer, Charles T. Jeffries, proposes to transform the Lake Clifton Gatehouse -- a huge, octagonal landmark with stained-glass windows, arches, pillars and a tower atop its roof -- into business offices, according to an agreement approved by the city's Board of Estimates.

The historic gatehouse at the entrance to Sheppard Pratt has long been the psychiatric hospital's public face to the world - for better and for worse. The stone cottage on North Charles Street in Towson is so well-known that it was part of the hospital's logo for a time. And, because of its fairy-tale appearance, the image of the gatehouse - whose grounds recently underwent a $400,000 makeover - is woven into the childhood memories of countless Baltimoreans, as Dr. Steven S. Sharfstein soon discovered when he began to run the institution in 1986.

JIM PURMAN SAYS his job is a natural for him and he takes great pride in it. He is the archivist and curator of Sykesville Gatehouse Museum. The museum is a historic building that once was the "gate" or entrance to Springfield State Hospital. After being abandoned by the state, the town of Sykesville purchased the building for $1, with the intention of converting it into a museum. According to Purman, the original gatehouse collection was housed in two rooms in Sykesville Town House called Rooms of History.

The Gatehouse Museum in Sykesville begins its third year with a freshly painted exterior, restored rooms and laden with gifts and volunteers. But, the century-old building needs assistance from town coffers to rid it of unwelcome guests.James N. Purman, archivist and curator, reported all the good news to the Town Council recently. The museum, once the gateway to the state-owned Springfield Hospital Center and now on long-term lease to Sykesville, has welcomed more than 1,200 visitors since September 1998.

Sykesville will soon take its memorabilia out of storage and put it on display in the Gatehouse.The town Historic District Commission and volunteers are working with a $5,000 state grant to renovate into a municipal museum the century-old Gatehouse, once the entrance to Springfield State Hospital."

The Gatehouse Museum in Sykesville offers visitors glimpses of the town's history through photographs, archives and memorabilia.Even the location of the municipal museum on Cooper Drive has strong ties to the town's past. The two-story building once marked the entry to Springfield Hospital Center, founded in 1896. At its peak, the hospital employed nearly 3,000 people, many of them town residents. Much of the museum furniture, including the conference table and office chairs, came from the hospital.

COLLEGE PARK -- University of Maryland students and faculty returned to what police hope is a safer campus this fall after several attacks on students last spring.Five officers have joined the University Police Department, bringing the number of officers to 70. New security cameras are perched atop some emergency phones, and officials constructed a third gatehouse at the campus' south entrance.Last spring, three female students reported being attacked on campus. One of those students claimed she was raped and another said her attacker tried to kidnap her, police said.