A Brief Biography of Patterson Park, and Its Future
The 182-year history of Patterson Park is as colorful as that of a human being, and the life of the park is just as vulnerable as human life. Its future is not guaranteed.
Birth and Growth
The idea of Patterson Park was born in 1827 when William Patterson, a Baltimore merchant, donated 6 acres to the City of Baltimore for a public walk. The city purchased another 29 acres from the Patterson family in 1860, and expansions occurred in 1873, 1883 and 1907. In 1913 the Olmsted Brothers (of New York City’s Central Park fame) recommended an expansion that pushed the total acreage to the current 144+.
A Disrupted Vision
Development of Patterson Park was interrupted when the park was used as a Union troop encampment after the Civil War broke out in 1861. The hill in Patterson Park—called Hampstead Hill, where the Pagoda now stands, had been previously put to military use by Baltimoreans who gathered on the hill in September 1814 to protect the city from the threat of a British invasion. (Myth has it that when British troops worked their way up the Patapsco River, bombarded Fort McHenry and then marched on the city of Baltimore, they looked up Hampstead Hill, saw 100 cannons and 20,000 troops, returned to their ships and sailed away.)
The encampment was called Camp Washburn, and later a hospital, known as Camp Patterson Park, was set up. When the hospital was dismantled in 1864, the park was in terrible shape.
Developing Character
After the war, Baltimore architect George A. Frederick, who worked for the Baltimore Park Commission from 1863 to 1895, established the lovely Victorian character that has distinguished Patterson Park to this day. The 60-foot high Pagoda, designed by Baltimore architect Charles H. Latrobe, was built in 1891 (the Pagoda reflects Baltimoreans’ fascination with the Orient and William Patterson’s link to the silk trade in Canton, China).
Frederick and Latrobe designed other park elements, and the Olmsted Brothers (famous for their creation of Central Park in New York City) developed a design for the eastern section of the park that was intended to accommodate and promote active recreation.
The current Patterson Park master plan, created in 1998, honors the park’s history and emphasizes restoration and historic preservation, rather than on a redesign.
The Inherent Value of Patterson Park Trampled
In survey after survey, Americans rank open space among the most important contributors to quality of life and all across the nation parks are being renovated because of the recognition that open space is vital to the health of communities at the physical, spiritual and economic levels.
Although open space has inherent value, that value can only be realized through the use conferred on that space. Today, Patterson Park undoubtedly enhances the quality of life in the neighborhoods of Fells Point, Butchers Hill, Patterson Park, Highlandtown, Canton and many more. That has not always been the case. The city came close to losing Patterson Park and its immediate neighborhoods in the 1970s and 1980s when social and economic forces pushed the park into use for drug dealing, made it a place where violence flourished and brought the vandalism that typically accompanies those kinds of activities.
During that period the beloved Music Pavilion succumbed to an arson fire, other park structures were damaged and the vegetation was destroyed. The positive value of the park and the neighborhoods had been lost.
A Slow and Difficult Reversal of Fortunes
A 2002 article titled “The Best Backyard in Baltimore,” by Peter Harnik for The Trust for Public Land, tells the challenge-filled story of how the heart and soul of Patterson Park was reclaimed.
Harnik quotes the writing of Jane Jacobs (author of The Death and Life of Great American Cities): In her critique of city parks, she said, “A large, ungovernable space in a changing, racially polarized neighborhood was becoming the kind of ‘gray area’ that can bring down its entire community.” Harnik responds with, “But what Jacobs didn’t fully appreciate is that the same plot of land, if loved, can become the very catalyst around which other neighbors organize to save their community.”
There were several sputtering attempts to save Patterson Park, but it wasn’t until 1993 that area leaders and the Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks began seriously focusing on park improvements and how to pay for them. The attention was important, but it took extraordinary efforts by dedicated and committed individuals to produce results.
Among the movers and shakers were 20-year Southeast Baltimore residents Mary Roby and Nancy Supik. Mary moved from the Master Plan Advisory Committee to the presidency of a fledgling group, organized in 1998, called Friends of Patterson Park, and Nancy moved up from high performing volunteer to paid director. In four years the group became the soul of Patterson Park and the envy of park supporters in other neighborhoods.
A non-profit membership organization, Friends of Patterson Park promotes, protects and advocates for the treasured common ground of Patterson Park, based on the belief that a well used and well tended park contributes to the health and vitality of its neighborhoods. The group has helped make Patterson Park the “Best Backyard in Baltimore,” and strives to:
· Ensure that the recommendations of the Master Plan are followed and funded.
· Provide residents with a voice in planning all future park activities and to sponsor and promote new activities and events to enhance the park’s image and increase park use.
· Support the programming activities of the Department of Recreation and Parks.
· Develop volunteer programs and fundraising strategies to support these goals.
Friends of Patterson Park has advocated for $10M worth of park capital projects, produces, organizes and sponsors 75% of park events, has raised over $2M that has gone into community service and provides free programs for over 50,000 residents who live near the park.
Forty two percent of the 440 residents who live within walking distance of the park and participated in the 2008 User Survey of Patterson Park, conducted by the University of Maryland for Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks and The Friends of Patterson Park, report that they are members of Friends of Patterson Park.
If you haven’t visited Patterson Park in a while, perhaps because of memories of what it once was, we encourage you to drop by, or to attend one of the special events posted at www.pattersonpark.com. We also encourage you to become familiar with other organizations that combined efforts to create the “perfect storm” that turned Patterson Park into a premier asset of Baltimore City. You can find them at http://www.pattersonparkneighbors.org/about/partners.html.
The Side Effects
A high quality of life is its own reward, but it has economic value as well.
Cities across the nation are discovering and proving that development and preservation of open space increases property values, increases tax revenues (businesses that want high quality of life for their employees are attracted to sites near open spaces) and that investments in open space pay off in surprisingly short periods of time.
In Baltimore, more clusters of high priced properties have blossomed in neighborhoods around Patterson Park during its turn around than in any other area of the city. As great a benefit as this is, the danger is that people will forget the fact that none of this would have been possible without the extraordinary contributions made by individuals and the host of non-profit organizations whose energies continue to nurture and sustain the vitality of Patterson Park.
What We Can Do to Assure a Healthy Future for Patterson Park and Improve Baltimore City
As a realtor and leader of The Ron Howard Group, I am dedicated to the city I serve. My team and I have been supporters of Friends of Patterson Park through direct involvement with the organization for the past couple of years and we are pleased to be part of this success story.
One of the things I’ve learned from this experience is the importance of seeing the big picture. When working for property sellers I’ve always considered it my number one job to get top dollar for my clients through my marketing and negotiating skills. But now I also see the importance of working for the community as a whole, which in effect helps future clients get top dollar for their properties, even before they become clients.
During economic hardships, like the one we are experiencing, it is easy to lose sight of the important connections between costs and benefits, and to focus on short-term needs. Such a shift of focus is what gets old cycles started again. Without a sustained effort through direct action and through contributions to those who act, the benefits that have been delivered through the 182-year life of Patterson Park could once again be lost.
Whether you’re a resident or real estate professional, we would love to have you contact us to discuss the many opportunities to improve our great city. And, of course, we are here to help you with all of your real estate needs.
Ron Howard
Contact The Ron Howard Group @ 410-814-2404 or email Ron @ ron@livebaltimorecity.com.