Finding the Charm in Charm City
Reviewed by Jim Sweeney
Baltimore has its share of deco buildings, and many appear in Finding the Charm in Charm City: Affectionate Views of Baltimore by Anthea Smith, with photographs by Huguette May (Johns Hopkins University Press, $29.95 hardcover). The book is a nice, unpretentious survey of local history and architecture by two people who pay a lot of attention to what's around them.
The 100 photos are contemporary, although they look like vintage images. That's because they're done with the Polaroid image transfer process which produces subtle coloring that resembles old postcards.
Smith did her homework on the subjects that May photographed and her short essays for each image are packed with information. One photo shows the sole survivor of the only streamlined steam locomotives ever built for C & 0 Railroad. The streamlined trains they were designed to pull were never put into service, although the Class L-1 Hudsons did see service for a few years pulling other trains. The five locomotives were retired in 1952; the one in the photograph is in Baltimore's B & 0 Railroad Museum.
The book concentrates on modest structures, such as the White Elk Motel on Route 1, the Arbutus Poodle Salon (with classic 1950s Formstone facade), and a 1940s cinderblock steamed crab shop on 29th Street near Falls Road.
There are also more elegant structures, such as Baltimore's most famous deco structure, the 1939 Senator Theatre, designed by Baltimore-born architect John J. Zink.
Another fine deco building is Alonso's Restaurant on Cold Spring Lane near Charles Street. The first floor of the 1940s building has a glass block and stainless steel facade. It's now run by the original owner's son.
There are several theatres in this book. Smith offers an interesting description of the now closed 1938 Arcade Theatre in the Hamilton community: "...built where a block of garages once stood ... it was separated from the main block by an alley. To solve this unique situation, a lobby area served as the bridge over the alley." Makes you want to get inside to see how this design challenge was handled.
Several buildings reflect common fates for older structures. The Luby Chevrolet showroom on Route 40 East was remodeled into a deco building in the 1940s, and remodeled again in the 1990s into a modernized pseudodeco style. Then it closed in 1996. A neighborhood market still operates out of the Joe's Cut Rate Meats building in Fells Point, although the glass tubing is missing from the 1920s sign over the entrance.
While most of the photos depict structures, Smith and May found a political artifact from the deco era: a faded "Vote Against Prohibition" sign painted on a building at Broadway and Shakespeare.
Some of the photos illustrate things common to any city, such as small retail structures or restaurant chains (the now-vacant White Tower on Belair Road that was used in the 1995 movie "Home for the Holidays"). Others reflect Baltimore's history and culture, such as the deco sign for the 2 O'clock Club, a strip joint on the famous Block that was once owned by stripper Blaze Starr. Eddie's Food Market in Dundalk is a simple deco commercial structure. A metal crown of decorative seashells marks the entrance (it's now a Salvation Army store).
This article originally appeared in Trans-Lux volume 18, number 3, September 2000.
Where to Find the Book
You can find Finding the Charm in Charm City in local bookstores or purchase it on-line at a discount from Amazon.com Books.
ADSW offers this book in association with Amazon.com Books and receives a small commission on sales referred to them.
Comments
Created Saturday, September 30, 2000; Modified Thursday, September 18, 2003.
