Clifton Park, Baltimore

Clifton Park
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
"Clifton Mansion", original home of Capt. Henry Thompson, (1774–1837), later purchased 1838 byJohns Hopkins,(1795–1873), renovated/redesigned around 1858 by architectural team ofNiernseeandNeilson,photo taken August 2011
Location	Bounded by Harford Rd., Erdman Ave., Clifton Park Terrace, the Baltimore Belt RR and Sinclair Ln.,Baltimore, Maryland
Coordinates	39°19′15″N76°34′58″W
Area	266.7 acres (107.9 ha)
Built	1801(1801)
Architect	Niersee & Neilson; Wyatt and Nolting; Olmsted Brothers; Thomas, Frederick
Architectural style	Italian Villa, Gothic Revival, Late 19th & 20th C. Revival
NRHP referenceNo.	07000941
Added to NRHP	September 12, 2007

Clifton Parkis a publicurban parkand nationalhistoric districtlocated between theColdstream-Homestead-MontebelloandWaverlyneighborhoods to the west and theBelair-Edison,Lauraville,Hamiltoncommunities to the north in the northeast section ofBaltimore, Maryland,United States. It is roughly bordered byErdman Avenue (Md. Rt. 151)to the northeast,Sinclair Laneto the south,Harford Road (Md. Rt. 147)to the northwest andBelair Road (U.S. Route 1)to the southeast.The eighteen-hole Clifton Park Golf Course, which is the site of the annual Clifton Park Golf Tournament,occupies the north side of the park.

History

Thompson years (1803–1837)

The land on which Clifton Park sits was once farmland. Built around 1803, the home was originally the summer residence of Capt. Henry Thompson, (1774–1837). Born inSheffield, England,he came toBaltimorearound 1794, and soon became a prominent figure in the newly emerging city as a merchant, financier, and company director. Thompson was public-spirited and used his knowledge of horses in military matters to serve as acavalryofficer in the Maryland State Militia's "Baltimore Light Dragoons", which he joined in 1809 and was elected captain. He later organized the "First Baltimore Horse Artillery" in 1813, which defended Baltimore during the British attack during theWar of 1812at theBattle of Baltimore,thebombardment of Fort McHenry(which inspired the writing of theStar Spangled Banner), theBattle of North Point,and the stand-off at what is now known asPatterson Parkin East Baltimore, on September 12-13-14, 1814. Prior to seeing action in Baltimore, he was assigned by Brig. Gen.John Stricker,commander of the Third Brigade (also known as the Baltimore City Brigade) of the Maryland State Militia, to carry messages between Bladensburg, Maryland, and the nearby national capital in Washington, D.C., during the first phase of theBattle of Bladensburg,which preceded theBurning of Washingtonduring theChesapeake Baycampaign in August 1814. Later he and his mounted unit served as the personal bodyguard of Maj. Gen.Samuel Smith,overall commander of the State Militia under then-Maryland governorLevin Winder,and the various militia forces from surrounding counties and states, including several regular army and navy units and detachments defending Baltimore in September 1814.

Later in private and business life, Thompson served as president of the Baltimore and Harford Turnpike Company which began building the northeastern spoke road out of the city, now known asHarford Road (Md. Rt. 147).Later he was part of the Poppleton Commission under city surveyor and mapmaker Thomas Poppleton which laid out additional grids of streets and blocks for the city's future expansion and prepared a well-known map and diagram of the new sections and the larger city in 1818, resulting in the first major large scale annexation of the territory around the City known as "The Precincts" from surrounding ruralBaltimore County,that year. He also served as member of the boards of directors of theBaltimore and Port Deposit Railroad,the third major Baltimore railroad chartered in Maryland and one of the first in America, (later merged with several other smaller connecting lines into thePhiladelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad– eventually into the dominant northeast line, thePennsylvania Railroadby 1881), theBank of Baltimore– second financial institution in the city, the landmark domedMerchants' Exchange Building,(largest magnificent structure then in America – designed by famed architectBenjamin Henry Latrobe,1815–1820), (at East Lombard, Water and South Gay Streets), the Baltimore Board of Trade, and the Maryland Agricultural Society. He was honored with the position of being Marshall of the Proceedings at the Cornerstone-Laying for both theBattle Monument,(onNorth Calvert Street,between East Fayette and Lexington Streets), on the firstDefenders' Dayanniversary of the engagement, September 12, 1815, and the iconicWashington Monumentearlier on "Independence Day",July 4, 1815, on a prominence in" Howard's Woods "just north then of the developed city. In later years, Thompson also served as the Grand Marshall of the festivities in Baltimore surrounding the return and the touring visit to America of the French patriot and American supporter,Marquis de Lafayette,former aide to commanding GeneralGeorge Washingtonand also General in ourContinental Armyduring theAmerican Revolutionary Warin 1824. Thompson maintained ownership of the Clifton estate until about 1835, dying two years later in 1837.

Hopkins years (1838–1894)

In 1838, Clifton was bought by local merchant, financier, and philanthropistJohns Hopkins(1795–1873), for his estate and was later developed with a nearby lake and a large sculpture collection.In 1858, the presentItalianate-styleClifton Mansionwith its prominent tower was built(pictured),designed by architectsJohn Rudolph NiernseeandJames Crawford Neilson.

Hopkins originally intended to locate the campus of his plannedJohns Hopkins Universityon the Clifton property. However, Hopkins died before his vision for a university could be realized. Instead, a downtown location in Baltimore'sMount Vernon-Belvedereneighborhood was chosen byDaniel Coit Gilman,the university's first president.

Postcard depicting theLake Clifton valve housein 1888

Even before the city purchased the old Thompson/Hopkins estate from the Johns Hopkins University Board of Trustees, a portion of the land was used for development of a reservoir for the area's municipal water supply system. CalledLake Clifton,the 30 acre reservoir was 30 feet deep and had a capacity of 265 million gallons of water when it was completed and put into service on December 27, 1888.Related to the reservoir's operation, theClifton Park Valve Housewas completed in 1887 to regulate the flow of water into adjacent Lake Clifton.The valve house is an 8-sided distinctive stone structure with a cone tile roof and stained glass windows. It had eight valves controlling water entering through a large tunnel. Although the valve house still stands, it is in a dilapidated condition and the stained glass windows were destroyed by vandals sometime in the 1970s.

City of Baltimore ownership (1894–present)

In 1894, Johns Hopkins University sold its unused "Clifton" estate to Baltimore City for use as a park in the city's northeast section, adding to the city's growing parks system.

Band shell at Clifton Park

Development of the park included construction of aband shell,where outdoor concerts were popular in the 1920s–1930s. The #19 streetcar line ran on a dedicated right-of-way along Clifton Park's Harford Road border until 1956.

Clifton Park became the central area whereMaryland National Guardtroops were moved in and out of Baltimore during theriots of April 1968centering in theJonestown/Old Towncommercial district and surrounding rowhouse residential neighborhood along North Gay Street, following the assassination of the Rev. Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.It was there that the troops camped out during their mission. They guarded the streets against looting during the day and slept at the Park during the night hours. Dallas Arthur, aMaryland National Guardsoldier, describes the situation as intense when he relates to roadblocks posted near Clifton Park.

Amenities

Part of the estate has been a municipal golf course since 1915, the first public course in Baltimore.The old Clifton Mansion was used as the course's pro shop for many years, along with offices for the Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks.With the completion of a $7 million renovation to the Clifton Mansion in 2019, it is now used as the headquarters of a local service-based nonprofit, Civic Works.

In 1916,Peabody Institutetrustees gave Baltimore City "On the Trail," a 7-foot-4 bronze sculpture of aNative Americanman created by local artist/sculptorEdward Berge,placed upon a boulder in Clifton Park. The statue is reported to have been generally overlooked by those visiting the park, though it has been subjected to periodic vandalism.

St. Vincent de Paul Roman Catholic Church,now located in the eastern downtown neighborhood ofJonestownabout three miles southwest of Clifton Park, had its old cemetery southeast of the park, bordering the golf course. Still owned by the Church, it is a seven-acre burial ground for abouttwo thousand parishionersof mostly Irish, German, and Italian descent dating back to the mid-19th century. Heavily hit by vandalism during the 1960s, it was officially closed in the early 1980s and fell into disrepair. Cleanup and maintenance of the cemetery began again in mid-2010 under a newly established supporters and watchdog group, the Friends of St Vincent's Cemetery.

Lake Clifton was drained in the late 1960s for development ofLake Clifton High School,(now referred to as the "Lake Clifton Campus" ). It was opened in September 1971, built in a distinctive modernistic architecture. It is the largest school campus in physical size in theBaltimore City Public Schoolssystem and one of the most massive and most expensive in the country built up to that time. Built in response to relieve the long-time overcrowding resulting from the post-World War II"baby boom" of the 1950s-60s, Lake Clifton however seemed troubled from the start and had problems extending through its first decade of service from the early 1970s into the 1980s. The all-girls secondary school ofEastern High School(founded 1844), after its unfortunate 1984 closure of its landmark 1938Jacobethan/English Tudor-styleH-shaped, red-brick building with limestone trim, to the northeast on East 33rd Street and Loch Raven Boulevard (oppositeMemorial Stadium) was later merged with the Lake Clifton High School in response to protests from its students, faculty, alumni and many of the surrounding community, because of the increasing amount of deferred maintenance needed on the then half-century-old structure and also by that decade, student population in the city public schools was dropping and an agency determined that one of the city's then almost 25 high schools should be closed. For a number of years, the school was then known as "Lake Clifton-Eastern High School" as a historic continuation of the former long-time premier girls school. After another reorganization of the B.C.P.S. and the rearrangement of several schools in the northeast sector of the city, the institution became known as the "Lake Clifton Campus" currently comprises two small schools:Heritage High Schooland the REACH! Partnership School.

Clifton Park is also home to "Real Food Farm", a 6-acre urban sustainable farm managed by Civic Works, Inc. that was started in 2009. The farm aims to increase food access in the neighborhoods around the park, demonstrate the economic potential of urban farming, and provides experiential education opportunities to the students from Heritage, REACH! and otherpublic city schools.

Clifton Park was listed on theNational Register of Historic Placesin 2007.

External links

• Civic Works, Inc at the Clifton Mansion(accessed and retrieved on May 6, 2012).
• History and description of the park(accessed and retrieved on May 6, 2012).
• Brief description and address(accessed and retrieved on May 6, 2012).
• Map showing the location of the park(accessed and retrieved on October 14, 2007).
• Clifton Mansionat Explore Baltimore Heritage
• Clifton Park, Baltimore City,including photo from 1995 andboundary map,at Maryland Historical Trust