A gold-plated cross atop a tall brick Baptist Church at a crossroads in the East Baltimore community of Oliver was illuminated for the first time last night -- marking the first flash of Mayor Martin O'Malley's new Inspire Baltimore initiative.
"It's my vision come true that the cross would be lit," said the Rev. James J. Thompson, 68, the pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in the 1200 block of Harford Ave. where it meets East Biddle and Aisquith streets. "Lo and behold, my prayers have been answered."
The church lighting five blocks from a deadly arson -- the Dawson family of seven perished in a house fire last month that police say was set by a neighbor -- was chosen as the most apt place to start the campaign to light some of Baltimore's many spires.
"Show them off," Mayor Martin O'Malley said. "Anything you can do to make the city more lively, highlight cultural assets and lift morale is good. And Baltimore suffers from pathological modesty."
Nine churches and four historic landmarks -- the Shot Tower, the City College "castle" on the Alameda, the Moorish Tower in Druid Hill Park and the War Memorial Building across the plaza from City Hall -- were lighted last night.
The short-term goal is to illuminate 36 churches and four other buildings. City government is paying $138,659 for the lights, and the building owners are footing the electricity bill.
O'Malley said it was no accident that an idea he conceived of months ago as a citywide morale-boosting exercise was publicly rolled out amid gospel songs and fanfare in East Baltimore.
"Since the Dawsons died, we need to reach out to our East Baltimore neighbors," he said.
Thompson referred to the family as well.
"All of us were devastated by the senseless destruction of life, not only in East Baltimore but all throughout the city," Thompson said, alluding to Baltimore's record as one of America's most violent cities. "They [the Dawsons] were our neighbors."
Yesterday's lighting gave him and his parishioners a sense, Thompson said, "of being delivered from the tragedy, even though we're still in mourning."
Thompson has envisioned a lighted cross since not long after he became pastor in 1981. He was thunderstruck, he said, when he received a letter last summer from O'Malley outlining the new initiative and identifying Nazarene has a strong candidate.
Last night, at the celebratory lighting, the two men met within view of not only one, but two lighted spires of Baptist churches in the East Baltimore neighborhood. O'Malley compared lighting "these great old unique spires all over Baltimore" to lighting candles.
Thompson responded, "This is going to do great things for the neighborhood."
O'Malley's latest campaign -- not to be confused with a similar-sounding "Believe" program aimed largely at reducing drug addiction -- encouraged four electric contractors to give their services pro bono, city officials said. They are Mace Electric Co., Herbert Electric Co., A.M. & Sons Inc. and Letke Electric Co.
The city's two most historic churches --the mother church of American Methodism, Lovely Lane, and the first Roman Catholic Cathedral in the United States, the Basilica of the Assumption, are not included because those buildings are undergoing repairs.
In addition to Nazarene Baptist, the first group includes Urban Fellowship Baptist Church, 1225 E. Eager St; First Unitarian Church, 2-12 W. Franklin St.; Old Otterbein United Methodist, 112 W. Conway St.; and First Baptist Church, 525 N. Caroline St.
The others are St. Martin Catholic Church, 31 N. Fulton Ave.; Zion Lutheran Church at City Hall Plaza; St. Benedict, 2612 Wilkens Ave.; and St. Patrick's, 317 S. Broadway.
"We evaluated the buildings for both the architectural structure and historical significance, which were very important in our study," said Adrienne Barnes, spokeswoman for the city's transportation department, which oversaw the logistics.
"We worked with CHAP," she said, referring to the city's Commission on Historical and Architectural Preservation, which helped draw up the list.
CHAP and transportation officials carried out a "visual reconnaissance" from major thoroughfares such as Interstate 95, Interstate 83 and the Orleans Street viaduct to see which churches stood out. There are no height or age restrictions on the churches and civic buildings chosen, city officials.
Thompson said Oliver, which just had its neighborhood sign repainted and streets cleaned by a team of city workers led by O'Malley, was healing. "No matter how dark it seems, eventually there is light," he said.