Overlooking the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill is more than a prominent bit of Baltimore geography. The hill is deeply rooted in this city's history, particularly for its role as a military installation during the Civil War when Union forces kept watch on a Confederate-sympathizing city.
Small wonder a great hue and cry arose when it was discovered that the Under Armour logo had been painted billboard-like on the grassy hillside amid the memorials and American flag including the company's familiar slogan, "Protect this house." Too bad city officials had not thought to "Protect this precious property from commercial exploitation."
No offense to Under Armour, a highly successful Baltimore-based sports apparel company that has made this community proud, but how in the world did the city Recreation and Parks department think for a minute that this was an appropriate thing to allow? What's next, the Washington Monument and Shot Tower repainted as ads for Levitra?
The company sought to have its logo painted on Federal Hill to welcome participants to a volleyball tournament last weekend. Officials likely took a cue from the Ravens logo that was painted on the same hillside during last winter's National Football League playoff run.
In retrospect, that may not have been the best choice either. It's one thing to bathe city landmarks in purple lights to support the Ravens, it's another to open buckets of paint and start spraying away. But at least the Ravens can be justified as something of a civic institution (albeit a for-profit one). To our knowledge, Baltimoreans aren't shelling out thousands of dollars for personal seat licenses to see Under Armour employees play football, baseball or anything else.
But here's the topper: Baltimore has a law explicitly banning "general advertising signs" in publicly owned open spaces such as parks or athletic fields. It's been on the books for three years. The parks department should probably take note of it.