History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc, Part 128

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344

USA > Maryland > Baltimore County > Baltimore City > History of Baltimore, Maryland, from its founding as a town to the current year, 1729-1898, including its early settlement and development; a description of its historic and interesting localities; political, military, civil, and religious statistcs; biographies of representative citizens, etc., etc > Part 128

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

dersport. In 1882 he entered the prepar- atory department of the same institution and graduated from the college proper in June, 1887. This year he was received into the Baltimore Conference. He spent his first three years as associate in City Station, Baltimore; four years as pastor at Bel Air, Md., and two successful years pastor of the Twelfth Street M. E. Church, Washington, D. C. From the last named church he was placed in his present responsible posi- tion.

He was ordained deacon in Grace Church, Baltimore, in 1889 by Bishop Foss; ordained elder in 1891 by Bishop Joyce in the Wesley Chapel, Washington, D. C. While Rev. Mr. Slarrow's minis- terial career has been short thus far it has not been uneventful. When at Belair he re- constructed a church at Mt. Zion, an out- side appointment, at a cost of $2,000 besides other work of a similar character.

Rev. Mr. Slarrow married Miss May F. Gordon, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mal-

1030

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

com B. Gordon, of Washington, D. C. To this union one child has been born.

The church over which Mr. Slarrow pre- sides had its beginning on the corner of Cumberland street and Pennsylvania av- enue. In 1832 a plot of ground was pur- chased on which a building was erected, on Fremont street near Pennsylvania avenue, known as Whatcoat Chapel. In 1835 the trustees incorporated it under the name of West Baltimore Station. The property was finally disposed of in 1870; the present edi- fice was built under its present title, under the pastorate of Rev. T. Daugherty. From that time to the present the church has had the labors of experienced pastors. Its mem- bership is 600; Sunday-school 525.

JOEL GUTMAN (deceased) was born in Merchingen, Grand Duchy of Baden, Ger- many, September 3, 1829. His parents, Moses and Ella Gutman, were natives of Germany also. Mr. Gutman received an elementary education, and when fourteen years of age entered a mercantile house in Buchen by Odenwald, where, according to the custom of the country, he served an ap- prenticeship of several years, and having learned the business, went to the city of Wurtzburg in his eighteenth year and en- tered the employ of a firm engaged in the wholesale dry goods trade, filling the posi- tion of salesman.

In 1849 he emigrated to the United States, landing in New York July, 1849, after a tedious voyage. He located in Bal- timore, where one of his brothers resided. He soon, however, went to Virginia, where he merchandised in a small way. By the practice of honesty and economy in busi- ness, he succeeded beyond all expectations,

and was soon able to return to Baltimore, where he and his brother entered into a partnership in 1852. In 1853 this part- nership was dissolved by mutual consent and Joel Gutman began business on his own account at (then) 29 N. Eutaw street.

In 1866, finding his place too small for his rapidly increasing trade, he bought the property opposite (then) Nos. 34-36 N. Eutaw street, which he rebuilt and beauti- fied, and later he purchased the adjoining premises, which he again enlarged in 1886, pulling down the former structure and re- building with stone and brick. This store (Nos. 112, 114, 116, 118, 120, 122 N. Eutaw street) is now one of the largest in Balti- more, and employs over 500 people. The establishment is a general store, with over thirty departments.

The choicest and finest goods are import- ed direct from the European and American manufacturers.

After the death of Mr. Gutman, which took place February 23, 1892, he was suc- ceeded by his son, Louis K., who is the head of the firm which still retains its old name of Joel Gutman & Co.

The wide spread reputation for integrity of this firm is one source of its phenomenal growth in trade.

Mr. Gutman was of the Hebrew faith, a member of the First Baltimore Hebrew Congregation, of which he was also a trus- tee and for a number of years president. He was president of the Hebrew Orphan Asy- lum, one of the many noble charitable in- stitutions of the city. Mr. Gutman was alive to every noble and philanthropic enterprise.

In August, 1852, he was married to Miss Bertha, the accomplished daughter of the late Louis and Caroline Kayton, of Balti-

1031

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

more, who emigrated to this country in 1833. They were one of the first German Jewish families in Baltimore, and were charter members of the First Hebrew Con- gregation, which worshiped in the old Lloyd Street Synagogue.

ABRAHAM LINCOLN DRYDEN, Special Deputy Collector of Customs, was born in Fairmount, Somerset county, Md., Feb- ruary 18, 1865. He is the son of Littleton T. Dryden and Charlotte E. (Ford) Dryden. Both of his parents are Americans, born in Somerset county, Md., their ancestors being old settlers of this State. His father is Su- perintendent of State Bureau of Immigra- tion, and his sketch will be found on another page of this history. Both his parents re- side at 1604 St. Paul street, this city. His father has four children: Annie Neale, and Sherman Dryden, clerk; Mrs. Etta Sterling, wife of Horace Sterling, General Agent Baltimore, Chesapeake and Atlantic Rail- road, Crisfield, Md .; and Mr. Dryden, the subject of this sketch.

He was educated in the public schools of Somerset county, Md., attending the High School at Crisfield, Washington Academy at Princess Anne; was a student for two years, or to the end of his sopho- more year, at St. John's College, Annapolis, Md., and graduated from Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa., in 1888. Though very young, he went into the oyster packing business before going to college, and his father's cir- cumstances being limited he had to work hard to earn money to attend college, and traveled through the nearby towns of his home, Crisfield, selling oysters to enable

him to accomplish this object, and gradu- ated from Dickinson as above stated.

After his graduation he resumed the oyster packing business at Crisfield, and continued in this business until 1890, when he was appointed assistant in the library of the Navy Department, Washing- ton, D. C., and held this office up to May, 1893. Previous to this, in the session of 1890, he represented Somerset county in the Legislature of Maryland, being a mem- ber of the House of Delegates. From the House he went to the Senate, representing his county in that body in the sessions of 1896 and 1898, and on the Ist of June, 1898, was appointed to his present position of Special Deputy Collector of Customs for the Port of Baltimore, and as he is a push- ing, energetic man, and has given general satisfaction in every position he has held before and the way he is discharging the duties of his office the short time he has held it, it is fair to assume he will make a first- class and efficient officer.

Mr. Dryden was married at Crisfield, Md., November 14, 1894, to Miss Effie Clarke Venable, daughter of Mr. Seth D. Venable and Mrs. Susan A. (Jones) Vena- ble. Both Mrs. Dryden's parents were born in Maryland, belonging to old Mary- land families. He has one child, a daugh- ter, Ethelyn Dryden. He and his family are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a member of the Junior Or- der United American Mechanics, Knights of Pythias, Independent Order of Odd Fel- lows, and a member of the Belle Lettres So- ciety of Dickinson College, Carlisle, Pa. Also member of the Phi Kappa Psi and

1032

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Phi Beta Kappa fraternities of this college, and a member of the Union League of Maryland.

In politics he is a Republican, and takes an active interest in party matters, and in 1894 was nominated by the Republicans of the First District, this State, as a candidate for Congress from that district. He ran

against the Hon. Joshua Miles, the Demo- cratic candidate, made an active campaign, but was defeated, reducing however the usual Democratic majority of about two thousand to about a thousand, or one-half. His country residence is Crisfield, Somerset county, and his city residence is with his father, 1604 St. Paul street.

Arautimer

CHAPTER XIX.

THE MODERN CITY, BY COL. WILLIAM H. LOVE.

The great city, which to-day spreads over thirty-two square miles of hill and valley, strikes every visitor within its confines as a most attractive one, and all agree with "Fanny Fern" that it is the most "elegant of cities;" every stranger at once feels the charm of its bright streets, crowded with five hundred thousand people, a very large portion being natives who are noted for their politeness and affability of manner.

The principal objects of interest in all the great cities of the world are their parks, squares, churches, monuments, hospitals, &c., &c .; and in this article particular atten- tion will be paid to them.

The City Hall, built upon the square bounded by Holliday, Lexington, Fayette and North streets, is in the centre of the city ; here we find ourselves at the front of municipal life. When it was erected, it was regarded as the most conspicuous as it was the most elegant building ever erected in our city, having a front of 238 feet on Holli- day and North streets, and 149 feet on Lex- ington and Fayette. The building covers a superficial area of 30,552 square feet. The material used in its construction was Bal- timore county marble, a white magnesia limestone. The columns of the portico are monoliths.

The style of the architecture is "Renais- sance." The general plan or division of the mass consists of a centre structure four stories high, and two connected lateral

wings three stories high, the centre finished with pediments, the others with mansard roofs. The architect has preserved the sim- plicity and dignity of the ancient and has added sufficient of the modern style to adorn. This was accomplished by dividing and relieving the extensive fronts and faces with projecting pilasters, columns and arches over the openings of each story, and graceful cornices, balustrades and parapets.

The interior is in accord with the exterior and has always been kept in perfect order.

Directly facing the City Hall stands the oldest theatre in America, the "Holliday," embalmed in the hearts of all Baltimoreans as the place where the "Star Spangled Ban- ner" was first sung. It has entered the sec- ond century of its existence, having been built in 1794. It is held in affectionate re- membrance by the profesion.

Passing up Fayette street we are con- fronted by another very conspicuous build- ing, standing on the block immediately west of the City Hall, the United States Post Of- fice, a recent erection, built of granite in the style known as Italian Renaissance. There are a number of towers, the central one be- ing 189 feet high with fronting on Monu- ment Square; the building is fitted with every modern improvement to facilitate post office work. The entire third floor is occu- pied by the United States and District Courts. The ground cost $553,000. The city gave two lots costing $56,000, and the

1034

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

entire appropriation for the building was $2,011,835. It was dedicated September 12, 1889.

The west and principal front faces Monu- ment Square, in which stands the "Balti- more Monument," called by all our citizens the "Battle Monument," and erected to the memory of those who fell at North Point. It is the work of the celebrated sculptor, Maximilian Godefroy. It consists of an Egyptian base raised to the height of four feet from the pavement of the street, is surmounted by a column representing a fasces, upon the bands of which are placed in bronze letters the names of those who fell. On each angle of the base are griffins, and the lower part of the column is ornamented with basso relievos, the whole being crowned by a statue of the city, by Capel- lano, with the eagle at her side, holding a laurel wreath suspended in her uplifted hand. The entire height of the monument is fifty-two feet two inches.

Opposite the Post Office formerly stood the old Court House, finished in 1809. It has been taken down to make way for a splendid new Court House now in course of erection, which will cover the entire block bounded by Lexington, Calvert, Fayette and St. Paul streets.

This magnificent public building will be finished in 1899. It was much needed by the growing business of the Courts, and will add another to the many beautiful build- ings, public and private, which have been erected in this city. Nothing more elegant could have been placed on the western side of the old Monument Square than this great building, which, while transforming the en- tire character of the locality, has also ob-

literated all traces of that older order of things which has departed forever.

The dimensions of the new Court House will be in keeping with its character and adornments, the Calvert street front be- ing two hundred feet with a depth of three hundred and twenty-five feet to St. Paul street. The exterior will be built of "Be- verdam" Baltimore county marble with the exception of the basement story, which will be of Maryland granite; possibly the colon- nade and recessed loggia on the Calvert street facade will be the most interesting feature, and here will be placed the largest monolithic columns in the United States. They are thirty-one feet, two and five-eighth inches high exclusive of the base and capi- tal, diameter at base four feet, two and one- half inches; at top, three feet, five and one- fourth inches with flutes, bands and mould- ings. They are purely Ionic and have rich- ly moulded and carved bases and capitals. The entasis is drawn according to the usual methods employed by the ancient Romans. . The diameters for about one-third of the length vary but little, while for the remain- ing length the beautiful swell can be readily seen1.

When quarried each stone weighed about eighty-nine tons, and as the block was sepa- rate from the main ledge it contained two columns, making a mass of about 180 tons; the size of these monster shafts can hardly be understood or appreciated unless seen. There are eight required in all. They were scrabbled or roughed at the quarry and then shipped on a specially built car to Baltimore, where it required twenty-five teams and two trucks, weighing about ten tons each, to convey them to the site of the new Court

1035

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

House, where the cutting is being done in a shop specially designed for the purpose, lighted by electricity and supplied with hot water for rubbing and finishing.

These splendid specimens of the stone worker's art were obtained from the Bever- dam quarries. The rest of the exterior is created with Ionic pilasters supporting an enriched entablature, crowning the whole. A special feature of the St. Paul street- en- trance and the Criminal Court vestibule will be the various richly colored marble col- umns and lining.

In this great building will be located the Superior Court, additional Superior Court, the two Courts of Common Pleas and the two Circuit Courts and their offices. On the third floor will be located the Supreme Bench, a domed room about forty feet in di- ameter, the dome being carried on sixteen monolithic columns and sixteen pilasters of a rich yellow brown veined vermilion marble. This room is lighted almost solely by a large eye or window in the centre of the dome. The Supreme Bench will occu- py the centre of the Calvert street facade. The Bar or Law Library will occupy the whole of the St. Paul street facade. The great room will be one hundred and five feet long and thirty-five feet wide; the ceil- ing will be very beautiful. At either end of the library will be three reading rooms, fin- ished in mahogany. The prisoner's entrance is through the archway on the Lexington street side, and the prison van will be driven to the prisoner's entrance in the lower court yard; a staircase leads directly to the guard rooms, which will be surrounded by the lock-up.

The guard rooms will be floored with marble and lined throughout with enameled

brick, so that they can be kept very clean by flushing with hose. All the passages and corridors through which prisoners pass will be lined with marble. All the jury rooms will be in direct communication with their Court rooms and can be entered only through the Court room so that when the jury has gone to its room for consultation there is no opportunity for outside com- munication.

The staircases from the Calvert street en- trance to the second story are entirely of marble, lighted by skylights. Electricity will be used in every available way, and private telephone wires will be established from one office to the other. In all the rooms where records will be filed, fire-proof vaults will be provided, in fact, the whole building will be as near fire-proof as mod- ern skill can make it. A recent description truly says: "This building, grand and im- posing, will be without dome, tower or spire of any kind; the charm of its simple yet grand and dignified exterior leaves nothing to be desired, and the commission of gen- tlemen who, without money and without price, have given days, weeks, and months of serious thought to its planning and con- struction deserve and will receive the un- stinted thanks of this community."

On the southwest corner of the square has lately been erected on the site of the Old Barnum Hotel, the Equitable Build- ing. The style of architecture is described as Italian Renaissance, admirably adapted to the building of such size and importance. Its great height, towering as it does over the loftiest of the downtown structures, to- gether with the happy combination of ma- terial chosen, renders it a lasting monument to the business sagacity and enterprise of

1036

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

its promoters. The top floor contains a res- taurant and cafe forty-four by ninety-five feet. The building contains the new Law Library.

Due south of this structure stands the im- posing Baltimore & Ohio Central Building, containing all the offices of that company. It was erected at a cost of several millions of dollars.

Passing west, on Fayette street, we are confronted at the corner of St. Paul street by the beautiful new building of the Morn- ing Herald, a strong daily and weekly, inde- pendent in politics.

Turning north on Charles street, we find the home of the Builders' Exchange on the northeast corner of Lexington street, and on the northwest corner the Fidelity Trust and Deposit Company, a splendid building.

The new home of the Exchange is a handsome five-story marble structure, occu- pying a lot eight-four feet, four inches on Charles street; the entire cost was about $200,000, including the ground.

The meeting room of the Exchange is on the fifth floor and extends seventy-two feet on Lexington street and forty-nine feet on Charles street. The other floors are divided into offices. The interior finish is in quar- tered oak, and the walls and ceilings are tinted in oil.

The stairways are of iron, and great care has been taken to make the building as nearly fire-proof as possible.

Hotel Rennert .- The Rennert is a fine specimen of modern architecture, occupy- ing the block bounded by Saratoga, Lib- . erty, Clay and Sharp streets. Its dimen- sions are ninety feet front and two hundred and twenty feet deep.

The style of architecture is the Renais-

sance. The front is of pressed brick trimmed with brown stone and terra cotta, ornamented with pilasters and handsomely carved capitals, band courses, panels, cor- bels, crowned with a very ornamental man- sard roof, high pitched gables and clustered chimney shafts, and flanked at angles with a round tower and turret.

The main tower, forming bays in the angle room, is finished with a highly en- riched domed roof and lantern over one hundred feet above the street. The build- ing contains three hundred rooms for the accommodation of guests and is substan- tially fire-proof throughout.

As we continue north the white marble mass of the Masonic Temple attracts the eye on the east side of the street. While the front presents some of the characteris- tics of the Grecian and Romanesque styles, they are so blended with modern principles of construction as to confuse any but the most expert, but are none the less interest- ing on that account.

The main entrance to the building is through two broad doorways into a vesti- bule or stair-hall, extending through two stories. The walls of this vestibule up to the line of the second floor are faced with A. Bohm and Eschallen marble.

The hydraulic passenger elevator is per- fect and runs to the top floor. A broad cor- ridor leads from the vestibule to a large banquet hall in the rear fifty-four by eighty- five feet.

Ascending to the second floor a corridor crosses the building from north to south at the head of the main stairways, giving en- trance to the Grand Lodge room, the Ro- man Hall, the Grand Master's room and the Library.

1037

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

The Corinthian Hall, which is used for the Grand Lodge, is forty-nine by seventy- four feet. Detached columns rise at inter- vals along the walls supporting the entabla- tures, which extends across the room, di- viding the ceilings into bays.

Roman Hall is fifty-five by thirty-five feet. The ceiling is arched with deeply re- cased panels, modeled in high relief.

In the south front are the rooms of the Grand Master and Grand Secretary, each room eighteen by twenty feet, finished in mahogany. The walls of the Grand Mas- ter's room are hung in tapestry. A broad mantel extends to the ceiling, with African marble facing, and barcled glass panels above the shelf.

The Library, thirty-two by twenty feet, is finished in cherry.

The Secretary of the Grand Chapter has a room in the south front eighteen by twenty feet, which is finished in cherry.

Social Hall, seventeen by twenty-one feet, is on the mezzanine floor, over the ves- tibule. A hooded fire-place supported by carved and cluted columns, forms the cen- tral feature of this apartment. The inscrip- tion: "Here Let Good Fellowship Reign Supreme," is carved in the frieze of the man- tel. A banquet hall thirty-one by twenty feet opens into the Social Hall, through sliding doors.

On this floor are located Oriental, Ionic, Doric, Composite and Renaissance Halls; these rooms take their names from the style of architecture used in them.

The building is lighted with gas and elec- tricity and heating and ventilating appara- tus of the most approved character.

Next to the Masonic Temple and north of it is St. Paul's P. E. Church, a good speci-

men of the Romanesque. This was the site of the first church erected in the city in 1731. In front, over the frieze and architectrave are two alto relievo figures representing Christ and Moses, sculptured by the great Italian artist Capellano.

Opposite to St. Paul's Church, on the corner of Saratoga, is the Young Men's Christian Association Building, built of pressed brick, trimmed with Cleveland stone. It has a collegiate appearance, the roofing and towers being very prominent by reason of the fine location.

Looking west on Saratoga street we get a fine view of the front and east side of the Hotel Rennert.

Opposite the Hotel Rennert is the old parsonage of St. Paul's Church, built in 1789. The lot on which it stands was deeded to the vestry of St. Paul's Parish in Balti- more county in 1786 for the purpose for which it is now used. The home which now forms the central portion of the rectory was finished in 1789, the wings a little later. It is interesting to know that the room on the second floor over the hall was used for the "House of Bishops" of the Protestant Epis- copal Church, which held its sessions here, including in all probability its first session.

On the lot east of the parsonage stands the old mansion of Johns Hopkins, who gave the city a Hospital and University which will perpetuate his name forever. At the proper place we shall describe both.

We have now reached the intersection of Saratoga and Liberty streets. The latter after passing Saratoga and running north is known as Cathedral, on the northwest corner of which street and Saratoga stands the new "Odd Fellows Hall," a large brick building.

1038

HISTORY OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

North of this, and almost joining it is the Roman Catholic School known as "Calvert Hall." This fine building has lately been erected.

We have now reached one of the most in- teresting localities in the city, the ground on which the French General Count de Rochambeau camped with his army during the Revolution, and on which stands to-day one of the most imposing church buildings in the United States, the Metropolitan Catholic Cathedral, fronting on Cathedral at the corner of Mulberry, and running east to Charles street. It was commenced in 1800. Its outward length, including the portico, is 200 feet; its width, including the arms of the cross, is 177 feet; and its height, from the floor of the nave to the summit of the cross which surmounts the dome, is 127 feet. Its style and decorations are of the Grecian order. It is remarkable throughout for the chaste simplicity of its design, and the beautiful proportion of all its parts. The great dome is 207 feet in cir- cumference internally and 231 externally.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n Publication date: 1898 Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson Number of Pages: 1344

Author: Shepherd, Henry Elliott, 1844-1929, ed. 4n
Publication date: 1898
Publisher: [Uniontown? Pa.] S.B. Nelson
Number of Pages: 1344