Putting Station North on the Map (literally)

I like the idea of visualizing things.  Being able to hear a concept or have someone mention a place and really be able to grasp the idea of where it is and what it is.  I think to really be able to respect the voices of the residents and others involved in the Station North Arts and Entertainment District, it is important to be able to really grasp and understand the history and place these people and locations into context.  Because of how important I feel it is to present this information, I chose to join group of students that would be creating the interactive map of Station North.

Since beginning the project, I have taken the task of kind being the secretary of sorts- of keeping everything organized in a Google Drive, updating our timeline, and making sure everyone understands the task at hand.  With this position, I've also taken on the task of kind of filling in with whatever else is needed.

As of right now, I am going to be researching two businesses within Station North that we feel should be identified and mapped, but not completed by the class during Small Assignment #2:

• Liam Flynn’s Ale House

• Bell Foundry

As the interviewing group begins talking to residents and other members of the Station North community, we will add to our list of missing places.

I like that we are focusing on Station North as a community in terms of boundaries, but I am excited to begin to hear the themes of what it really means to be a part of the Station North community in a psychological and more abstract sense. I would like to find a way to bring this into our project--but that involves first waiting to hear from the interviewing group.

Overall, I'm excited to be working closer with the members of our group, and while a little nervous, I'm very excited to see the project come together!

I can't wait to be able to hear someone mention a place or a street and be able to click on the map and pull up the information of the area and easily show others the community that we have spent all semester getting to know.

Charles Theater Research Beginnings

Charles Theater

1711 N. Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland

also: 1711-1715 N. Charles Street

Designed 1892 by Jackson C. Gott (Baltimore Traction Company)

1939- Times Theater opens

**”first moving picture house in Baltimore” (New Movie)

c. 1959- Renamed Charles

http://thecharles.com/theatre-info/

“Car crash closes Charles Theater for at least seven days”

http://search.proquest.com/hnpbaltimoresun/docview/1477580545/ADFD85AB0CBF40F5PQ/2?accountid=14577

“New Movie House For Newsreels: Time Theater Will Open October 6 On North Avenue”

http://search.proquest.com/hnpbaltimoresun/docview/543055683/1258338F88D74B00PQ/4?accountid=14577

Search terms to look into:

Beaux-Arts buildings, Jackson C. Gott, Charles Theater, Times Theater, newsreel theaters

The Support to Save the City

To save the City of Baltimore seems like an awfully large task for the people and neighborhoods that make up the Station North Arts and Entertainment District.

For years, the conversation has been had about Station North's part in the revitalization of the city.  A large factor of this revitalization involves bringing in new members and investments into the community.

In 2003, a Cork Factory resident and community activist, Dennis Livingston, remarked on how officials could go about changing the Station North community saying that really there are two options: "one way is to get rid of the poverty.  The other is to get rid of the people."

Ten years later, this idea still stood.  A caller on the Marc Steiner show remarked that "as Station North Grows, so will square footage prices."  With the increase in property prices and values, certain people are pushed in and out of the city.

No matter the year, what seems to echo through all that comment on the revitalization of Station North, and of Baltimore City overall, is the community connections and support needed for neighborhoods like Station North to survive.

It is up to the community whether or not the City projects can survive and become what they are intended to be.  Support of the projects and planning and ideas of City officials by residents is needed for these sorts of projects to actually work and succeed.  Station North locals need to play into what planners, developers, and executives are trying to create of the area.  Station North as a space can continue to grow into a successful and engaging community for both residents and visitors, that could also encourage people to stay and explore the rest of the city.

I don't think that Station North can necessarily save the city of Baltimore-- one neighborhood alone cannot reverse decades of population decreases all while supporting poor residents and ushering in richer ones.  But Station North is in a unique place in which there is a strong momentum built up to continue to support the residents within the community while revitalizing the area that is promising.

The history of the people and the space of Station North is one that can be promising in providing a success story in the revitalization of the City of Baltimore, but the support of its residents is what will help save the City.



Questions for Ben Stone:
1. Two years later, what sort of changes have you seen in Station North as an Arts District?
2.  In 2013, there was a lot of conversation and critic around the lack of African American developers with the projects, has there been any progress in diversifying the people involved in the projects of developing Station North?
3. A caller to the Marc Steiner show mentioned how as square footage prices grow, certain people would be pushed in and out of the community, how do you react to people crying wolf and saying that gentrification is destroying the community.

Community: A definition based in Proximity

This mural by artist Gaia on the side of Baltimore's Bell Foundry Building in 

Station North combines the ideas of community revitalization through art.

 (Photo by Jahi Chikwendui from The Washington Post)

Community as a concept is one that means something different to every person.  For some it is the space space in which a person lives, for others it is the people that make up their church, but for all community involves a shared aspect or identity that brings them together.  The factors that define a community are created by both insiders and outsiders, but the authentic experience within that group is one that is defined by the person who fully feels a sense of belonging within the group.  

 A large factor in the definition of a community comes from the proximity a person to that community.  A person's perceptions versus actual experiences create strong ideas about who or what it takes to be a member of that community.

Gentrification seems to be a large factor in the definition of the community.  With such large shifts in population dynamics, there are changes in the demographics that shape who creates the community of Station North.  The issue with gentrification, especially within Station North, is the redefinition of what that community really is.  In terms of space, shared ideas, and belonging, the idea of who makes up Station North and what the community of Station North is, is one that can only be defined by the people that have lived that experience.

Something I would be very interested in looking at is how residents in Station North define their community, whether they focus on the idea of community being psychological, physical, or even a combination.  Additionally, I am very interested in the project of interviewing documenting the "One Block in Station North" from our syllabus.  I think it would be awesome to combine qualitative and quantitative research to see how that area has transformed.