Clarion Newsletter April 2014

Please note that the meeting/forum is open to both members and non-members, but attendance will be limited by room capacity restrictions.

Our thanks to Belevedere & Co Events, (formally Truffles) for providing and setting up The Charles Room for the forum.

Volunteers Needed for Lemon Stick Stand May 2 and 3

This is lots of fun and a great way to meet neighbors while raising funds to support our Mount Vernon Place conservancy. Help is needed on Friday, May 2nd and Saturday May 3 from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm each day. Sign up at info@MVPConservancy.org.

Business News

It’s time to refresh the wardrobe, men of Mount Vernon. Visit Gian Marco Menswear for dress shirts in fresh spring stripes, solids, and checks.  They are in the beautiful corner shop at Hamilton and Charles Also check out the ties, shoes and jackets. It’s pretty amazing to see the great values they have on imported items. There’s a reason why they’ve won all of those Best of awards! Star Won Fashions has moved from Cathedral to the 800 block of North Charles. And for those of us working on patios or interior design, remember Charles Luck Stone is an innovator in interior and exterior stone work — pavers, bowls, custom furnishings. They are located at 800 North Charles.

We are pleased to welcome several new businesses to Mount Vernon: Nubohemia is now open…spread love! This is not another coffee shop, but a destination, with a welcoming neighborhood vibe. Located at 42 W Biddle Street. Open Weekends (Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays).  And Dylan’s Oyster Cellar in the pop-up space at Madison and Charles (entrance on Madison) is getting 5 stars on Yelp. Open from 4 pm to 2 am with outstanding mixed drinks, too. And getting raves is Trinacria Cafe at Park Avenue and Centre Street. Word is that lunches are very busy, but dinner time is not as much. The mushroom ravioli is getting great reviews as are the fresh pizzas and sandwiches. Monday-Saturday 9 – 8. Sunday 11-7

Here Comes Peter Cotton Tail

Really, the Easter Bunny himself is coming to Mount Vernon! The Mount Vernon Place Conservancy is sponsoring their annual FREE Easter Egg Hunt for kids 10 and under on Sunday, April 20 at 11:45 am. Sign up at info@MVPconservancy.org and don’t forget your camera. There will be two areas, one for larger kids and one for smaller egg hunters.

Window Box Competition

We’re excited to announce a new neighborhood greening initiative.  This summer, we will be holding a window box and planter competition to encourage residents and businesses to beautify and green Mt. Vernon with outdoor window boxes and planters.  There will be four categories in the competition:
1) single-family homes,
2) small multi-family buildings (8 or fewer units),
3) large multi-family buildings (larger than 8 units), and
4) businesses and institutions. 

Nominations can be sent tocompetition@mvba.orgbetween now and June 1.  Judging of the window boxes and planters will be done in June and early July by a committee led by A

Andrew Lowrey, and the winners will be announced at the July MVBA meeting.  Many thanks to Andrew for stepping up to lead this initiative. Please contactcompetition@mvba.org with any questions. To get you inspired, check out the attached picture from last summer of some beautiful window boxes in the 1000 block of N Calvert!

Liquor News:

Trinacria Cafe, located in the Gallery Towers at 111 West Centre Street, wins approval of a Class B restaurant liquor license at the Liquor Board hearing on April 3rd. Trinacria Café wishes to use the license to be able to serve primarily wine and beer to their restaurant customers.  There are no immediate plans for the installation of a bar.  MVBA appreciates the cooperation of the owners of the Trinacria Café in agreeing to hours limitations on the sale of alcoholic beverages up to 10 pm Sunday-Thursday and Midnight on Friday and Saturday.

A Fun Night and a Great Cause 

Support our one and only and wonderful elementary school, The Wilkes School, at their International Night Gala and Silent Auction on Saturday April 26 from 5:30 – 8:00 pm in the school’s auditorium at 707 Park Avenue. The silent auction is where to find amazing items — dinners, spa days, jewelry, antique items, wine, and much more going for very reasonable bids. Call the school to RSVP by April 20 410-539-1395. Tickets are $30 individual and $50 couple.

Washington Monument Restoration Update

The Washington Monument has been closed to the public since 2010. But this week, we were invited by The Mount Vernon Place Conservancy to tour the restoration progress along with the Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.

“I value Mount Vernon as an anchor of the city,” the Mayor said, “And I want to protect the Washington Monument as a historical treasure for generations to come.”

Tom McCracken, vice president at Lewis Contractors, explained how 200 years of water leaks have weakened

the beautiful structure. “The original roof was composed of stepped layers of marble slabs with no waterproofing,” he said, which allowed water to penetrate the 4-foot thick walls and caused major damage.

Tom showed us evidence of lichen stains and took us down a narrow circular staircase into the basement, where ’round the clock heaters are helping to dry out the foundation.

Along the basement walls, the restoration crew made an amazing discovery – dozens of signatures dating back as early as the 1820s

“There’s a mystery inside every building; there are always surprises and secrets,” Tyler Tate, Lewis Contractors president, told The Baltimore Sun.

The $5.5 million restoration project entails masonry conservation and restoration of the monument’s original cast iron fence, mechanical systems, and interior finishes.  The four entrances to the monument will be dismantled, repaired and rebuilt.

Interestingly, the scaffolding erected around the cylindrical monument supports itself and doesn’t bear weight on the fragile monument. And the good news is, at the monument’s very top, George Washington’s only problems are minor and cosmetic. Workers can see evidence that the Washington statue had been hit by lightning. A lightning rod system was added during a previous restoration effort in 1982.

Scheduled completion for the restoration of the outside of the monument is expected to be November 1, 2014 — that’s plenty of time to have our annual Monument Lighting celebration!

The inside restoration will continue through next spring and should be finished in time for a grand reopening — and the monument’s bicentennial — on July 4, 2015.

The monument’s new interior will feature a small museum with state-of-the-art lighting and controls that will more easily facilitate outdoor programming in the Mount Vernon squares.

We’re proud to witness the restoration’s progress, and we’re looking forward to the monument’s reopening. We believe it will regain its place as one of Baltimore’s top tourist attractions, and further enhance our Mount Vernon neighborhood.

For complete project details, including a great video, be sure to check out The Mount Vernon Conservancy’s website: http://mvpconservancy.org/

From Laura Rodini,
Executive Director, The Mount Vernon Cultural District

Household Hazardous Waste Collection

BALTIMORE, MD (March 31, 2013) – Public Works Director Rudolph S. Chow, P.E., announced today that Baltimore City’s Household Hazardous Waste monthly collection events start this week at the Northwest Citizen Convenience Center located at 2840 Sisson Street.

These events provide an opportunity for Baltimore City residents (ONLY) to dispose of hazardous household materials such as oil-based paints, pesticides, herbicides, car and household batteries, drain cleaners, gasoline, pool chemicals, and many other items. Latex paint is NOT hazardous waste; it can be dried up and the cans put out for regular trash collection.

Residents must show proof of city residency, e.g. a driver’s license, telephone bill or tax bill, before they can drop off any hazardous items. Residents must also be able to identify the material. Materials that will not be collected include asbestos, ammunition, fire extinguishers, industrial and medical wastes, and radioactive materials, including smoke alarms with a radioactive symbol.

Businesses and private haulers must contract with a certified vendor to dispose of hazardous waste.

Residents can go to the Northwest Citizen Convenience Center the first Friday and the immediately following Saturday of every month from April through October.

April 4 & 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

May 2 & 3 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

June 6 & 7 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

July 5 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. (July 4th is a holiday and the center will be closed.)

August 1 & 2 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

September 5 & 6 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

October 3 & 4 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information about solid waste services in Baltimore City, visit us at http://publicworks.baltimorecity.gov/Bureaus/SolidWaste.aspx.

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