Baltimore Deco

Art Deco buildings still lift their modernist principles and streamlined chrome into the skies of Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Second Place Winner of the Design and Effectiveness Award of the Washington Publishers The bold lines and decorative details of Art Deco have stood the test of time since one of its first appearances in the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925. Reflecting the confidence of modern mentality—streamlined, chrome, and glossy black—along with simple elegance, sharp lines, and cosmopolitan aspirations, Art Deco carried surprises, juxtaposing designs growing out of speed (racecars and airplanes) with ancient Egyptian and Mexican details, visual references to Russian ballet, and allusions to Asian art. While most often associated with such masterworks as New York’s Chrysler Building, Art Deco is evident in the architecture of many U.S. cities, including Washington and Baltimore. By updating the findings of two regional studies from the 1980s with new research, Richard Striner and Melissa Blair explore the most significant Art Deco buildings still standing and mourn those that have been lost. This comparative study illuminates contrasts between the white-collar New Deal capital and the blue-collar industrial port city, while noting such striking commonalities as the regional patterns of Baltimore’s John Jacob Zinc, who designed Art Deco cinemas in both cities. Uneven preservation efforts have allowed significant losses, but surviving examples of Art Deco architecture include the Bank of America building in Baltimore (now better known as 10 Light Street) and the Uptown Theater on Connecticut Avenue NW in Washington. Although possibly less glamorous or flamboyant than exemplars in New York or Miami, the authors find these structures—along with apartment houses and government buildings—typical of the Deco architecture found throughout the United States and well worth preserving. Demonstrating how an international design movement found its way into ordinary places, this study will appeal to architectural historians, as well as regional residents interested in developing a greater appreciation of Art Deco architecture in the mid-Atlantic region.

Romantic stylings follow excursions into the Greek and Gothic Revivals, the rise of the popular Italianate-mode for town and country houses : fine examples of soaring church spires; public spaces like the Peabody Library, and masterpieces of ornamented dignity."

Michael J. Lisicky is the author of several bestselling books, including Hutzler's: Where Baltimore Shops. In demand as a department store historian, he has given lectures at institutions such as the New York Public Library, the Boston Public Library, the Free Library of Philadelphia, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Milwaukee County Historical Society, the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Jewish Museum of Maryland. His books have received critical acclaim from the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Pittsburgh Post Gazette. He has been interviewed by national business periodicals including Fortune Magazine, Investor's Business Daily and Bloomberg Businessweek. His book Gimbels Has It was recommended by National Public Radio's Morning Edition program as "One of the Freshest Reads of 2011." Mr. Lisicky helps run an "Ask the Expert" column with author Jan Whitaker at www.departmentstorehistory.net and resides in Baltimore, where he is an oboist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Some of the most poignant moments in US History happened in Baltimore. Have the ghosts of the past come back to haunt CHARM CITY? Ghost Hunter Vince Wilson takes you on a haunted journey into history! Learn the secrets of the master author of modern horror EDGAR ALLAN POE! Hear the tale of FRANK THE BODY SNATCHER! Have dinner and a drink at BERTHA'S MUSSELS and maybe you will meet the LADY IN BLACK -a ghostly apparition that appears on the stairwell! Sail away into mystery and maritime lore on the USS CONSTELLATION then check out the harbor's only HAUNTED BOOKSTORE! Why the very streets of FELLS POINT are Haunted!

Insiders' Guide to Baltimore is the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information to the Maryland's largest city. Written by a local (and true insider), this guide offers a personal and practical perspective of Baltimore and its surrounding environs.

For nonfiction books alphabetically listed on eight US cities: Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami, annotations consist mainly of the publication data, table of contents, Library of Congress classification, and Dewey class number. The books on Baltimore span the typical range of 1880-1999. Perhaps v.1 contains an introduction explaining the authors' purpose, backgrounds, and city selection criteria. Indexed by author and title. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.