X is for Xploring

X is for “X”ploring things beginning with the letter X

Baltimore

located in Baltimore.  Unfortunately, with the number of Maryland’s incorporated and unincorporated towns totaling well over 600, not one town’s name starts with the letter X.  I decided to take a 30 minute drive to the State’s largest city (Baltimore) and begin my quest to find as many things as possible starting with the letter X.  This was definitely going to be a lot of fun! 

Our Playground at Stadium Place

My first stop was to see one of two xylophones NOT affiliated with an existing orchestra in the City.  Both xylophones were located in areas easily accessible to the public for their viewing and playing pleasure.  The first xylophone was located in “Our Playground at Stadium Place.”  This playground is located on the site of the former Memorial Stadium - the previous home to baseball’s Baltimore Orioles and NFL’s Baltimore Colts.  The communities around Memorial Stadium felt very strongly that some of the space should remain open to the public after the historical stadium was torn down in 2001.  Following its demolition, the 33-acre site became home to a mixed-use development named Stadium Place, which included plans for a playground.  In 2005, the playground was born on the place many Baltimoreans, Orioles fans, and Colts fans hold near and dear to their hearts.  But what makes this playground even more special?  This impressive playground was 100 percent built by local volunteers.  Even more amazing, the playground’s design was drawn after hearing input from the community’s children! 

The playground is a miniature town built of recycled plastic "lumber.”  It has a pirate’s ship, a theater, a shopping village, towers, swings, and jungle gyms galore.  

Pirate's Ship

At the original groundbreaking ceremony, there was even a volcano sculpture from which a local 3^rd grader gave an impressive speech dedicating the playground.  The playground was an instant success with families in surrounding neighborhoods, so when vandals burned down the park in September 2008 kids (and parents) who loved this maze of brightly painted wacky structures were devastated.  In May 2009, this community raised thousands of dollars and organized thousands of volunteers to rebuild the playground - over a nine day period.  It was restored to be even better than the original park.

I arrived at the incredible playground not sure what I was looking for xylophone-wise.  

Xylophone

I knew of the ones with colored metal bars children play with and I knew of the ones the “pros” play in orchestras.  What kind of xylophone was I going to find in an outdoor playground?  The playground was just opening when I got there and I asked the caretaker where the xylophone was located.  He took me over to the pirate’s ship where I found the xylophone mounted to the side of the bow.  Honestly, the instrument perched there was not what I expected and was actually pretty interesting.  Unlike the xylophones 

Xylophone's Mallet

I was familiar with, there was not one mallet to strike each bar – each bar had its own attached mallet.  I attempted to play a tune, but sadly, it did not result in a standing ovation.   With my orchestral dreams crushed, I decided to search for the next “X” item on my list.  I mentioned earlier there were two xylophones on my list – you will just have to wait for the second one. 

The current St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church was not far from my location, so I ventured over there.  I say current, because the church is actually situated on its fourth location.  In 1863, the church purchased a nearby building and it was dedicated in 1864.  In 1932, the church moved again to another location in Baltimore.  Finally, in 1968, the church was moved a fourth and final time to its present site.  Here is some history about the church. 

The historic St. Francis Xavier Church was the first Catholic Church in the United States established for African-Americans and began in the basement of St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel in Baltimore.  

St. Mary's Seminary Chapel

Since slavery prohibited African-Americans from receiving a formal education, many learned to read and write in this Catholic Church school.  The school was taught by the Oblate Sisters, who were the first religious order of Black Catholic nuns. 

What became of St. Francis Xavier’s previous locations?  St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel still stands and was designated a National Historic Landmark on 11 November 1971.  The building purchased in 1863 is currently the East Baltimore 

St. Francis Xavier Church

Deliverance Church.  There may have once been a structure where the church relocated to in 1932, but the building no longer stands - a parking garage took its place.  The existing church is absolutely beautiful and pays homage to St. Francis Xavier’s past congregations.  I found the church to be extremely significant in stature and stands boldly against the Baltimore skyline.  The main thoroughfare in front of the church is named “E. Oliver Street.”  However, due to the enormous impact the church has had on the City and in history, one block of the

street along the church frontage has been permanently renamed “St. Francis Xavier Way.”

Hunger was slowing approaching so I began my hunt for XS – a bar/fusion/breakfast/brunch restaurant, which opened in 2004.  The restaurant takes up all four levels of a Brownstone and the inside is beautiful.  There is exposed brick wall and art work on each floor, which really gives the place character.  The kitchen and a bar are located on the first floor along with a café style seating area.  The second floor has about 

XS - Middle Brownstone

three or four tables and the third floor is larger still with another bar and many more tables.  The fourth floor has more seating and can also be used for party events.  It is all very open in that you can see over the balconies and can hear the DJ from every floor. 

The restaurant is “Seat Yourself.”  I decided to climb the stairs to check out the third floor as the few tables on the second floor were full.  Fun fact:  you have to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the seating areas and unfortunately, there isn’t an elevator to assist.  Therefore, XS is definitely not for people who have trouble with stairs.  

Inside XS - 3rd Floor

As I perused the menu, I found XS offers the most eclectic range of food.  Anything can be ordered at any time of day.  Sushi for breakfast?  Chicken and waffles for dinner?  You betcha!  A waiter soon came over and took my order.  I settled on sushi – the “Monster Roll.”  As I waited for my meal, I watched my waiter in admiration as he ran the stairs and probably prayed his customers didn’t forget to let him know they wanted, say, extra ginger for their sushi!  

I didn’t have to wait long at all – lunch had arrived and then sadly, it was gone.  The Monster Roll was beyond amazing and I was extremely happy with my pick.  I am really looking forward to sampling more of their 

Lunch - Monster Roll

menu items in future visits.  Overall, XS is a very interesting place that is worth a look – if not for the food, for the scenery alone.  With my hunger satisfied, I left XS and resumed my search for more Xs on my “To See” list. 

The next X item on my list was a form of art called xylography, which is a type of relief printing with wood.  An artist carves an image into the surface of a block of wood.  This leaves the printing parts level with the surface of the wood while removing the non-printing parts.  Depending on the origination of the art, this art is also called woodblock (primarily found in Asia) or woodcut (primarily found in Europe.)

Woodblock prints can be dated all the way back to the first half of the first century.  Its origins mostly lie in China, South Korea, and Japan and are highly associated 

Courtesy of Walters Art Museum
"Woman in Blue Combing Her Hair"
(Woodblock)

with the Buddhist religion.  The earliest woodblocks were used not on paper, but on cloth. 

Woodcut is the oldest technique used for old master prints in Europe and was developed as far back as 1400.  Woodcuts were used to produce block-books particularly from the 14th to the 16th century.  Both text and illustration were printed by making impressions of an entire page from a single piece of wood.  In Europe, this method for creating books was phased out in favor of the movable type printing press, though woodcuts were still used for illustrations for many years. 

The biggest distinctions between the woodblock and the woodcut are the type of ink used and the way it is applied to the wood.  Woodblocks are typically produced using water-based inks with specific brushes and even specific brush strokes, whereas woodcut artists often use oil based inks that are primarily applied to the wood with a small roller called a brayer.  

Examples of both types of xylography can be found in the Walters Art Museum (woodblock) and the Baltimore Museum of Art (woodcut.)  

Courtesy of Baltimore Museum of Art
"Baltimore.1992."
(Woodcut)

Unfortunately, visits to each of the facilities resulted in disappointment.  Hashiguchi Goyo’s woodblock print, “Woman in Blue Combing Her Hair” is at the Walters Art Museum, but the gallery is closed to the public due to renovation.  Bobby Donovan’s woodcut print, “Baltimore.  1992.” was resting in the museum’s archives and I was unable to see that, as well.  I was a bit frustrated, but decided I would not let this setback ruin my day.  So, I happily engaged myself in the hunt for more of Baltimore’s X things. 

My next stop was to see that second xylophone I spoke about earlier.  On the way to its location, I occasionally drove past what appeared to be vacant buildings. 

Some of these buildings had large Xs on the outside of their walls/doors.  What were these Xs and why were they there?  Research told me the large X means that firefighters should not enter the building if responding to a fire as the building is structurally unsound.  It is a universal sign known to public safety officials as a deterrent to entry.  However, if an X goes up on a building, it doesn’t mean it cannot come down.  Once the structural problems are fixed, the X can be removed.  The buildings I passed with the large Xs appeared to be sound; however, looks can be deceiving.  As much as I wanted to get a closer look, I thought it would just be better to continue on my journey to find that second xylophone.  

The second xylophone was located in Pierce’s Park along the waterfront in Baltimore.  An excerpt taken from Jennifer Walker’s, “Moon Baltimore” describes the park:

“This new green space is part public art, part children’s playground and it’s ideally situated in the thick of downtown right between the Inner Harbor and Harbor East.  Named after a local businessman Pierce John Flanigan III, 

Pierce's Park Marker

Pierce’s Park was built with sustainability in mind; thus there are indigenous trees, native plants, and three rain gardens to educate children about the benefits of capturing runoff rainwater.  But naturally, kids find more pleasure in the park’s stainless steel xylophone known as the “musical fence,” [an] above ground tunnel made of interwoven branches, and sculptures designed for play, such as the huge stainless steel cornucopia for them to run through.”

The one acre park was dedicated in 2012 and is maintained by the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, which is focused on developing a “Healthy Harbor.”  Events are held throughout the year to include:  yoga in the park, food trucks, crafts, festivals, performances by local bands, and many other fun activities for the entire family.   

Xylophone

This little park reminded me a lot of Central Park in New York – only on a MUCH smaller scale! 

It didn’t take too long to locate the xylophone.  This particular xylophone was an upright xylophone with several mallets in two buckets located below.  The mallets had long cables affixed to them, which were attached to a permanent stake in the ground to prevent them from becoming lost.  Unfortunately, people weren’t

Mallet

stopping dead in their tracks as I played this xylophone, either.  So, I retired my mallet and walked away with the disappointing realization that my playing percussion instruments professionally (or even out in public) was not meant to be!

The last X thing in Baltimore I want to tell you about is actually not in Baltimore at all.  It has to do with Article XI of the 1867 Maryland Constitution.  In 1796, Baltimore City became an incorporated municipality within Baltimore County.  As a governmental unit, the City separated from Baltimore County in 1851.  On 17 August 1867, Maryland’s fourth constitution was signed and adopted.  Added was Article XI, which established the City of Baltimore as its own entity providing it with a Mayor, a City Council, and providing several additional sub-articles within Article XI regarding the operation of the City.  Additionally, the City of Baltimore is the only city in Maryland that is governed by its own Article in the Maryland Constitution. 

As I was constructing my list of Baltimore’s X things, I wondered where the original 1867 Constitution 

Original 1867 Maryland Constitution

was kept.  Further investigative research led me to contacting the Maryland Department of Legislative Services in Annapolis.  I was told the original document was kept in the Collection of Maryland State Archives in Annapolis in a temperature controlled room.  With an appointment, patrons can visit to view scans of the original constitution with the assistance of the Reference Archivist during open hours.

When I called to make an appointment I spoke to Maria, the Director of Special Collections and Conservation.  She would be the Archivist who would show the 1867 Constitution to me.  I told her I was hoping to see Article XI and the reason behind the request.  She told me she would have the document out of the vault and on a table waiting for me.  However, it wouldn’t be a scan.  I was going to see the original 1867 document!  Would it be framed under glass?  Not at all!  

Article XI (City of Baltimore)
Original 1867 Maryland Constitution

Article XI of the 1867 Constitution would be taken out of its folder and proudly displayed on the table in all its glory.  I could take as many pictures as I wanted, but the flash would have to be turned off.  I could even touch the document, if I wanted!  I was glad I called the week before my visit, because there is a process an Archivist has to go through in order to show rare original documents and that could take some time.  Requests must be made at various levels to obtain permission to release the documents for viewing.  All four of the Maryland Constitutions are incredibly large.  Because of their volume, each page is cataloged / numbered for reference.  A couple of days prior to my visit, Maria sent me copies of pages she thought would fulfill my request.  This way, she wouldn’t request incorrect pages from the vault. Once she received my verification, she submitted the request. 

The night prior to my appointment, I could hardly sleep.  This was just too exciting – I was going to be INCHES from the Maryland Constitution!  

I didn't even have to zoom in for this shot!

So, it didn’t surprise me at all that I was ½ hour early for my appointment with Maria.  I signed in with the building’s receptionist and Maria was paged.  Minutes later, she escorted me to the room where an important part of Maryland’s past awaited my arrival.  And there they were!  Three large folders holding several pages roughly 20” x 24” in size were just waiting to be unwrapped.  This was going to be like Christmas!!!! 

Maria opened the first folder, which housed the cover page of the 1867 Maryland Constitution.  She explained it would probably be a nice touch to begin my picture series with a picture of this – it definitely was.  

Signature Page
Article XI

Article XI (City of Baltimore) was in the next folder followed by the signature pages of the 1867 Maryland Constitution in the third.  I spent roughly 15 extremely memorable minutes talking with Maria and taking pictures of this amazing piece of history.  She mentioned that if anyone wanted to see documents like this to definitely contact her.  I told her I would pass the word, thanked Maria for her valuable time, signed out of the building, and began my drive home.  This experience is something I will never forget – it definitely left me awestruck! 

As I drove home, I looked back on the day and how much fun I had during what I call “my treasure hunt.”  It was a day of discovery and everything I unearthed had its own unique story. 

Now, you know I couldn’t write an article covering “X” things in Baltimore without citing the adage, “X Marks the Spot.”
So, here ya go!  A poem written by Amber Reynolds & Edward Glassman entitled, “X Marks the Spot” is a perfect descriptor of the day’s journey through Baltimore:

Life is too short to stay in one place.

Travel as far and wide as possible.

Let your heart wander and your mind hope for the unknown.  Leave familiarity behind and let yourself explore the extraordinary.

Acquire something new from every place and don’t forget to leave something good behind.

Wherever you choose to go, go with all your heart.

Don’t look back, just go.

Oh, and did I forget to mention?.........