St. Mary's Park Plan
Seton Hill, architecturally significant as one of Baltimore's oldest intact rowhouse neighborhoods, is also rich in religious and African-American history. In the 1600's the area was part of the 680-acre Chatsworth plantation.
St. Mary's Park, central to the neighborhood, was originally part of St. Mary's Seminary founded in 1791 by French Sulpician priests (who arrived in the aftermath of the French Revolution). The neighborhood was designated as an Historic and Architectural Preservation District of Baltimore City in 1968 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
NDC volunteer landscape architect Liling Tien and designer Jane Sloss worked with the Seton Hill Association to gain community support to reclaim and restore St. Mary's Park. The project process helped in better coordination with the Baltimore Department of Recreation and Parks and helped the community receive a community greening grant from the Parks and People Foundation. The conceptual master plan completed by the NDC volunteers was instrumental in the community receiving a $40,000 grant from the TKF Foundation in the Spring of 2006 to complete a final plan and construction drawings for the renovation of the park.
"We are very grateful to have had the assistance of NDC to produce our Masterplan for St. Mary's Park. We are working on improving our park in various phases. Having this masterplan has enabled us to go to a foundation and ask for money for a detailed design charette for improving a major part of the park. It also enables us to plot a clearer course for future improvements. Having a document such as the Masterplan should enable us to create better funding applications, and be taken more seriously by potential funders." Seton Hill Association
Project Completion: 2006
Project Location: Seton Hill Baltimore, MD
NDC Landscape Architect Volunteers: Jane Sloss and Liling Tien, P.E.L.A. Design, Inc.
Links: Seton Hill Association