Other Buildings and Structures

The building and structures of Patterson Park are an integral part of the life and style of the park and illustrate the cultural evolution that occurred throughout the park’s rich history. While early buildings reflect the traditions of the Country Park era, later additions express the modern tradition of utilitarian recreation facilities and high-tech building materials.

By-gone buildings (Historical References)

Conservatory

The American Victorian Age was called the “Gilded Age” and the flowing architecture of the Conservatory, built in 1876 by Lord and Burdham, was an exampleof this type of architecture Darwin’s “Origins of Species”, published in 1858, along with a surge of exploration and scientific research resulted in the discovery of new varieties of plants and animals. Sparked by this interest, fourconservatories were built in Baltimore to house the many large and exotic plants that came from all over the world. The original Conservatory was built of wood. When it began to deteriorate in 1905, it was reinforced with metal. Eventually the building was razed in 1948 and on its site is now a children’s playground.

Ice Cream Saloon

Also known as the Little Casino it was built in 1871. It served the needs of park visitors, including ice skaters in the winter, with a refreshment stand and rest rooms. The small Victorian structure was located adjacent to the carriageway across from the Pagoda. Photographs suggest its open porch and nearby benches blended well with its environment and was a popular gathering place.

Mansion House,

Now known as the Casino, it was designed by Charles H. Latrobe and built by Cornelius Sheehan in 1893. At the time it served as a new focal point for the expanded park. First used as a refreshment stand, it has served a number of purposes over the years including a park office with basement tool house, an upper story suite of residential apartments and public rest rooms. It now houses an adult day care center and a facility for small meetings.

Music Pavilion

Built in 1924 for $48,000, was a place where people gathered to enjoy the day. An elegant building, completely surrounded by a deep porch, was the site of dances and summer concerts. According to old-timers in the community this facility, along with the Boat Lake, were the most cherished in the park. Destroyed in a fire in 1972, it occupied the space where the Virginia S. Baker Recreation Center now stands.

Quoit House

Originally a wood-frame building, the
Quoit House was built in 1925 by the Parks Commission as a direct response from the Old Men’s Club that
wanted a place of their own to play Quoits, cards, and
other games. Quoits, one of the games in the ancient
Greek Pentathalon, is a game similar to horseshoes
in which players toss rings at a stake called a hob.
The rings are usually made of iron and weigh about
3 lbs. It was a very popular game during the Victorian
era. The Quoit House is now storage for the
Department of Recreation and Parks.

Other buildings

Stables,

now the Maintenance Yard, located near the Community Gardens, was originally built in 1870 and was rebuilt after a fire in 1881. This building was designed by George Frederick for livestock and storing tools, carriages, and wagons.

Structures

Fencing

styles in the park represent three styles and eras - the Victorian “hairpin” style, flat iron picket, and contemporary chain link. The “Hairpin” style is a round solid iron fence that surrounds the Boat Lake. Installed in 1932, and fashioned after earlier fences of the Victorian era, this fence was not part of the original Boat Lake.The Iron Picket Fence, circa 1913, consisted of flat iron pickets and was constructed during the Olmsted Brothers era. It is unique in that it has an industrial feel to it. This fence is no longer standing as the iron from it was used during World War II. There remains a stone perimeter remnant with holes in the tops of the blocks that indicate that there was an iron fence attached that enclosed the park between 1865 and 1899.

Taurus Fountain Remnant

Just east of the White House and near what was once a children’s wading pool until the 1960’s, is a retaining wall that was built in 1925. In that wall is the Bull’s Head that was once part of the Taurus Fountain that was located at the northern end of the Mall. At one time water flowed from the bull’s nostrils. The wall is constructed of stone, while the Bull’s Head is made of marble.

Memorials and Statues

Memorials

Gold Star Mothers Memorial Flagstaff
A bronze relief that was erected in 1923
pays tribute to the 154 soldiers from East
Baltimore that were killed in action in World
War I. All 154 names are inscribed on the
Flagstaff which it is located at the Pulaski Monument.

Vietnam Memorial
A pine tree was planted in the 1970s to honor the many soldiers that died in the war. It is located at the corner of Linwood Avenue and Baltimore Street just inside the park entrance.

Statues

Saengerfest Statue
Made of bronze and granite, this statue depicts a Russian composer, Conrad Kreutzer, who wrote opera, chamber music and “Lieder”. It was sculpted by R.P. Golde, a German emigrant who came to this country in 1884. It was given to the City of Baltimore by the United Singers of Baltimore who won it as first prize in the National Saengerfest in Brooklyn, NY in 1915.Star

Spangled Banner Statue
Built in 1914 and made of bronze and granite,
this statue was designed by J. Maxwell Miller,
a prominent sculptor from the Maryland Art
Institute. Dedicated by the Star Spangled
Banner Centennial Commission to honor the
writing of the national anthem, two
neighborhood children were used as models
for this statue. It shows them holding a scroll
telling how the Star Spangled Banner was written.
It was paid for by the school children of Baltimore
just as the school children of France paid for the
Statue of Liberty.