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Underbelly
Then and Now: the Mayfair Theatre on Fire
September 30th 2014
When we heard there was a two-alarm fire at the old Mayfair Theatre on the 500 block of North Howard…
"Are We Satisfied?": The Baltimore Plan for School Desegregation
September 25th 2014
(This is the second part of a two part series – The first part of the story was posted on May…
Beatlemania in Baltimore
September 11th 2014
(Written for the H. Furlong Baldwin Library’s “underbelly” blog in 2014.) As Baltimore celebrates the 200th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner and…
Head Cases: The Baltimore Phrenological Society
August 21st 2014
On February 17, 1827 an assemblage of distinguished minds from Baltimore’s medical community gathered at the home of Dr. Richard Sprigg…
Baltimore and the Age of the Bicycle
July 31st 2014
The city of Baltimore grew up in the Age of the Bicycle. The introduction of the first precursor to the…
Up, up and away: Maryland’s First Birdmen
July 10th 2014
When the news broke of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s monumental flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in 1903, it sparked…
Capturing the Movement: Before and After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in Photographs
June 30th 2014
Fifty years ago this week the Civil Rights Act of 1964 voided all discriminatory laws (de jure segregation) in the…
Judge Simon Sobeloff - Moderate to the Extreme
June 12th 2014
In his home town of Baltimore Judge Simon Sobeloff (1894-1973) was known as a man of principle and conscience. Though…
The (M)ad Men and Women of Hutzler's
May 29th 2014
On any given day throughout the 1940s and ’50s, shoppers gathered around the Hutzler Brothers Company’s magical window displays on…
Propaganda in the Free State: MdHS's Collection of Poster Art
May 22nd 2014
Before the advent of the internet, one of the simplest and most effective ways of getting the word out to…
A Thorny Path: School Desegregation in Baltimore
May 15th 2014
(This is the first part of a two part series – The second part of the story was posted in…
Maryland on a Half Shell
May 8th 2014
The waters of the Chesapeake Bay have long sustained life in Maryland, providing both industry and food. Cities and towns…
Ponzi's Plea
May 1st 2014
My house of cards had collapsed! The bubble had busted! I had lost! Lost everything! Millions of dollars. Credit. Happiness.…
The Grandmother Who Fought Porn: Mary Avara
April 24th 2014
This week we’re reposting something that we found over the holiday weekend. This piece inspired us to dig into the…
Leaving no Stones Unturned: Charles Carroll of Carrollton’s Declarations of Independence
April 17th 2014
Yes, declarations is plural in the title of this week’s post. The story that follows is another fun example of…