The prototype Roland Park dogwood rosette. This is Tony Pinto's original drawing of the now iconic emblem. Pinto designed it in 1991, in time for the Roland Park centennial. It initially served as the logo for just the Roads & Maintenance Corp., but has since been adopted by the Civic League and the Community Foundation. Click image to enlarge. (Courtesy of Anthony F. Pinto III.)

Roland Park Crime Spree Continues

Roland Park's summer crime spree continues unabated. Details are atthe "letters to the editor" section. Click here. Note: These are readers' letters. RolandPark.org cannot vouch for their accuracy.

— D.P. Munro

Web-site Editor

RolandPark.org

August 23, 2010

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RolandPark.org Releases Historic Photo Site

RolandPark.org on July 17, 2010, released its "Then and Now" series of Roland Park area historic photo and map galleries. The site is composed of eight web pages, which between them contain over 400 maps, plans, and historic and modern photos — and a 1946 movie of a streetcar ride from the Eddie's block to Lake Roland. The project, 21 months in the making, is intended to serve as an electronic repository of Roland Park area history. Additional future pages will showcase readers' historic-photo submissions. As far as we are aware, no neighborhood association in Maryland has such as extensive historic web section as this one. The site’s portal page is at http://rolandpark.org/ThenAndNow.html.

I am indebted to Barrie Sigler for providing the superb streetcar footage and to Houpla, Inc. for converting it to a digital format usable by this site. I am also indebted to Leslie Goldsmith and Tony Pinto for allowing me to scan dozens of photos and old magazine pages from their extensive collections of Roland Park memorabilia, to Mac Kennedy for providing many photos historic and modern, and to Patty Darby for a number of Ridgewood Road pictures from House & Garden magazine. Thanks are due to Kathy Hudson for reviewing draft versions of these pages. Last but certainly not least, I must express my sincere appreciation to Therese O'Malley and Murray West for helping immensely by taking many of the "now" photos, particularly in the "west" section of the site. Additional "then" and "now" photos were also provided by James W. Arnold, John Hammond and Anne C. Stuzin, for which thank you.

Happy browsing!

— D.P. Munro

Web-site Editor

RolandPark.org

July 17, 2010

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Roland Park Area Media Hit of the Day

For full local-area media hit list, click here.

While saying many nice things about the RolandPark.org "Then and Now" historical web site. Kathy Hudson wonders in the August 24, 2010 Baltimore Messenger if Roland Park today would ever permit a repeat of the late 1930s demolition of 106 Ridgewood Road, a house torn down to preclude its becoming a nursing home. The 106 Ridgewood Road story is here (8/24/10).

In the June 30, 2010 edition of the Baltimore Messenger, Larry Perl writes of the return of the Roland Park Co.'s records to the Johns Hopkins library after more than four decades at Cornell. Perl's piece is here (7/1/10).

Kathy Hudson says that "the jury is still out on the long-awaited Roland Park sign" that recently went up on University Parkway to replace one demolished in a car accident a few years ago. The new sign features a brass version of the RP dogwood rosette, an emblem originally designed by former a Civic League and Roads & Maintenance president, Tony Pinto. Hudson's Baltimore Messenger article is here (7/1/10).

"The [Roland Park] community has rarely seen such a fertile time of neighborhood activism," says the Baltimore Messenger's Larry Perl, writing of Phil Spevak's recently ended term as RP Civic League president. In the May 25, 2010 Messenger, Perl notes that Spevak is open to a role in government. Read Perl's article here (5/29/10).

You can never be too vigilant about crime, says Kathy Hudson, even in Roland Park (Baltimore Messenger, April 12, 2010). Read it here.

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Master Plan Media Hit of the Day

For a full master plan media-hit list, go here.

"While the city government prepares for comprehensive rezoning for the first time in three decades, Roland Park made drafting a master plan a top priority," writes Larry Perl in the May 25 Baltimore Messenger. And now the plan is complete and will be presented to the city for review. Click here to read Perl's account of the unveiling of the RP area master plan at the Roland Park Civic League May 19 annual meeting (5/29/10).

If the master plan were implemented, says the Baltimore Messenger's Larry Perl, April 13, the "gateways to Roland Park would look more like town centers." Perl's detailed report on the third master-plan charrette is here (4/18/10).

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Barry Goodinson's by now thoroughly energy audited house in Plat 1.

Roads & Maintenance Plat Rep Blogs about his Home Energy Audit

R&M Plat 1 Rep Barry Goodinson in early August, 2010 posted five articles to the web site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The theme is Barry's recent home energy audit. The five entertaining articles are posted in two sets at the NTHP's web site. The first two are here and second three here. (Note that the articles appear on each page in reverse order, i.e., with the first at the bottom of the page.) Barry is the NTHP's director of development for historic sites.

— D.P. Munro

Web-site Editor

RolandPark.org

August 17, 2010

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Master Plan Submitted to City for Review and Available on Line

On June 6, the Master Plan Steering Committee submitted the master plan to the city for approval. The draft as submitted may be read here.

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Master Plan Presentation Released at May 19 Civic League Annual Meeting

At its May 2010 annual general meeting, the Roland Park Civic League released the Greater Roland Park Master Plan (working draft for city review). An electronic version of the plan is not currently available, but a comprehensive presentation about it is. To review the presentation, click here.

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RolandPark.org Preservation Portal

RolandPark.org has created a new portal for all local area matters concerning preservation and development. The portal will also serve as an access point to archived material on preservation. It may be found at http://rolandpark.org/PreservationDevelopment.

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Sustainability/Green Space Portal

As if the preservation portal were not enough, RolandPark.org has also created a new portal for sustainability and green-space stories. As with the preservation portal, it will also serve as a library for archived material. Why not visit the new portal at http://rolandpark.org/SustainGreen.html?

Looking for the Roland Park Sustainability Initiative pledge form? Download it here.

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Please send information of interest or upcoming events to be posted. Also, please visit the e-communication page and register to receive important community announcements.

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