New ‘South Baltimore’ Sign Installed at Hanover and Wells Street

The gateway to the South Baltimore neighborhood heading north from Port Covington is now more defined as a new ‘South Baltimore’ sign was installed today at the northeast corner of W. Wells St. and S. Hanover St. The sign is located on a Baltimore City Department of Transportation property in front of Bumper Globe. The South Baltimore Neighborhood Association (SBNA) has been working on this project for the last four years.

The sign was designed to encapsulate rowhouse living in South Baltimore, the neighborhood’s proximity to Downtown, and the industrial history of the community. The sign features a rowhouse made of COR-TEN steel that will eventually weather into more of a red brick color, a lattice structure designed to look like a downtown skyscraper, ‘South’ across the top of the sculpture in silver, and ‘Baltimore’ going down the right side of the sign with the COR-TEN steel. The sign has a back background. It also has multiple layers so that vines can be planted and flowers can grow through the lattice and the windows of the rowhouse.

The sign was designed, built, and installed by Duff Signs.

Designs for the sign were presented at SBNA General Membership meetings, discussed by the SBNA Executive Board, and shared on SBNA’s social media accounts.

This project was made possible by a $50,000 grant from the Baltimore Casino Local Development Council (LDC). The grants were given to the different neighborhoods around Horseshoe Casino Baltimore in 2016 for community projects.

The LDC initially managed all the Local Impact Grants generated by Horseshoe Casino Baltimore, but now the LDC manages half of South Baltimore’s portion of Local Impact Funds which are now generated by Horseshoe Casino, Maryland Live, and MGM National Harbor. The non-profit South Baltimore Gateway Partnership (SBGP) manages the other half South Baltimore’s Local Impact Grants.

SBNA still has additional funds in its grant and will put them toward landscaping surrounding the sign. It will use Maryland-native plants.

Former SBNA LDC Representative Garrett Schiche has managed the sign installation project for the community association. “I’m excited and hoping it’s something everyone can appreciate and that will add value to that corner. It’s a gateway to the South Baltimore community and it is especially important as the Port Covington development goes up. It is another aspect that adds to a more vibrant community,” he told SouthBMore.com.

SBNA was hoping to get a sculpture installed in a median on the 1800 block of S. Hanover St. in partnership with the Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts (BOPA) as part of the PNC Transformative Art Prize, but learned the median was not wide enough. Schiche noted City-owned land across the street at the northeast corner of W. Wells St. and S. Hanover St. could be a location for a future sculpture. A new ExtraSpace storage facility will be constructed adjacent to this piece of land and the project will clean up the landscaping by replacing overgrown and dead trees with new landscaping.

The entrance to the South Baltimore Neighborhood will have a much different look in the coming years as Wood Partners has proposed two six-story apartment buildings with 525 apartments and 2,000 sq. ft. of retail at the current site of industrial properties on the western side of 1800 and 1900 blocks of S. Hanover St. Demolition is expected to begin in August and construction is expected to start on Phase One this winter.

Rendering courtesy of Duff Signs that shows the COR-TEN steel once it has been weathered.

About the Author: Kevin Lynch

Founder and Publisher of SouthBmore.com, longtime resident of South Baltimore, and a graduate of Towson University. Diehard Ravens and O's fan, father of three, amateur pizza chef, skateboarder, and "bar food" foodie. Email me at Kevin@InceptMM.com and follow me on Twitter at @SoBoKevin.