National Register

Today, The Sun can refer with pride to "Baltimore's venerable landmark Bromo Seltzer Tower," but it wasn't always so. As recently as 1971, the city of Baltimore saw the tower as an eyesore destined for demolition. Why does the tower still stand? For that you can thank historic preservation, the National Register and the Maryland Historical Trust, which stood up for the tower's preservation to former Mayor William Donald Schaefer. (Years later, of course, Schaefer too became an avid preservationist.)

Howell T. Conant, 83, the unofficial palace photographer for Princess Grace of Monaco for nearly three decades, died March 11 at his home in Carefree, Ariz. K. B. Rao, 72, an essayist and poet who was an administrator at the University of Nevada, Reno for 19 years until his retirement last year, died Thursday in Reno. Richard L. Yuengling Sr., 83, the fourth-generation owner of America's oldest brewery, died Thursday in Pottsville, Pa. He was the great-grandson of David G. Yuengling, the founder in 1829 of D. G. Yuengling & Son Inc. Brewery, which was recognized as the country's oldest brewery and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

An official of a federal preservation group cautioned that a Laurel developer's plan to open a country inn at the 157-year-old Woodlawn Farms in Ellicott City could signal an end to the site's designation on the National Register of Historic Places.A warning was issued in response to the Howard County Board of Appeals' unanimous approval Thursday night of a special exception by Woodlawn Farms LLC to open a six-bedroom, two-bathroom country inn and a 70-seat restaurant on the 5-acre site off Route 108. The land is zoned for residential use.Although policy within the National Park Service -- which compiles the National Register of Historic Places -- does not prevent renovations, significant alterations could result in a repeal of the property's designation, said Paul Lusignan, a historian for the register.

HISTORY ISN'T JUST a thing of the past for the people of Coleman Manor. Their Walbrook Avenue home is the former Robert W. Coleman School (School No. 142), where thousands of children attended elementary school from 1903 until the late 1970s. In 1988, the school opened once again as subsidized elderly housing.Willie Griffin remembers escorting her son to and from the classroom that is now her apartment. "I can see you coming up those steps to get me," Griffin's son, now 40, tells her when he visits.

The destruction of two of the oldest buildings on Howard Street in Baltimore may be the salvation of many others along the same corridor.At least that's the hope of officers with the Maryland Historical Trust, the state's preservation agency.After months of deliberation, the trust has tentatively agreed to allow the Schmoke administration to demolish two early 19th-century buildings at the northwest corner of Howard and Franklin streets, despite opposition from preservationists, to clear the way for a new home for the Eubie Blake National Museum and Cultural Center.

The newly-renovated Hays-Heighe House at Harford Community College was the site for a "Fun With American Girls" youth enrichment camp during the second week of August. During this week-long summer camp, girls ages 8 to 12 combined learning about American history with a variety of cultural projects. They experienced the stories and characters behind the American Girls dolls, making crafts, toys, decorations, recipes, and other fun activities similar to those done by Kersten, Josephina, Addy and other dolls in the series.

The small gray house blends into the woods north of Westminster so thoroughly as to belie its singular nature: Modern, with a capital "M." Essentially a rectangular glass box set on big stone piers, the house is transformed once inside looking out. "It's an incredible building in and of itself, and when you consider it's set in the middle of this rural county filled with 19th-century farms and barns, it stands out because it is so `other' than what...

Town residents are divided on mining issues, joining the National Register of Historic Places and reinstating the Police Department, a survey conducted by the Pipe Creek Jaycees shows.Neal C. Roop, state director for the service organization and a former councilman here,delivered the 16-question surveys to 339 of the town's 842 residents. He received responses from 124, or 37 percent, of those polled.Residents were divided -- 59 for, 54 against -- in their opinionson Lehigh Portland Cement Co. plans to quarry 700 company-owned acres near town.

Baltimore preservation officials have endorsed the creation of the largest historic district in the city -- an area of about 175 blocks containing almost 6,000 significant properties. Dubbed Old West Baltimore, the district is made up of five distinct African-American neighborhoods rich with architectural and cultural significance. The district is one of four that received approval Tuesday night by the city's Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places.

Time was when Van Wensil went to the bank, she'd know everybody there. Now the familiar faces are gone -- and so is the small community she once knew as Elkridge."