A $180,000 plan by the Schmoke administration to raze two 19th century buildings on Howard Street to make way for the Eubie Blake National Museum and Cultural Center has come under fire from local preservationists, who say the city is thwarting state laws meant to preserve historic buildings.
City redevelopment officials say they don't believe the buildings have historic significance. They say they have the legal authority to tear them down, and will do so despite what the preservationists think, to make the Eubie Blake Center part of the "Avenue of the Arts" planned along Howard Street.
The debate is the first controversy involving the state's preservation agency, the Maryland Historical Trust, since Parris N. Glendening became governor Jan. 18. It also shows the lengths to which Schmoke administration representatives will go to demolish buildings that they contend aren't worth saving.
The Eubie Blake Center announced a $1.7 million plan to move from Market Place to Howard Street in December. Mayor Kurt L. Schmoke predicted that it would be a strong anchor for the nascent arts corridor. "I think it'll . . . become one of the major attractions in Baltimore," he said.
The site chosen for the Eubie Blake Center is the northwest corner of Howard and Franklin streets, just south of the Mayfair Theater and east of the old Congress Hotel. With galleries and studios for dance, drama and art, the museum is seen as an ideal complement to the artists' housing complex planned for the 400 block of Howard St.
The city's plan calls for the museum to be constructed in place of two vacant buildings, a four-story structure at 500 N. Howard St. and a three-story structure at 506 N. Howard St. On Jan. 13, five days before leaving office, Gov. William Donald Schaefer announced that $180,000 in state funds had been earmarked to raze the buildings.
But this month, funding for the project was held up pending a review by the Maryland Historical Trust. Preservationists there expressed concern that the corner buildings may have historic and architectural significance and should not be destroyed. They say they were never given a chance to review the plans before they were announced.
On top of that, Eubie Blake's directors are seeking $250,000 from the General Assembly this year to help build the museum. Ordinarily, capital funds appropriated by the General Assembly would be subject to review bythe Trust if the project involves demolition.
But city officials have come up with a strategy to skirt the process. They say they will forgo the state demolition funds and use city funds instead to tear down the two buildings, avoiding the state agency's oversight.
"We can do whatever we want with them at this juncture," said Leslie Howard, development director for Baltimore Development Corp.
Once the buildings are gone, Mr. Howard said, the Trust will have no authority to block funding for the replacement structure. He said he plans to give Trust representatives that message during a meeting that has been set up for Feb. 24.
"That's deceitful. It's very distressing to hear," said David Gleason, a Baltimore architect and preservationist.
The city's plan sends the wrong message to developers, said Fred Shoken, former president of Baltimore Heritage, a preservation advocacy group.
"There are so many vacant sites along Howard Street that need to be filled in. Wouldn't it make more sense to renovate the buildings that still exist?"
The structure at 506 N. Howard St. dates from about 1830 and is "a remarkable survivor of early 19th-century residential architecture on Howard Street," commented historian Diane Shaw in a 1991 city-sponsored survey. "As originally constructed, the first story would have been used for commercial purposes and the upper stories would have been used as dwelling quarters."
The building at 500 N. Howard St. dates from around 1850 and is "a good example of an Italianate commercial block," Ms. Shaw observed. "The use of a plastered surface incised to resemble cut stone is unusual and shows a concern for decorative effect at minimal cost."
Despite the survey commentary, Mr. Howard said he doesn't believe the buildings are worth saving.