Roland Park is a community located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was developed between 1890 and 1920 as an upper-class streetcar suburb . The early phases of the neighborhood were designed by Edward Bouton and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr.
46-602: Jarvis and Conklin, a Chicago investment firm, purchased 500 acres (200 ha) of land near Lake Roland in 1891 and founded the Roland Park Company with $ 1 million in capital. Not long after, the Panic of 1893 forced Jarvis and Conklin to sell the Roland Park Company to the firm of Stewart and Young. Despite the dire economics after 1893, Stewart and Young continued investment in the development. The Roland Park Company hired Kansas City developer Edward H. Bouton as
92-563: A 1948 Shelley v. Kraemer Supreme Court ruling and were banned by the 1968 Fair Housing Act. W.C. and A.N. Miller , a group of privately owned real estate firms in Bethesda, used restrictive covenants to exclude Jewish people and people of color from parts of Bethesda, Potomac, and Northwest DC . During the Civil Rights Movement , the company came under fire for its use of discriminatory covenants. In 1959, hearings before
138-1101: A belief in the Christian religion" for public office holders. The act had previously been voted down several times between 1818 and 1826. During the early to mid 1900s, many white Christian neighborhoods in Baltimore and the suburbs of Baltimore County and Montgomery County used restrictive religious and racial covenants to exclude Jewish people and other non-Christian and/or non-white people from owning homes. Antisemitic covenants and quotas were used to exclude Jews from Baltimore's Roland Park as well as several communities in Montgomery County, including Kensington , Chevy Chase , Potomac , and Bethesda . A typical antisemitic covenant in Kensington's Rock Creek Hills dating to 1946 reads that no property "shall never be used or occupied by...negroes or any person or persons, of negro blood or extraction, or to any person of
184-456: A camp of Chinese laborers who would have been working on the railroad. Since 1986, elevated levels of chlordane in the flesh of the lake's fish have resulted in the issuance of a fish consumption advisory and the classification of the lake as a water-quality impaired segment. Some of the wealthiest and most desirable communities in the Baltimore area adjoin the park. The L'Hirondelle Club
230-476: A law firm, Schmuker & Whitelock, if he could legally restrict who bought property in Roland Park. Though the firm advised against it, by 1912, the ‘Nuisances’ section of the deed read, “At no time shall the land included in said tract or any part thereof, or any building erected thereon, be occupied by any negro or person of negro extraction. This prohibition, however, is not intended to include occupancy by
276-536: A negro domestic servant.” Additionally, Bouton claimed that he did not sell to Jews, as they were “undesirable”, at the 1914 Annual Conference of the Development of High-Class Residential Property, further demonstrating the levels of exclusion in the emerging city suburbs. In 1911, George Ford, a professor at Columbia University and later the president of the National Conference on City Planning,
322-624: A time when other leading universities were dismantling their Jewish quota systems. Restrictions were also instituted that limited the number of Jewish students who could pursue degrees in math and science. Bowman believed that Jewish people were an alien threat to American culture. The antisemitic quota system at Johns Hopkins was abandoned in the 1950s. The Southern Poverty Law Center lists several antisemitic hate groups that operate in Maryland, including The Barnes Review in White Plains ,
368-655: Is located in Roland Park. There is also a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Roland Park. The Baltimore Light Rail 's Cold Spring Lane Station is to the west, within walking distance of much of the neighborhood, just across Falls Road and running alongside the Jones Falls Expressway . Lake Roland, Maryland Lake Roland is a 100-acre (0.40 km ) defunct reservoir in Baltimore County , Maryland . It
414-680: Is within the bounds of Baltimore City Public Schools and is assigned to Roland Park Elementary/Middle School, a K-8 school that earned the Blue Ribbon for Academic Excellence from the state department of education in 1997 and 1998. There are several private schools in the neighborhood: Friends School of Baltimore , Gilman School , Roland Park Country School , the Bryn Mawr School , Cathedral School , and Boys' Latin School of Maryland . In addition, St. Mary's Seminary and University
460-602: The Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge in Baltimore, and the white nationalist Patriot Front . In December 2021, dozens of antisemitic fliers were posted in the Forest Estates neighborhood of Forest Glen . The fliers contained a conspiracy theory blaming Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic and promoted an antisemitic website that advocates Holocaust denial and supports Adolf Hitler. During
506-713: The Maryland General Assembly passed the Jew Bill , which was ""An Act to extend to the sect of people professing the Jewish religion, the same rights and privileges enjoyed by Christians." The act allowed Jewish people to run for public office. The act was promoted by Delegate Thomas Kennedy , a Christian opponent of antisemitic discrimination. Prior to the passage of the act, the Maryland Constitution of 1776 had required that "a declaration of
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#1732765993180552-579: The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights , testimony noted bars against ownership by Jews in areas controlled by the Miller Companies including Wesley Heights and Sumner, with Spring Valley cited to be "of particular significance" owing to the prominence of its residents. Members of the public also cited the company's past discrimination in testifying against Washington awarding an urban renewal contract to an affiliated company in 1961. A typical covenant used by W.C. and A.N. Miller reads that "No part of
598-433: The 1950s and up until today. In the early 1940s and ‘50s, Baltimore City and the federal government undertook housing development projects displacing African-American populations into inner-city, high-rise buildings that were, essentially, created to reinforce the patterns of neighborhood segregation that emerged in the late 1800s. On this matter, the government stated the project was “not [for] slum clearance but rather using
644-478: The Olmsted brothers was a mark of affluence echoed by other neighborhoods in Baltimore such as Mayfield and Guilford. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Baltimore saw an influx of immigrants, nearing 600,000. Bouton took 100 acres of land a few miles north of Downtown Baltimore and sold it as an exclusive, lush “garden suburb”, free of city grime and racial diversity. Letters from the time show that Bouton asked
690-575: The Semitic Race, blood or origin, or Jews, Armenians, Hebrews, Persians, and Syrians, except...partial occupancy of the premises by domestic servants." The real estate developer James W. Rouse used antisemitic quotas when building in the affluent and predominantly white Christian neighborhood of Roland Park. In 1951, Rouse enforced a quota of no more than 12% Jewish residents for the Maryland Apartment in north Baltimore until 75% of
736-813: The apartments were rented. During the 1940s, the Jewish real estate developer Joseph Meyerhoff refused to rent or sell to fellow Jewish people in Roland Park in Baltimore. In 1948, the Baltimore Jewish Council wrote Meyerhoff a formal letter denouncing his complicity in antisemitic real estate practices and requested that he show solidarity with the Jewish community, but Meyerhoff insisted that his career would be ruined if he sold or rented to Jews in non-Jewish neighborhoods. Because many white Christian neighborhoods in Washington, D.C. used antisemitic covenants to exclude Jewish people, Jewish real estate developers often choose to build neighborhoods in
782-550: The construction of the dam at the relay house on the Northern Central Railroad . The name Roland comes from Roland Run, which was named sometime before 1694 when Roland or Rowland Thornberry owned land in the area. In 1854, the City of Baltimore bought the holdings of the privately owned Baltimore Water Company, which had supplied water to the city for fifty years, followed between 1854 and 1857 by acquisition of
828-405: The creation of the much larger Loch Raven Reservoir the prior year, the lake's use was terminated, apart from its use again on December 2 that year. The following year, some parts of the lake were sold to the L'Hirondelle Club and the county's division of the water department was established, with the county's water engineer seeing the lake as an "emergency backup" for the city's water. While
874-489: The early 2020s, the number of reported antisemitic incidents increased sharply in Maryland. In 2022, students in Montgomery County staged walkouts to protest antisemitic incidents in public schools. According to a report published by the Anti-Defamation League , antisemitic incidents increased from 55 in 2021 to 109 in 2022. In 2023, Maryland lawmakers introduced several bills aimed at curbing antisemitism in
920-521: The eastern shore of the lake were constructed the following year. While plans to tap the Gunpowder River stopped with new reservoirs in the city and stopgap measures at Lake Roland, by 1877, Lake Roland was fed by the river, with the idea for this change likely coming from Slade rather than Henry Tyson, another engineer; a pipe served as a conduit of water between Lake Roland and Hampton Reservoir, among other bodies of water. Lack of water
966-458: The existing network based on "old Jones Falls mill ponds", and construction supervisor Charles P. Manning began construction in 1858, with the creation of an "indestructible" dam made out of "heavy rubble work". In 1861, Lake Roland became the first municipal water supply for the City of Baltimore ; it was seen as an "engineering landmark" at the time. The dam and Greek Revival-style pump building on
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#17327659931801012-695: The general manager and George Edward Kessler to lay out the lots for the first tract. They hired the Olmsted Brothers to lay out the second tract, and installed expensive infrastructure, including graded-streets, gutters, sidewalks, and constructed the Lake Roland Elevated Railroad. The company consulted George E Waring Jr. to advise them on the installation of a sewer system. Bouton placed restrictive covenants on all lots in Roland Park. These included setback requirements and proscriptions against any business operations. It
1058-734: The interests of Roland Park and reorganized the company in 1903. Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. cited Roland Park as a model residential subdivision to his Harvard School of Design students. Duncan McDuffie , developer of St. Francis Wood in San Francisco , called Roland Park "an ideal residential district." Jesse Clyde Nichols had found inspiration in Roland Park when he was planning the Country Club District of Kansas City. Nichols continued to refer to Roland Park as an ideal residential development when he counselled other residential developers. The park-like setting designed by
1104-656: The junction of the Northern Central Railroad and Green Spring Railway, and declared that "Towsontowners never drink any water when they get into the city", even as others admired the lake as a "charming scene." Still, by 1893 some were admiring Lake Roland. One publication called it "one of our reservoirs", saying that it was "well-stocked with Black Bass and Carp" while noting that least terns , American black ducks , green herons , great blue herons , black-crowned night herons , semipalmated sandpipers , buffleheads , and many other birds could be seen in
1150-602: The lake came under the management of the City of Baltimore in 1918, not much changed in its status. In 1971, Nancy Marcus and other undergraduate researchers from Goucher College and Towson University conducted a study entitled "An Analysis on the Degradation of Lake Roland." The students received a $ 13,140 grant from the National Science Foundation to complete the investigation under the guidance of Goucher biology professor John W. Foerster. In
1196-539: The lake, and the Eagle Factory, which had operated there since at least 1814, were displaced by the land purchase, while the Baltimore & Susquehanna Railroad stayed in place. The railroad was later destroyed by pro- Confederate forces during the American Civil War and reconstructed by pro- Union forces as they advanced southward. Engineer James Slade, from Hartford, Connecticut , who improved
1242-479: The land held by the Bellona Gunpowder Mill and the Eagle Factory textile mill for $ 289,000. This purchase followed a political controversy regarding the failure of the water company to extend new water lines into surrounding outlying areas of the city. The city had added territory in its last annexation in 1818. The Bellona Gunpowder Mill, which had operated from at least 1801 on the west side of
1288-515: The land hereby conveyed shall ever be used or occupied by, or sold, demised, transferred, or conveyed under, to, or in trust for, leased, or rented, or given to, Negroes or any person or persons of Negro blood or extractions, or to any person of the Semitic race, blood, or origin, which racial description shall be deemed to include Armenians, Jews, Hebrews, Persians, and Syrians, except that this paragraph shall not be held to exclude partial occupancy of
1334-619: The middle of the lake's lower portion, above the dam. Antisemitism in Maryland The history of Antisemitism in Maryland dates to the establishment of the Province of Maryland . Until 1826, the Constitution of Maryland excluded Jewish people from holding public office. Prior to the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act , Jewish people were excluded from living in many white Christian neighborhoods throughout Maryland due to
1380-590: The newly organized Baltimore City Department of Parks and Recreation. The lake is an artificial impoundment created by a dam on the Jones Falls and two smaller streams, Towson Run and Roland Run. The lake supports wildlife including Canada geese , largemouth bass , and common carp . The lake is part of the Lake Roland Historic District. The lake was once called Lake Swann to honor Mayor Thomas Swann of Baltimore City, who had begun
1426-406: The number of local applicants in an attempt to reduce the number of Jewish students, given the large number of Jewish people living in the Maryland suburban communities of Prince George's and Montgomery counties. The anti-Jewish quota system was abandoned in 1950. Johns Hopkins University President Isaiah Bowman established antisemitic quotas in 1945 that limited admission of Jewish students, at
Roland Park, Baltimore - Misplaced Pages Continue
1472-504: The oldest free African-American settlements in the area. To the west and southwest of the lake are the remains of the Greenspring Branch railroad and the Northern Central Railroad , which was formerly the Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad. The remains include the station/junction, known as the "Relay House", which burned in 1869. The Baltimore Light RailLink runs along a track embankment and plate girder bridge through
1518-467: The premises by domestic servants of the occupants thereof." In practice, covenants excluding "Semitic races" were generally used to exclude Jews as Montgomery County did not have notable Armenian, Greek, Iranian, Syrian, or Turkish populations. Beginning in 1938, the University of Maryland School of Medicine instituted antisemitic quotas limiting Jewish applications to 14%. The school also limited
1564-456: The projects to block the Negro from encroaching upon white territory”. The real estate developer James W. Rouse used antisemitic quotas when building in Roland Park. In 1951, Rouse enforced a quota of no more than 12% Jewish residents for the Maryland Apartment in north Baltimore until 75% of the apartments were rented. Roland Park Shopping Center (originally Roland Park Business Block )
1610-673: The provisions of the 1649 Maryland Toleration Act for not believing in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity . The Act stipulated that any person who "shall...Blaspheme God...or deny our Saviour Jesus Christ to be the Son of God or shall deny the holy Trinity...shall be punished with death." Lumbrozo was freed from jail before his trial due to a general amnesty passed by the Maryland General Assembly following Richard Cromwell's succession to Lord Protector of England . In 1826,
1656-504: The reservoir. It was around this time that the Lake Roland Elevated Railway, created in 1891, ferried commuters "from the city to Roland Park," with some going to Left Side Park, a park that was near the lake. The railway lasted until the 1950s. However, due to the problems the reservoir experienced, it was eventually abandoned for its original purpose. On November 19, 1915, due to silting problems and
1702-549: The suburbs of Montgomery County and Prince George's County. White Jewish real estate developers including Sam Eig and Esther Eig, Morris Cafritz , Jack and Abraham S. Kay , Carl M. Freeman , and Albert Small dispensed with antisemitic covenants but continued to use racial covenants to exclude African-Americans and other people of color from white neighborhoods. Sam Eig referred to the whites-only Rock Creek Forest neighborhood as "ideally located and sensibly restricted." Racist and antisemitic covenants were declared unenforceable by
1748-403: The use of restrictive covenants and quotas. Between the 1930s and 1950s, quota systems were instituted at universities in Maryland to limit the number of Jewish people. During the 2010s and 2020s, Maryland has seen an increase in reported incidents of antisemitic vandalism and violence. In 1658, Jacob Lumbrozo , the earliest confirmed Jewish settler in Maryland, was charged with blasphemy under
1794-469: The years following, the iron bridge crossing the lake was sold for scrap. With the construction of I-695 and the Jones Falls Expressway and the expansion of Towson University , silt in Lake Roland increased until it comprised 60% of its volume by 1974. Some ruins of the past railroad, mills, and reservoir use could be found in the area in the late 1970s, with unsubstantiated claims of artifacts from
1840-402: Was a modern development, electricity for lighting throughout the neighborhood as well as gas for cooking and lighting. Water came from artesian wells dug up to 500 feet (150 m), nearly 50,000 feet (15,000 m) of water mains were constructed, in addition to 50,000 feet (15,000 m) of roadways, and 100,000 feet (30,000 m) of sidewalks. Bouton and some Baltimore investors purchased
1886-562: Was built at the corner of Upland Road and Roland Avenue in 1896 in the English Tudor style. Developed by Roland Park Company President Edward Bouton and designed by Wyatt and Nolting, it was originally planned as an apartment and office building with a “community room” for civic functions on the upper level. It opened in 1907 as shops. It has been credited by Guinness World Records as the world's first shopping center (though some editions of Guinness incorrectly date it to 1896, when it
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1932-428: Was founded by wealthy members of the local community for rowing on the lake. It is bounded in Baltimore County by Ruxton-Riderwood to the north, Woodbrook to the east, and north Roland Park –Poplar Hill to the south. Farther to the south are the wealthy Baltimore City neighborhoods of Roland Park, Homeland , and Guilford . The park is also bounded on the west by the former mining community of Bare Hills , one of
1978-596: Was named for Roland Run, a nearby stream that feeds the lake and eventually flows into Jones Falls . It runs southeast through the city center to the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and the Baltimore Harbor . It is located just north of the Baltimore city limits. The lake is contained within the bounds of Lake Roland Park , which was established in the 1920s and supervised by
2024-428: Was not the only problem the lake experienced. At times, the water was "clouded or turbid from rain-borne particles" as dredging was attempted to make the reservoir deeper. Increased mud and silt closed the lake for hundreds of days by 1912, accompanied by costs in the thousands of dollars for upkeep. One Baltimore County newspaper in 1877 described the lake as a "receptacle of filth" from nearby industry, including
2070-607: Was not yet a shopping center). Since it had only six stores, qualifying today as a strip mall , other, larger centers have received more recognition as “firsts”, such as Market Square in Lake Forest, Illinois (1916, the first uniformly planned neighborhood shopping center ) and the Country Club Plaza (1923) in Kansas City, Missouri , the first uniformly-planned regional shopping center . The neighborhood
2116-701: Was starting to teach a course on urban planning and reached out to Bouton as he was impressed with his racial restrictions. Employees of the Roland Park Company would later go on to serve on national boards, such as the Federal Housing Administration, which helped normalize and standardize the practice of redlining throughout the country. Though the Supreme Court ruled against the enforceability of racially restrictive deeds in 1948, segregation and redlining remained prevalent in Roland Park and throughout other areas of Baltimore City through
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