Baltimore’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), which manages the process that determines which structures in Baltimore City deserve protected Landmark status, and the City Department of Planning have produced a handy guide to what the landmarks are in Baltimore, and why each structure deserves to be preserved.
The Baltimore City Designated Landmark List was published last month and is an excellent guide to the hidden history in your neighborhood. Each profile of the Baltimore City landmarks includes a photograph, a brief history, and information on the specific ordinance that protects the structure. CPHA is especially excited, because our office building is on this list: #109 on page 57. We feel very lucky to be housed in the Victorian-era former Northern District Police Station!
The guide also has sections on CHAP’s process and criteria for evaluating the worthiness of an application for landmark status of a Baltimore structure. The introductory section features a description of the benefits that Landmark status affords buildings and their owners, including tax benefits and insurance against demolition or improper exterior changes in even the distant future.
For those wishing to explore more historic buildings in Baltimore or to see whether a structure near them is a landmark, the guide also features maps of each section of the city with at least one landmark.
