Once A Home, Sadly to Some an Afterthought

#Baltimore #CharmCity #RowHome #FoodDesert #CabCalloway #BlackArtsDistrict

Many inner cities have stories of tragedy and grief. Perhaps, however, none are more visually striking than that of Baltimore. From the dramatic pictures of blocks of burned out and boarded up buildings to the Hollywood portrayals, Baltimore’s outward appearance is stark, dreadful, and foreboding. If one were to take a deeper look, there is beauty to be found and among the beauty, there is hope. Hope is the one thing that keeps humankind moving, even through the darkest of times.

Citizens of Baltimore have taken it upon themselves to create beauty amongst the destruction and blight they see every day. The murals of Baltimore are a beautiful reminder that even without the funds to fix these buildings, they can surely make the ugly turn beautiful. These provide memories to young people growing up in these neighborhoods that someone does care, and someone is willing to share their idea of beauty with the city. “Besides the monetary aspect of rehabilitating and investing in these row homes is the sense of giving such a piece of Baltimore’s history another chance to provide more history to the city, “ stated John McAuliffe a structural engineer who specializes in row home rehabilitation.

The 2700 block of Parkwood Avenue is a prime example of a citizen taking it upon himself to rehabilitate not one but two different homes. Loring Cornish made his art studio out of two entire Baltimore rowhouses that he has covered, inside and out, kaleidoscopic patterns of mosaic glass. One has the actual message of hope above the window in the glass I did the other one has the message of Jesus above the window. He scouted alleys and vacant lots of West Baltimore in his white pick-up truck looking for interesting cast-offs such as battered Venetian blinds, a baby doll, broken Noxzema jars, a baseball mitt, a box of marbles, make their way into the walls, doors, stairwells and windows of his houses. Others are recycled into wall-sized installations marked by allegorical, often religious words embedded in his trademark glass mosaics. This is his way of carrying on the story of the row homes and all the items he has found.

Murals also show the reality of the situation in the inner city. Tyree Moorehead, former gang member turned activist, and artist has put up 200 murals of a “No Shoot Zone” wherever a shooting had occurred where are the victim of either a woman , a child or multiple victims. A reminder to both to the city that someone died here and to the murderer that this shall not be forgotten. "See, I go straight to the shooters. That's who my rapport is with. My rapport is with the shooters," Moorehead said. "I can look them in the eyes and say, 'Homie, I was shooting, too.' But, what I didn't have was a me back then,” as quoted from a CBS news story . When you see multiple “No Shoot Zone” murals within a few blocks of each other, the hope is that government and society will somehow remedy this sad situation.Now, the guerrilla marketing campaign of No Shoot Zones is his mission.

Lastly, when these buildings which had housed and raised generations of people can no longer be reclaimed or rehabilitated, there is a final “resting spot”. Similar to a burial plot, the city has created gardens where citizens can rent a garden space or go to pick fresh vegetables from the community garden. Life can renew itself. Programs like City Farms do just that, Their mission is to provide City managed garden beds, offer educational workshops, train residents in gardening skills, teach environmental conservation, and coach gardeners in methods of improving food production and reducing food waste. Some of these areas that have demolished row homes are now memorial parks in honor of famous or honorable natives of Baltimore such as Cab Calloway or Thurgood Marshall just to start the long list of those that have been memorialized in a.

It takes hard work and dedicated people to reverse the decline of an inner city. If more citizens can be convinced or persuaded to join a cause or volunteer their time, the effort suddenly becomes not so hopeless. With the effort of a small percentage of the city volunteering their time, a world of difference can be made. Baltimore can and will someday reclaim itself as the Charm City.