Five Minute Histories: War Memorial

Added: 2026-05-26

[00:00:13]Hello everybody. This is Johns Hopkins with Baltimore Heritage. We're back with another of our 5-minute history videos and today I'm downtown across from City Hall and behind me is the War Memorial.

[00:00:23]We at Baltimore Heritage thought we would say thank you to those who are serving and have served by doing a video on the building uh behind me. It's been here for 101 years since 1925.

[00:00:34]But before we jump in and talk about that, I thought I'd say a word about a few other World War I memorials um around the country and and here in Maryland. Now, our War Memorial is not the first and to claim a first is kind of tricky here, but uh a number of people look to Minot, North Dakota and uh May 30th, 1918, they dedicated a a uh marble uh statue to the folks from their town that had fallen. This was a good 6 months before the end of fighting and a full year before the Treaty of Versailles that officially ended the war. Close behind was Maryhill, Washington that uh the state of Washington that on July 4th, 1918 uh uh began erecting a monument and if you take a look at it, you'll know why it's called what it is, which is Stonehenge, and why it took them 10 years to complete, but they started back on July 4th, uh uh 19 uh 18. Um uh and Maryland, we this building behind me, of course, is not the only monument to a World War I. It began its life as a monument solely to World War I soldiers, those who had fallen from Maryland um and and expanded and we'll get to that in a second. But other World War I uh monuments across the state and I'd like to just list a few are in Bladensburg, Prince George's County. They have the wonderful Peace Cross erected in 1925, the same year as ours. In Funkstown, Washington County, they've got a life-size bronze doughboy that was erected in 1921, so a little bit earlier. In Frederick, the Victory Monument uh it sits in a park that has dedications to those who have fallen in all wars, all American wars. And in Calvert County, there's a memorial marker at the Prince Frederick Courthouse that was uh dedicated in 1920, so really uh quite early. And interestingly, out in Western Maryland in uh Cumberland in Allegany County, the Western Maryland Railroad erected a monument to railroad workers who had lost their lives in World War I. And in Baltimore, the memorial behind me is not the only one. A few others uh include at the Fifth Regiment Armory. There's a wonderful uh outside monument uh that depicts the names of the folks from the Fifth Regiment that lost their lives in uh World War I. Saint Leo's Church has uh a monument or a plaque listing the lives from of those from their parish who died. Uh and Baltimore City College also has a plaque listing the folks uh alums from Baltimore City College uh that did not make it back from World War I. But back to our building. In 1919, Mayor William Broening and Governor Albert Ritchie formed a committee to pick a an architect to design this building. Now, before we even get to that, on this spot, there this has always been a central spot for Baltimore. There were there were a number of buildings before what we have here today. Uh including a number of row houses where Loyola High School and Loyola College got their start back in 1852. Um Professor Knapp's School, who which taught German immigrants including a young H.L. Mencken. Um the Holiday Street Theatre, where uh the poem The Defense of Baltimore was first sung. Of course, that went on 100 years later to become our national anthem. And a row of buildings called Old Assembly Row that were dance halls and meeting spaces and for a time served as the space for the school called Baltimore City High School, which today we call Baltimore City College. Those had either burned down or if they survived in 1917 were purposefully torn down to create a green space as part of a green space plan we were adopting. It kind of sat a little fallow for a while, but in 1919 got reborn as this War Memorial Building and Plaza behind me.

[00:04:16]For an architect, the committee turned to a noted local architect Laurence Hall Fowler, who had designed houses in in Tuscany, Canterbury, and Roland Park and Guilford, among other places. Fowler was a classically trained architect and for a time studied in Italy, notably doing a drawing of a building called the Tempio Malatestiano. I hope I'm saying that right. That was designed by the person who was noted at known as the father of Renaissance architecture, Leon Alberti.

[00:04:44]And some people think that the drawing that he did of that building formed at least the basis for the War Memorial that we have behind me.

[00:04:53]Now, in the building began in 1921, at the groundbreaking ceremony was the Marshal of France, Ferdinand Foch. And as the building went up and today you can see some wonderful tributes to Marylanders who died there in World War I. Flanking the big staircase out front are two seahorses called America Crossing the Seas to aid our allies. One of them has the insignia for the state of Maryland along with an osprey signifying the navy. The other one has the seal of Baltimore with an eagle symbolizing the army. Inside, the names of all 1,752 Marylanders who died in World War I are listed along one wall.

[00:05:37]On a number of walls are shields and insignia of various military divisions.

[00:05:42]The main chamber seats a thousand people, so it's enormous. And the balcony, the wall behind the balcony on the second floor has an enormous mural by R. McGill Mackall, and it's called Sacrifice to Patriotism. He was a well-known artist who uh if you've been to Fort McHenry did an enormous mural um there as well. When it was completed, uh it was originally dedicated solely to Marylanders who died in World War I, but as time went on, we had a World War and a Korean War and a Viet- Vietnam War.

[00:06:14]And in 1977, uh Mayor William Donald Schaefer rededicated this uh building to uh Marylanders who have fallen in any 20th century uh war. Inside, in addition to the Great Hall, it's got uh space uh for uh patriot groups and vets groups to meet, and it's got displays of artifacts from uh various uh wars that we've fought in. Um and uh to the great credit of the city folks who manage the building, uh recently there is a new program called the War Memorial Arts Initiative, where they bring in uh concerts and talks into that Great Hall.

[00:06:48]And if you went to Artscape last year, um as I got the pleasure to do, there were about 50 local artists who had set up inside the War Memorial, and it was about as good as you can get. It was fantastic. Um if you haven't been inside, I'm not sure what the next public event is there, but in July, Live Baltimore is having its annual birthday uh Baltimore Birthday Bash. So, come on out and check that out. And in the meantime, on behalf of Baltimore Heritage, thank you again to all our vets and all of all of those who are serving. Thanks.