Lost Baltimore (Lost)

by Paul K. Williams

Overview

Lost Baltimore is the latest in the series from Anova Books that traces the cherished places in a city that time, progress and fashion have swept aside before the National Register of Historic Places could save them from the wrecker's ball.

Organised chronologically starting with the earliest losses and ending with the latest, the book features much-loved Philadelphia insitutions that failed to stand the test of time, such as the Sun Iron Building, Electric Amusement Park and the Rennert Hotel.

Grand buildings erected in the Victorian era that were too costly to be refurbished, or movie theaters that the age of television made redundant are featured. Alongside the city's iconic and much-missed buildings, Lost Baltimore also looks at some traditions that have passed (marble doorsteps, painted window screens) and sporting legends that have relocated (Baltimore Colts, Baltimore Bullets).

Lost Baltimore is a nostalgic journey back in time to visit some of the lost treasures that the city let slip through its grasp.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781909108431
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	02/28/2013
Series:	Lost
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	1,008,900
Product dimensions:	9.70(w) x 11.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Gregory J. Alexander is the proprietor of Pen and Ink, LLC, a freelance writing and editing company based in Baltimore. After earning a bachelor’s degree in newspaper journalism from the University of Georgia in 1993, Alexander has worked at three daily newspapers, including, most recently, the Baltimore Sun as special sections manager. Since launching Pen and Ink, he has written for a variety of local and national newspapers and magazines. Alexander is also executive editor at Stone House Publications, overseeing two magazines—Mason-Dixon Arrive, a monthly lifestyle magazine, and I95 Business, a business magazine covering the northeast Maryland corridor. He is the co-author of three books: Images of America: Woodley Park, Images of America: Capitol Hill and A Brief History of Charles Village. Paul Kelsey Williams has an educational background in historic preservation and architecture from both Roger Williams and Cornell Universities. Since 1995, he has been the proprietor of Kelsey & Associates, “The House History People,” focusing on individual house and building research in Washington, D.C. and beyond. He is the author of 12 books on Washington, D.C. neighborhoods, institutions, and themes, the Charles Village neighborhood in Baltimore, and books on his childhood residences of Skaneateles and Owasco Lakes in upstate New York. Williams maintains a daily blog on Washington, D.C. history at The House History Man, and is completing a book on how to research your own house history. He is also the author of Lost Washington, D.C.

Editorial Reviews

Alexander (coauthor of Images of America: Capitol Hill) and Williams (Lost Washington, D.C.) combine images of Baltimore’s architectural history with meticulously researched text, offering a clear, concise vision of the storied city’s past. Organized chronologically from the 1860s through the 2010s, the decades and facades of Baltimore are covered via entries specific buildings, parks, and areas of interest: cast iron bridges, a jail, and the Baltimore Bullets basketball team among many others. The authors trace the narratives of the city and its inhabitants and, in the photographs, bring renewed life to many formerly beautiful structures that have been razed, such as the country estate Montebello. Of particular note is the tale of Merchant’s Exchange, which tells of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the England-born “Father of American Architecture.” Images of buildings that no longer exist illuminate a side of Baltimore no contemporary visitor to the city could see, as does the lore recounted by the authors (including the tale of the mysterious “Poe Toaster,” who would visit Edgar Allan Poe’s grave on the author’s birthday and raise a glass of cognac to his memory). This coffee-table volume will appeal to readers interested in Maryland, as well as those with a passion for architecture and U.S. history. 150 photos. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A splendid work. . . a visual treat and historical journey." —Baltimore Sun


"Offer[s] a clear, concise vision of the storied city's past" and that "images of buildings that no longer exist illuminate a side of Baltimore no contemporary visitor to the city could see, as does the the lore recounted by the authors."  —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher