Neighbors give Federal Hill Park an upgrade, playground
When Anne Apgar moved to Federal Hill in 2010 with her husband Sandy, one of the first projects she tackled was the front yard.
As is the case with all her neighbors on Warren Avenue, Federal Hill Park is her front yard.
“We needed to do more,” she said. “This is a historic location.”
So she helped organize the South Harbor Renaissance, and since 2011 it has raised and spent more than $600,000 on the park, most of it on an inviting new playground that illustrates the history of Federal Hill.
“I was out walking the dog on Saturday,” said SHR chairman Walt Ettinger, “and I saw our vision come to life. People from all over the city enjoying the park. It was a beautiful sight to see people peacefully together at a historically important oasis in the city.”
On June 6, volunteers will plant 27 trees donated by the Baltimore Tree Trust. “And we will be watering them,” said Apgar, whose husband was an assistant secretary of defense under President Bill Clinton and is a real estate management expert.
The group’s first project was to improve the plaza around the 15-star flag that flies above the city. Volunteers installed 120 granite slabs, a granite curb, 14 Knock-out roses and 60 mature boxwoods donated by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore. There are new benches and trash cans there, too.
The light poles and the fences were repainted. Bag dispensers for dog waste were installed. The little garden around one of the monuments was replanted.
But the centerpiece is the playground. Combining state Open Space funds, money from the city Department of Recreation and Parks and more than $100,000 in private donations, the group contracted with Playground Specialists to create a playground that reflects the place.
The main structure is a ship-like jungle gym that recalls the Federalist, the ship from which the hill above Baltimore draws its name.
The panels on the railings around the playground reflect the Civil War garrison that was quartered there. There is a climbing structure that was inspired by the Signal Hill Tower, which once flew the flags of the ships arriving below so that merchants in the city would know what goods were arriving.
And there is a roundhouse like the one built by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in the city and soon there will be a little train on which toddlers can play.
“It is the city’s park, it is the residents’ park,” said Ettinger, who is chief medical officer at the University of Maryland Medical System. As he and Apgar led a tour of the park’s improvements, including 30 new benches, each stopped to pick up litter. But they raised the funds in cooperation with the Waterfront Partnership to have workers clean the park once a day beginning this spring.
The scenic park draws visitors from all over for a variety of reasons. “There are baptisms, at least two weddings a week, a bocce league and a mother’s exercise group,” said Apgar, who is also on the Women’s Committee at the Walters Art Museum.
“Not to mention the dog walkers and the runners,” said Ettinger. “And it is a favorite spot for photographers.”
The neighborhood group faces challenges ahead. There are several very old trees that will need to come down. The turf needs to be refurbished in spots and there are significant drainage issues in the 10-acre park.
To raise more funds, the South Harbor Renaissance is selling commemorative paving stones for $135. More than 150 have been sold for a path through the playground.
“On the hottest day of the summer,” said Ettinger, “it is the coolest place in the city.”