Neglected beautification-- Preston Gardens, Baltimore

Early design plans for Preston Gardens, courtesy of Maryland Historical Society

Baltimore once held a very important garden in its heart. This garden was so beautiful, people from all parts of the city, and even the county, would come visit to lounge on its sprawling lawn for a picnic or just admire the view of endless color that changed each season.


Today, that garden still exists along a brief stretch of St. Paul Place, but its magic quickly is fading. Established in 1919, today's Preston Gardens is in need of grant money to repair and replace benches and tables, fix foundation cracks, re-plant trees and fill empty flowers beds. However, the only repairs likely to take place this year will be foundation improvements and lighting.


Instead of multi-hued mums blooming this fall, it’s mostly grass you’ll find covering the garden grounds. The wildflower patch across from Mercy’s Weinberg Center contains a few native grasses and perennial plants, but weeds have usurped the soil where summer flowers should be growing. Workers who used to enjoy an outdoor lunch at the park now have no where else to sit but on the ground or steps which can block the path of other pedestrians.


The grass is cut, there are still some pretty trees that line the streets, but the empty flower beds and water-less fountains make this patch of land look like just another neglected urban garden. Even the graffiti sprayed on the balustrade asking, “Why?” makes you wonder what happened to such a beautiful park.


As discouraging as it is to watch this once flourishing garden fill up with unwanted volunteer plants and weeds, garden neglect is nothing new, and certainly not to Preston Gardens. New plantings and maintenance were scaled back or even halted during the Great Depression, World War II, and during the tough economic times in the '70s and '90s. Nearly a century later, grant funding is needed once again to restore this crucial historic green living space.


The visionary behind this once flourishing public garden was James H. Preston, Baltimore's Mayor from 1911 to 1919. Mayor Preston felt communities needed "a place to congregate, reflect and admire beauty," and he was determined to prove his point. With the rise of the automobile in the early 1900's, city streets had become over crowded, making the idea of a public garden controversial  to local businesses much preferred the idea of a parking lot. Mayor Preston continued to contest, and the issue quickly became a war of garden vs. garage.

Mayor James H. Preston, courtesy of Maryland Historical Society

Mayor Preston's determination was unwavering, and when he craftily secured a "harbor" loan to pay for the project, his garden plans became a reality, much to the dismay of more than a few neighboring retailers. He contacted landscape architect, Frederick Law Olmstead, designer of New York’s Central Park and the U.S. Capitol grounds to help design the park, which would extend from east Mt. Vernon to the Courthouse. Olmsted was later replaced by architect, Thomas Hastings, and within four years, fresh grass, flower beds, picnic tables and fountains replaced the drab landscape of St. Paul Place that Mayor Preston had come to detest.


It seems few Baltimore Mayors are without controversy and in 1919, Mayor Preston’s shifting of loans to pay for the project became known as “Preston’s Folley," something many locals regarded as underhanded. But he got the last laugh when his green vision gained notoriety as the city’s first urban renewal project, garnering a lot of praise and media attention. His beloved Preston Gardens flourished for many decades with annual and perennial plantings, including thousands of spring bulb flowers, rare tulips and its famed vibrant hued fall mums.


Yet, once again, in 2000, Preston Gardens was in trouble. After a local nun, Sister Helen Amos, R.S.M. of Mercy Medical Center, found its plight unbearble to look at, she came up with a plan to save it. She contacted the Downtown Partnership and Baltimore City Bureau of Parks who agreed to join forces to help spruce up the neglected public garden. She made quite an impression on the community, so much that on May 16, 2000, Mayor Martin O’Malley headed a re-dedication ceremony in Mayor Preston’s honor, based on Sister Helen's efforts.

Sister Helen Amos, courtesy of Mercy Medical Center

But history has a way of repeating itself. Now a decade later, it seems all that was promised was not delivered. The flower beds have filled back up with weeds, structures are in disrepair and the fountains remain dried up. With the bulk of Baltimore City’s 2011 budget being focused on the police and fire departments as well as crucial sanitation projects, greening efforts like the Preston Gardens Park often take a back seat. Which leaves residents and businesses questioning how can city budgets provide for both. Unfortunately, there is no easy answer.


Based on a lack of funding, this much needed beautification project may now return to the helping hands of individuals like Sister Helen, who know the only way to get financing is to make a plea to larger local businesses and the neighborhood community on a grassroots level.

It is a well-known fact that cities who have well cared for public (and private) gardens attract more visitors, businesses and residents. They create the landscape and set the tone for both commerce and community. This ultimataly translates into more revenue, something Baltimore City could really use.

Sadly, it seems Preston Gardens is in need of  both kinds of green right now. Only time will tell whether its future will blossom or whither up.

ALL OTHER PHOTOS BY C.A. LANGRALL