The decorative stone eagle has disappeared. The same goes for the carved faces on both sides of the entrance, the main stone basketry points under the pediment, and many other architectural flourishes.
Bare as they are, the giant north and south facades of Hendler Creamery’s red brick building still stand. But for a long time.
Demolition began at the 134-year-old Baltimore Monument, deemed structurally sound in 2007 but later sold to a politically linked developer, who got rid of the roof and exposed the interior to the elements.
The $75 million high-end rebuild promised through developer Kevin Johnson never came to fruition.
Instead, raising major concerns about structural deterioration and protection, the Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) approved the demolition of the building at 1100 East Baltimore Street, despite opposition from advocates who said the centerpiece could still be saved.
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Helping Up Mission, which acquired Johnson’s building, has the right to remove architectural elements and artifacts similar to its past, such as a cable car power plant, a Yiddish theater and a pioneering ice cream factory.
As authorized by CHAP, Helping Up deserves to make “all moderate efforts” on the following construction elements:
Daniel Stoltzfus, executive director of Helping Up Mission, says all of the items have been safely preserved, most of them intact.
“They’re wrapped and stored,” he told The Brew. And the bricks (we stocked more than we promised) were palletized and pushed aside. “
According to Stoltzfus, the floor tiles with the inscription “The Velvet Kind”, Hendler’s slogan for its extra soft ice cream, near the façade, were completely salvageable.
“However, we will try to save what we can and we will save the entire landing. There is an arch above this door that will also be safeguarded,” he continued, noting that a local company, Elite Restoration, has been hired. advise the process.
At some point, the recovered pieces will most likely be incorporated into “some kind of monument, memorial or courtyard wall,” Stoltzfus said.
“As we have said at CHAP, we intend to save everything we have promised to save and honor the history of the building and its importance to the community. “
In recent weeks, a team from West Virginia-based A-Zone Environmental Services gutted the building, in the city’s Jonestown neighborhood.
There was no activity at the site over the weekend, however, three giant yellow excavators were visible on the Fayette Street side of the demolition site. Near the product of their labor: piles of twisted steel and crumbling masonry and bricks.
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Helping Up, a faith-based organization across Baltimore Street from the former dairy, focuses on “homelessness and addiction recovery,” according to its website.
Stoltzfus said that once construction is leveled, the site will remain an open green space for the approximately six hundred adults and youth who enjoy its services and systems on Baltimore Street.
“Our plan is to use it as a must-have recreational area for our communities to gather, walk, run on trails, do track and field, or garden,” he said.
“It may not be a public park consistent with us, but we may have it available for some chain events in Jonestown. “
When asked about long-term plans for the main land, Stoltzfus said there aren’t any at the moment, “but it’s obviously a strategic property, right across from our main campus, so we’re looking to maintain the price in the long term. “”.
There was no reaction to questions sent to Johnson’s Commercial Group, which appears to have never been fined for violating building regulations at the site and continues to win housing contracts in the city. An affiliated entity, Hendler Creamery Development LLC, is still indexed in the city. and state databases as the registry owner.
Testifying last year in favor of the demolition before CHAP, Helping Up officials said the organization’s acquisition of the assets was conditional on obtaining permission to demolish the building.
According to a representative of the demolition company contacted through The Brew, the entity that replaced Helping Up Mission with House of Freedom, Inc.
House of Freedom, a nonprofit established in 2002 through Bob Gehman, former CEO of Helping Up, has been listed as a recipient of federal New Markets tax credits for women’s high-rise construction that Helping Up opened near Baltimore Street in early 2022.
“Our original contract was with Helping Up, and then for some reason they replaced it with House of Freedom. Technically, they are now visitors even though they are the same group,” explained Bethany Slaughter, environmental coordinator for A-Zone Environmental. Services.
Slaughter was not transparent about the explanation for the change, but recalled who had allowed it.
“I had to get Kevin Johnson’s signature because the original said Helping Up,” Slaughter said.
Stoltzfus said Johnson was included first in the demolition request because the sale was contingent on CHAP approval. House of Freedom was later included as an applicant, as it now officially owns the Hendler property.
When will crews demolish the thick brick walls overlooking assets that have been littered with rubble for years?
According to Slaughter, it is possible that it will arrive this week. Stoltzfus, however, had a very different prediction: not until the fall.