TLDR
Patterson Park is the most intensively used large park in Baltimore. Patterson Park Community Development Corporation, built up the surrounding rowhome community. The Friends of Patterson Park developed robust programming in the park creating a thriving area that serves the neighborhood and the city. The close knit community and close proximity to the park sold me on the Patterson Park Neighborhood. I had no idea about all the programming. Near the end I got crazy into history, I think my dad's spirit jumped in me. Future blogs will feature food now that my Baltimore background is complete.
My Story
I moved to the neighborhood of Patterson Park in November 2008. I’m not a huge cold weather fan so I didn’t go out a lot, but I quickly made friends and hung out with neighbors, unlike in the county. But once it got warm I started to explore the park. The park has lots of amenities and events. I will get to some of those soon, but my most vivid first memory of an event in the park was witnessing the Visionary Art Museum's Kinetic Sculpture Race. There will be a separate post sometime about the Visionary Art Museum and the race, including how I was in it one year. But let me share my first experience. The Kinetic Sculpture Race consists of all-terrain sculptures that travel through the city while encountering a water obstacle at the Canton Waterfront, a sand pit and mud pit in Patterson Park. Oh and these sculptures are powered by people. Picture a 15 foot, pink poodle sculpture, being peddled by people. Like I said, future blog post.
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| FiFi, the iconic kinetic sculpture at The Visionary Art Museum |
Now what I first encountered was the mud pit. These crazy sculptures are riding around the park. Then they gear up and try to get through a man-made mud pit. People are standing around, cheering the sculptures on and a teenage girl on a dirt bike that had floaties on it (there are rules that I still don’t understand) and struggled in this pit. She was competing for some category in this crazy race and had to get through this pit unassisted and she also couldn’t fall. It felt like all of Baltimore was behind her as she used every muscle in her body to stay up and move forward. After what seemed like hours, but it was probably only 30 seconds because there was a time limit, she made it through and the crowd went wild. This continued with all kinds of sculptures - fish, dog, a platypus, it was the craziest thing I had ever seen. I later discovered there were water and sand pit obstacles before the mud pit. I couldn't believe I walked to this from my house. I really picked the right neighborhood for me.
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| I want to sign up to be on the mud pit crew. |
You won’t even believe me as I list all the events hosted in my park. OK it’s a public park but still. In addition to the Kinetic Race, here is a small list of the many scheduled offerings:
The Kite Festival
Wine at Sunset
Zumba
Youth Tennis
Youth Soccer
Summer Concert Series
Dia del Nino
Haitian Caribbean Festival
Brewfest
Great Lantern Parade
Winter Lights
Mindfulness Nature Walk
The Friends of Patterson Park organizes many of the events in the park. They partner with other organizations like The Creative Alliance, Komite Ayiti and many others to create inclusive programming.
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| Catrina and Catrin at the Lantern Parade |
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| Kite Festival |
But the great thing is, you don’t have to go to the park for a special event. When the weather is warm, my morning walk is a circuit around my park. I leave my house and walk two blocks to the park. I walk by the Virginia Baker Recreation Center. I pass softball fields, tennis courts, a playgrounds, the Patterson Park Dog Park, Utz Field, basketball courts, pavilions, Mimi DiPietro Family Skating Center, Patterson Park Pool, the Pulaski Monument, The Boat Lake, bird watching areas created by Patterson Park Audubon Center, the bull circle, community gardens, the Observatory, a historic marble fountain, and the White House (home of The Friends of Patterson Park, not POTUS).
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| A fun game would be to try to find the Bull Circle in the park. I also may have made up this name. |
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| Marble Fountain from 1865 |
That is a long list of attractions, but I want to tell you about my two favorites.
The Boat Lake
During my walk around the park, I take an interior detour that takes me to the wetlands. When I post pictures from this area, people can’t understand how I’m still in the city, or how I walked here. There are ducks, herons, at times an egret and a great blue heron that I call the dinosaur bird. I encountered it standing on the dock and it was definitely my height (I know I’m a short human, but that is a big bird). I also didn’t know you could walk around the lake for years. The dock is hidden by an island in the middle of the lake. In the Boat Lake, there are turtles and frogs. The Baltimore City Recreation and Parks department also stocks the Boat Lake with fish. Many city dwellers can say they caught their first fish at the Boat Lake.
The lake was created after the civil war and expanded in 1875 to accommodate skating and boats. The lake was deepened in 1985. In 2003 the lake was dredged and wetlands were created. It is more of a duck pond than a boat lake.
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| The Boat Lake-I often post a picture from here with #stillinthecity |
Observatory
My favorite spot in the park is the Observatory on top of Hampstead Hill. It is the most iconic landmark in Patterson Park. It sits atop Hampstead Hill (check out the history below) and on a clear day you can see the Key Bridge.
In the spring, the most magnificent pink magnolias bloom around the Observatory.
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| The Observatory and pink magnolia |
During the summer we gather and listen to concerts on the hill.
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| Summer concert series at the Observatory |
And in the winter, we light it up for the season.
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| Winter Lights |
There are also opportunities to go inside the Observatory and see a 360 view of the city. It is a sight that you shouldn’t miss. I love meeting friends or meditating on the steps looking over the city.
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| Looking down at the staircase in the Observatory |
I spiraled deep into the history of my 137 acre park. I was really feeling like my dad, who loved history and sharing it with a captive crowd. You can read it below and there is even a book. But I did want to share this one fun nugget.
The city erected cannons in the park on Hampstead Hill for the hundred year anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore in 1914. When the Friends of Patterson Park looked to celebrate the Bicentennial of the Battle of Baltimore, they discovered the cannons weren’t replicas as everyone assumed. They were actual cannons from the period. For some more information about that discovery including an interesting use for one of the cannons, check out this video.
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| Real Cannons at the park |
Now for the extra history lesson, thank you for making it this far...
Harris Creek Rogers Estate dates from the late 1600’s. You could paddle a small boat from the Patapsco River into the Harris Creek that ran through the park. There is a fascinating history of waterways under Baltimore (the Jones Falls, Sumwalt Run) that will be a real nerdy blog post at some future time. William Patterson, the founder of the B&O Railroad, purchased 200 acres in 1792 for $8,500 at auction. In 1827, he gifted 6 acres to the city in an effort to recreate public walks he saw in Europe. This gift makes Patterson Park the oldest park in Baltimore and the first gift of land to a city for public recreation. The park became a public space in 1853.
During the War of 1812 (which lasted from 1812-1815, not just 1812. The 100 years war was really 116. I had to know.), the British attacked by water at Ft. McHenry, cue The Star-Spangled Banner. On land, the British marched on Baltimore to Hampstead Hill (the top of Patterson Park) and saw 100 cannons and 20,000 troops, mainly civilians. They were like, Nah and returned to their ships and left the Port of Baltimore.
The Park became another military base during The Civil War, where Hampstead Hill was a hospital, Camp Patterson Park from 1861-1864. After the war, the park had several expansions. George A. Frederick gave the park a Victorian vibe. The Observatory was designed by Charles Latrobe (you will see this name all over the city) in 1890, and the famous Olmsted brothers designed portions of the park in 1905. The Friends of Patterson Park was formed in 1998 to partner with the Baltimore City Recreation and Parks for maintenance of the park. A small staff and dedicated group of volunteers has turned Patterson Park into a city attraction with amazing programming.
You can by this book here
Well my Baltimore origin story is complete. Future blog posts will feature food!!! Feel free to suggest places you would like to read about.
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