Monthly Publicationof the Fell’s PointCitizens on Patrol

10 May 2008Volume 10 Number 5

Happenings

Jazz in Choice SettingLiving Classrooms’ Maritime

Park at the west end of ThamesStreet continues to offer top localjazz from 6 to 9PM on Wednes-days in a venue with rich restoredwood and matchless harbor views:The Frederick Douglass-IsaacMeyers Museum board room. Tick-ets are $7, $5 for students/seniors,with refreshments. Appearing May14 are Bob Butta piano; AmyShook bass, and Frank Russodrums. On the 21st is the LarryBrown Quintet, and on the 28thvocalists Debbie Poole and VicFrieson. www.bemojazz.com.

Privateer Day ProvesPeople Like Costumes

The Development Corp.’s April 19 Priva-teer Day turned out to be a dress-up affair, withastonishing numbers of gaudy pirates flounc-ing along the Promenade from pier to boat-crowded pier. Grabbing early attention waschristening of the Fearless on Ann Street Wharf,where the doughty new craft now boardsyoung pirates routinely (www.PirateQuest.us).

In the Square, a varied array of tents pulledin crowds, including a parrot stand—where agroup dedicated toprotection of plumageoffered photo ops.Cannon were on dis-play at Bond StreetWharf and Pride of Bal-timore II was amongthe schooners onBroadway Pier—withmusical accompani-ment. Before sun-down, as billed, abattle broke out on thehigh seas off the pier between the Pride and aSpanish galleon, Lioness. Smoke belched andflames flickered from the flanks of the behe-moths for 20 minutes or so. The outcome wasundetermined, to be resumed next April.

Point’s War of 1812No Longer Obscure

By Lew DiuguidThe War of 1812 has languished in the

martial histories of the United States, oftendeprecated as an awkward codicil between theRevolution and the Civil War—nowhere nearas bloody nor decisive as either. Its one im-mutable artifact: the Star-Spangled Banner.Baltimore’s War, 1812-15, nearing completionby Fell’s Point’s maritime historian, GeoffreyFootner, provides an essential perspective tounderstand its events rushing to bicentennialwith a prevailing westerly of publicity.

Those events have been misunderstood inpart because, indeed, they mostly were at sea,or ill-comprehended, as we have come to usethat term. Footner is at his best describing thedepredations by yankee privateers on the highseas. Most of them were out of the ‘Point, infleet Chesapeake Bay pilot schooners bearingletters of marque, swooping down on Britain’scommercial fleet supposedly protected by aninvincible armada. The narrative begins witha heroic privateer, Joshua Barney, who over-whelms Footner’s general tendency to cleaveto recorded facts instead of personalities.

Once the supremacy of sea war is estab-lished, Footner explains what happened onland: how the British burned Washington andfailed to do the same to “the nest of pirates”in Baltimore. The hero here was senator andcity boss Sam Smith, who mounted defensesin what is now Patterson Park to fend off theinvasion. His reward: the plaza in the InnerHarbor named for him now honors a morerecent ex-mayor, Theodore McKeldin.

More compelling is the villain, British ViceAdmiral Sir Alexander F.L. Cochrane, capri-cious at best and in all probability profitingby sales in the Caribbean slave trade of therunaway American blacks who were enticedinto the Royal Navy as seamen. Had Cochranetaken Baltimore, would the war’s inconclusiveoutcome have been otherwise? Footner’s re-search continues—currently in Scotland. Asfor the Treaty of Ghent that ended the war,his conclusion is irrefutable: it made possiblean alliance of a preeminent colonial powerwith a breakaway upstart republic, both ofwhich approach its 200th anniversary withequanimity.

Was it Baltimore’s War? Footner makes afirm case for that. This city has little to cheerfor in its current war with poverty and a col-lateral drug trade. It could benefit from a lookback at a time of brighter spirits, and the signsare that it will do so with fervor come 2012.

The Lion will roar for the Preservation SocietyMothers’ Day Historic House Tour Sunday, 11AMto 4. Efforts are afoot to refloat the scaled-downschooner, which will be on display at the Museum/Visitor Center, 1724 Thames St. Tour tickets $18.

Patterson Park EncomiumThe executive director of

Friends of Patterson Park, TimAlmaguer, has been named a fel-low of the Harry and JeanetteWeinberg Foundation, supportinghim in the Friends’ efforts at stra-tegic planning for the ever improv-ing facility. An added endeavor:free summer movies. They begintonight at dusk, offering “Over theHedge,” about 8, on the east sidebetween Linwood and EllwoodAves., on a 26’ screen. On May24 is “The Goonies.”

“Immigrant” at the Corner“The Immigrant,” by Mark

Harelik, lyrics by Sarah Knapp andmusic by Steven Alper, runsthrough June 8 at the CornerThreater, 251 S, Ann St. The play,directed by Bill Kamberger, in-volves a young Jew who fleesCzarist Russia in 1909 and pusheshis banana cart into Hamilton,Texas. A true story of parents andchildren, newcomers and natives.Fridays and Saturdays at 8PM,Sundays at 2 (except May 25).$20, seniors and students $17.Call 410.276.7837.

‘Pointer Seeks BackerSeveral kind readers have

asked over our current run ofstable finances whether theymight contribute to The Fell’sPointer. Suddenly the answer isyes, decidedly. John Steven’sand Henderson’s Wharf havecovered our monthly printingcost of $100 over this extendedperiod, but the printer’s bill hasjust increased by 20 percent andwe welcome contributions tomake up the difference.

Checks made out to Fell’sPoint Citizens on Patrol can bemailed to the address on Page2, lower right. Let us know if youwould like to be acknowledgedin the Thank You box.

—Lew Diuguid, editor

Also, Greenspace ActionPartnership renews jazz inThames St. Park on Thursday,May 15, 6-9PM with a Peabodyvocalist.

The Fell’s Pointer is pub-lished monthly by volunteersof Fell’s Point Citizens on Pa-trol, Inc. Questions, input andparticipation in patrols andthis newsletter are welcome.E-mail fpcop@verizon.net.Online www.fpcop.com.Write P.O. Box 6137, Balti-more, MD 21231.

thanks!Printing expenses for this

month’s newsletter were donatedby John Steven Ltd., 1800Thames St., 410.327.5561, andHenderson’s Wharf, 1000 FellStreet, 410.522.7777. Design andlayout contributed by Tina Flemingof Warren Communications,warrencommunications@comcast.net.

Fell’s Point Antique Dealers’ Asso-ciation: Call 410.675.4776.Fell’s Point Community Organiza-tion meets at Louisiana Restau-rant, on second Mondays at 7PM,443.791.1717.The Fell’s Point DevelopmentCorp: Board meets first Tuesdayof month at 8AM, FPDC office,1730 Bank St. 410.675.8900.Fell’s Point Residents’ Association:First Wednesdays, 7PM, Bertha’s2nd Floor.Greenspace Action Partnership:Second Tuesdays, 6PM, VisitorCenter 410.732.8232.Society for the Preservation ofFell’s Point and Federal Hill: Call410.675.6750.

Neighborhood MeetingsDouglass Place: Third Wednesdayof every other month at the PolishNational Alliance, 1637 EasternAvenue, 410.563.1297.

TrashPlace trash, in cans only, for pickupafter 6AM on Mondays and Thurs-days.RecyclingPlace all recyclables -bottles, cans,plastic (#1-7), paper and card-board, in bins or boxes, not bags,on second and fourth Fridays only.

Schedules

Traffic in Parking LanesFrom The Sun’s April 28 Po-

lice Blotter:• “A purse containing a wallet,cash, a cell phone and an iPod -all valued at $850 - was stolenfrom a 1998 Volkswagen parkedin the 600 block of S. Ann St.• “A 2007 Honda Civic was parkedin the 1600 block of Fleet St. whensomeone entered it through a win-dow and stole clothing, an iPodand CDs. The total value $500.”

Question: Ever wonder whythieves find it profitable to breakinto parked autos?

By Mark WalkerThe sign on the wee saloon at 1718

Lancaster Street says BAR. Surrounded byresidences, it’s out of a dimming past. I cantrace its heritage to the mid-1970s, thanks toFell’s Pointer distributor Ann Cavanaugh andher friend Monica Broere, who workedfor the late owner, Harry Reynolds,and interviewed him on New Year’sDay 1989 at the Whistling Oyster. Withthat oral history, Harry can return inspirit.

In 1974, while working for theB&O Railroad, Harry bought BAR—admitting he knew nothing of that orany other business. He left its name,or rather lack of one, intact. After hisday job he would tend it ‘til 1AM, or beyond.Soon Harry hired women to stand in a fewnights a week, one of whom was Monica. Helived above his business, a practice on thewane, and had a tenant on the third floor.“When I turned 60, in ’76,” said Harry, “I quitthe B&O to work the BAR full-time, living offwhat little that brought in until my retirementchecks started arriving two years later.”

To the locals, BAR became known asHarry’s. He suspected neither the police norliquor board knew he existed there along aback alley, so Harry pushed the envelope nowand then. For instance, “I appreciated jazz andclassical music and although I didn’t have alicense for live music, musicians occasionally

When Site ClearanceWas Industrial Strength

Present-day permitted demolitions of historicFell’s Point buildings seem almost civilizedcompared to the way things were done when Imoved here in the early 1980s. I remember cominghome to this scene, as reported in The Evening SunApril 14, 1988. The setting is the west side ofCaroline Street, just south of the present LivingClassrooms campus. —Bob Keith of Bond Street”Exploding Barrels Rocket into Night Sky”

An arsonist is being blamed for aspectacular seven-alarm blaze in Fells Pointthat sent exploding oil barrels shooting intothe night sky like skyrockets, destroyed at leastthree waterfront business properties andflooded the harbor with oil running out ofstorm drains from several city streets.

The glow of the flames competed with thepredawn light over East Baltimore today asthe fire continued to burn, fed by the oil,chemicals and lumber stored in the buildingsthat ignited about 10:30 last night.More than200 firefighters remained on the scene today.Officials said the blaze, which they estimatedcaused $10 million in damage, was containedbefore dawn and was unlikely to spread to anymore properties, but would take hours tofinally extinguish. . .

As black smoke filled the air andsuperheated air ignited boats and vehiclesnearby, firefighters desperately battled to holdtheir ground before the advancing flames.”It was like being in hell,” said a firefighterwho sought relief from the heat by standingbehind a metal shed. Firefighters preventedthe blaze from engulfing and exploding a fieldof oil storage tanks at the rear of AutoliteLubricants Inc., the former Robinson Oil Co.”Had the tanks gone up,” said Edwin Schelll,a sales representative for the 156-year-old oilcompany, “they would have killed an awfullot of brave firemen and destroyed thefoundry.”

Other firms ablaze during the nightincluded the Atlantic Mills and Lumber Co.and the Lacy Foundries. A portion of he formerAllied Chemical Co.’s Baltimore works alsowas engulfed by the fire . . .

An oil company official at the scene lastnight said a private security firm monitoredthe sound of footsteps on the second floor,about an hour after the late shift had gonehome.A few minutes later, fire was reportedinside the oil company in the 900 block of S.Caroline St.

Schell, the oil company employee, said thatwhen the firefighters arrived on the sceneshortly after 10:30 they noticed the front doorof the building had been forced open.Once the blaze began, it spread quicklythrough the two-story brick building, built in1912, and then to the adjacent lumbercompany, whose wood and brick building ablock long and a half-block wide, went up likea house of matches . . . Huge walls of red andorange flames jumped across Dock Street . . .

Take a Look - - and RecycleOn Tuesdays, Thursdays, and

Saturdays, from 11AM to 1PM,visitors can look at restorationplans for the PreservationSociety’s Captain’s Hotel, 1631Aliceanna St., and a display of‘Point materials organized by ar-chitectural historian Bob Eney. Ohyes, they can also drop off plasticbags for recycling and get programinformation. The 1790s LeekeAcademy building also is on view.

All but the historic four-bay house at 1733Aliceanna St. were coming down last month atthe nearly denuded campus of the ex-St.Stanislaus Kostka church. The court-delayeddemolition, like the efforts to prevent it, provedtroublous: a remaining portion next to the fourbay tumbled into the street and blocked trafficbriefly. Neighbors complained of dust that alsorefused to settle.

Only in Fell’s Point-IX: Lots of Saloons, But Just One BARcame by to play.”

Harry also had a way of unwinding at theend of the night, his soirées. After the barclosed, he let folks stay on—pouring them freedrinks. “This way, people could swear I didn’tsell them alcohol after closing hours.” The li-

quor board never tested the BAR de-fense.Some customers thought Harry opin-ionated but that added to the atmo-sphere. They would take up ideas.Harry attributed this to the little tablesand chairs, and the juke box thatplayed six songs for a quarter. Thetunes were Harry’s favorites, fromswing to opera. “I always felt that themusic on my box brought in a better

class of clientele,” an idea other saloons havesince copied with tapes.

By 1983 he had tired of the trade and soldout. The name and operation have remainedstable under the current owner.

Harry, enjoying retirement, bought a 20-foot powerboat designed to resemble a smalltug, calling it Little Toot and docking it at thefoot of Broadway near the big toots. Whenasked in the ’89 interview how Fell’s Point hadchanged, he said, “a lot of the old timers aregone, and so are a lot of the tugs”—there usedto be two companies. He still loved playingthe stock market and when he died in 1990friends put a Wall Street Journal in hand atthe funeral.