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rJ~S: A'pproves $19 M,illio~l ~~> ~,:, ~~r City!lar~or 'Project. ~~Washingt~n, 'J~ne 30 (Special) . I, was finan~ed bya $22' million tr,The Federal Department of grant. L~nd fo~ its firs~ bu!lding, Housing . and Urban Develop- the Umted States FidelIty & ment approved today a $19 mil- Gi.laranty Company, was broken lion grant to Baltimore for de- last week. and 85 per cent of the yeropme~t of its Inner Harbor la~d in the project has been ac-West proJect. . ' qUlred. , . ·"The grant will be matched by There will be low - and high­

$5,& million in city funds and rise apartments, with no luxury will go for land acquisition, apartments and probably no cll,!arance and improvements in public housing, according to Mr.

, a~6B-acre area surrounding Bal- Millspaugh . • 1 .',

t,\ffiOre'S harbor. The land uses 'for Inner. Har-q7he area is bounded by Lom- bor West have been planned and bard street on the north, Charles are approv.ed by the city Plan­st!".~et onthe east, Hughes street ning Commission. They call for 011" the south, and Paca and extending Chades Center-type I

Sti_arp streets on the west. non-residential offices into the I -: ' Residential Section one-block strip between Lom- I -,.he one-block wide strip be- bard and Pratt streets and t\veen Lombard and , Pratt building apartments on the re­~i)·eets will be the only non-resi- mainder of the land; , aential part of the Inner Harbor The city will not have authori~ West project, with the Majority zation to . spend any of the $19

. of. its area d.evoted to 1,000 to million until both the federal l~'5QO apartment units for 3,000 to government and the City Coun-5;000 moderate-and middle-in- cit approve the detailed plans come families. . which have already · been

.IThe grant was awarded to the worked out. citY's Department of Housing Early projeCt completion and Community Development, dates are placed at between 1976 according to Senator Charles and 1978. . '.

¥;;.C: Mathias (R., Md.) For Private Development .101ft ' gives ,the city the go-ahead After the city acquires and to submit .to the federal govern- clears land in the project, it will ment deta!le'd plans already ap- then be sold to private develop­ptbved by the Planning Com- ers who must submit plans for Jnissiop. Tho~e p~ans face City its use to the city for approval: Co~ncil s!;!rutmy m September, Mr. Millspaugh said that "pr<r ~hen the' council returns from bably more than one developer"

-jts 'summ~r recess.. . will be selected for the project. Accordm~ to Martm L. Mills- According to Robert C. Em­

f}~ugh, preSident of Charles Cen- bry, Jr., the city's housing com­~er-Inner Harbor ManageI?ent, missioner, his department is al­Ine., the fe~eral money ylill go ready at work preparing foot­toward' buymg a~d ~learmg the by-foot plans for the harbor pro­lmld, . most · of. which .IS now. co.m- ject. Those plans in the form of merclal and mdust:lal, b~~~mg a City Council urban renewal 3; --: s~hool, relocatmg ulihh.es, ordinance, will De submitted to ~U!ldmg s~reets and makmg the council in September. ten:porary Improvements to the Mr.; Embry said that ' while W~}ect. _ ' ,. ... federally approved plans do not ~ .' --- Inner Harber I ban public housing, he had "no . The Inner Harbor West ,pro- intention" of permitting such Ject, forme:ly known as In~er housing in the Inner Harbor ::Harbor II, IS th,e second major West project. He ' also said that. dfor~ ~y the city to redeve!op commercial uses are permitted 1be. CIty s harbor area, The first in the areas south of Pratt street p~oject, known as Inner Harbor to service those people who live ?,9 , there. 1 __________________ _

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~ Bolton R~~id.~nt~ spui~" .' .~

~ Proposed R.eroute Plans ' , ,

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," .. By Larry Carson ~ crowd of about 225 residents ject all the alternatives how:

of Bolton Hill last night ,Voted ever. The alternatives re~eived ; strongly in favor of leaving the far less votes. ' , residential community's streets Narrowing Access ~'l as they are, despite neighbor- .The larger question centered hood association and city plans on, whether to close any streets to insulate the neighborhood at all, 'but several factions

,from through traffic by closing argued over the desirability of a access streets. service road on the west side of

The two-hour session, held in Mount Royal avenue, to act as a the .stifling hot auditorium of EI- buffer between that major ar­ementary School 66, featured ex- t~ry and the Bolton Hill commu­planations of various alternative mty. insulation plans by .representa-' All the proponants of already tives of three city departments developed plans for some type and the Mount RoyarTmprove- of access-street closing favored

I ment Associations's ' board of a narrowing of access through directors. . , the northern, western and south-t Some 123 persons voted to re- ern boundaries of the corrimu·

nity, defined as N9rth avenue,1 Eu.taw street on the west, and I

Dolphin street on the south. I , Park avenue and possibly ei­

ther McMechen or Moser streets were proposed as permanent through streets, left intact to

,serve the needs of the commu-nity's own traffic. ' "

The original plans for closing I of streets and insulating the Bol­ton Hill community were adopt­ed by the city in 1963 as part of the Madison Park North urban renewal areas.

Nothing was ever implement­ed, however, and several addi­tional plans have now been 'de­veloped.

Needs Present Roads Jay Brody, deputy director of

the city's housing department, told the crowd that a city deci­sion would hopefully follow closely the resident's vote last night, and that city implementa­tion would come with equal dis-patch. ,

Warren Anderson. the princi­pal city planner, said however, that no changes would probably take place in the neighborho_od

for several more years, if that soon.

Before the vote by ballot, Rob­ert Hall, one of the speakers desiring no chang~, ' told the

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group that the growing residen­. tial 'community needs an of jts present access roads, both for its own traffic, and for emergen"' cy access and egress. :'

.' The residents voted for one of' five choices, three of which in­volvea various insulation', schemes requiring the closing 0(' streets.

The other two choices were td: either leave the streets as theY.' are, which received 123 votes to win, or to delay a decision in' favor of another community' meeting, which drew only 14-' votes. '

Nine people voted for tlie' hoysing department plan for in­sulation, which did provide for a service road buffe{, accessible frm North avenue and the Jones: Falls expressway, while 23 vot- · ed for the Planning commission: version, which had no service' road west of Mount Royal ave­nue, , ~

Insulation Plans The Mount Royal community'

association plan, which did pro-. vide for a more limited access· buffer road, received 50 votes.:

The insulation plans would leave only Park avenue as ac~ cess from the north, four streets' from Eutaw and the west, two: from the south, ahd almost com: plete separation of the commu~

I nily from Mount Royal.

fven;nq~u Jul~ " ICf70

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July'

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Co orfw Info I{iosI{ Opens 'In Downto\vn

B.)! JERRY ADLER lOUd red, green, yellow and pink D0\\11town Reporter colors.

THE THREE yOlUlgsters who A multi'Colored, ton and a hall staff it at S2 per hour are being

inIonnation booth dub lb e d paid by" the visitor's cOW1cil for 1 "Schaefer Kiosk" was opened to- working 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. shills I day at the northeast corner of six days each week.

, Baoltimore and Liberty Sts. as a They are Miss Mary Temmink, private-public cooperative project. Notre Dame senior and Miss

lot is known as the Schaefer Patricia Hill, Towson State grad­kiosk beoause . City Council fuesi- uate, both 21. Jay Wall, 27. grad­dent William Donald Schaefer uate student at Coppin State is rode herd on several organizations the Saturday guide . . to make it a reality. The girls wear uniforms con-

It is being staffed by the Con- sisting of mini-dresses. These ar~ vention and Visitors CoW1cil, white lmits with mock turtle necks which paid to have the 4-section, 8- and red and white piping on neck ¥rot square booth painted ill wildly and sleeves. The YOW1g man ..... ill

- We&T a suit and tie. :1 All are "responsible kids, not I

beatniks," according to counoil . secretary Anthony KOW1eski.

. THE h"IOSK was built of ply­\vood at Woodrow Wilson · Junior

' High School by its wocdworh-ing I class. Materials were supplied by the city at a cost somewhere be-tween S500 and 51,000.

1r.surance on the booth is being proViided by the convention COW1-cil.

The kiosk is '.temporarily". anchored via steel rods. Its port­ability was one of the biggest snafus in its creation . .

Schaefer and KOW1eski wanted a. portable kiosk because they hope in 19TI to place lit where they originany wanted, the northeast corner of Baltimore and Liberty Sts. But the Charles Center - 1nnill'

I Harbor Office made emplacement conjitions on it's betng ·an:::hored.

LLOYD H. DEXTON, cOlUlcil director, said the kiosk has _Eding

. panels which open into COW1ters and shelf space. It was designed, he added, by pjdiard weathel'bY) of. Coohra.(l, Stephe/"'Son and Donkervoet. '. :

Denton said "'!\IIr. Sch'lefer led the drive to Ji!et the kiosk built."

Metro Center W ould Rebuild Downtown • By CARLETON JONES rapid transit ' route that would

Wh t B ltim' b .. extend from Washingto.n to a a ore may e- Boston.

come by 1990 was shown to the -A second showcase boule-public I~st week when "Metro vard, not a throughway, could · Center" was unveiled. It is an link the Federal Hill and Bol­.elaborate development plan, ton Hill areas by connecting started foor years ago, that the Key Highway, Fremont would virtually remake all va- and Biddle streets, west of the caht · or poorly used parts of central business district. the city from the harbor to -An area south of East Bal-North avenue. . . timore street, now occupied

The propOsal,' which might . by pa~ts ?f The Block night­,cost nearly ~l billion in pri- .c1ub dlstnct, could be devel-' vate investment, is basically oped as a 4,00o-student down- . "guideline" planning rather town campus for the Commu­than an urban renewai propos- nity College of Baltimore, al. -' Park Expansion

Larry Reich, city planning -Dow~town traffic loads director, said the 1m2-acre could be shifted to Paca and plan was a "yardstick or goaL'" The planning staff add- Eutaw streets and a new. re­ed that key elements of the tailing "megastructure" could design were. based on the as- ' be created to supplement the

· swnption that the city would -Lexington market area, from acquire a rapid transit sys- Baltimore street north to Mul-

· tern, as is now planned, berry along Eutaw street. -An axial system of parks

Links Projects could be built from Preston Though optional and depend- gardens west to Howard street

ent on private rather than leaving only the' Basilica of government initiative, the the Assumption and the Pratt MetroCentElr design' was not library (and its ' extension) as without its news value in ·re- major structures between

·vealing what the city, business .Franklin . and - . Mulberry and development groups will streets, be pushing for in coming -Another. major· park ex· years. The organizations in~ , pansion could be built in the volved in the project include Seton Hill district to supple-

',the Charles Street Association, ment remodeled historic build­the Committee for Downtown ings and new housing facing and the' Greater Baltimore Pennsylvania and F"ranklin Committee. streets. .

The planners would develop Antebellum Exhibit outward from projects that ..::..Slopes east of Preston

· are ndw complete, in progress Gardens and south of the Orle· or planned-C~arles Center, ans street viaduct could be the inner harbor and the Uni- developed as office-apart­versity of Maryland. It would ment-commercial centers, in-' build links from these areas to c1uding a "megastructure" the ~ast and west sides of cen- ihat might span the Jones ter city. Falls expressway extension

Some of the · major moves . west of Guilford avenue. suggested include: ' • -The entire Mount Royar

Pratt street could be wid- avenue-upper Mount Vernon ened from the Jones Falls into region could be used to create West Baltimore as a 205-foot- a new in titutional-residential wide, tree-lined boulevard center through roofin" of Penn similar to· Paris's Champs Central air rights ~ver the Elysees, Underneath it could Jones Falls roadbed, Parks

: be built the new super-speed . and plazas coufd be built on . the roofed areas, with parking ,facilities underground. \ -The eastern edge of the

Jones Falls extension could be used to build an historic park, which would contain the Shot Tower, Flag House and Ca­ton-Carroll mansion. Area homes could be restored to make the region an exhibit of antebellum Baltimore life. .

-The Lyric Theater could be enlarged and completed. Both' the 'Maryland Institute and the University of Balti­more could be expanded on their present sites off MOlint Royal avenue and Charles street.

The MetroCenter plan incor­porates without change some large-scale designs that nave already been . approved or planned. The 600 per cent in­crease in office space provi­ded by expansion of the State Office Complex in Mount Roy.: al and the long-awaited Lex­ington street shopping mall are both retained.

Major new highrise sugges­tions, other than those already

. planned for downtown, would !

include twin apartment towers flanking the Orleans street

' viaduct at Calvert street and north of the extension of Mer-

. cy Hospital. The plan has severaI'ver­

sions of the megastructure, in­cluding one of these l'!lulti-pur- · pose midrise buildings in the Lexington street retailing cor-

'. ridor and another that would span the JFX northwest of the War Memo~iar plaza. Built In Cells

A megastruct~re, as distin~ guished from a single build­ing, is a chain of multi-level, multi-purpose areas, built in cellular fashion and linked through malls, walkways and plazas,

Baltimore developers are expected to give close atten­tion to MetroCenter estimates of land use for central city areas by 1990. Service and manufactul:ing .areas would

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; barely increase · under the -plan, but institutional space

. would gain from about 3 mil-· lion up to about 5 million

.square feet. Heavy emphasis would be

given to boosting recreational, .... office and residential uses in '

central Baltimore, while com­mercial allotments would de· cline from about 7 million to about 6,5 I;l1iIlion square feet. The study shows ' recreation space would increase from about 1.5 million to 7.5 million square feet. 'Commuter Land'

Present commercial office space of about 12 million square feet, would be boosted to 18 million square feet. Resi­dential land would increase from 14 million to 21 miliion . square feet. "Firms are ex­pected to move into new build­ings, while older, less effiCient buildings are phased out," said the MetroCenter study .

During the development, manufacturing and wholesal-, ing - employment _ in the MetroCenter area would de­cline. It would increase slight­ly for hotel, management and construction employees and it

. would be sharply increased for . government, institutional, retailing, professional and commercia! workers.

Today the MetroCenter area . has f4 per cent of the metro- , politan area's employment and 20 per cent of retail sales' although it takes up only one­tenth oLI per cent ·of greater

I Baltimore's land area. .. It is "commuter land," for there is only one resident for

- every ten employees. The day­time population is 180,000 but there are only 18,000 residents. . The planning staff estimates that if MetroCenter becomes a reality it' might cost $994 mil­lion in private and public in­vestment. . -

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-20-Year "Central City Plan: biafted A long-range plan for the

renovation and rebuilding of the whole central area of Baltimore has been an-

. nounced by the Planning De­partment.

The proposal, known as the MetroCenter, which fore­sees nearly $1 billion in

public and private invest­ment by 1990, attempts to co­ordinate residential and com­mercial development as the 'Charles Center and Inner Harbor projects move toward completion. '

The plan generally . does . not attempt to set specific projects for each site in the 1,070 acres bounded roughly 'by North avenue, the Jones Falls expressway, Key high­way, Howard and Pine streets.

Instead, it delineates gen­etal areaS in downtown sec­tions Where apartments, re­tail bUildings, institutional expansion or parks would be most successful.

Among the suggested pos­sibilities for specific develop­ments and a four-block long "megastructure" on ~utaw street combining retail, of­fice and motel space and the construction of a platform for recreation over a 12-block section of the Jones Falls expressway.

The plan describes recom­mended lines -of growth until 1990.

In the northern portion Qf the area, the plan predicts major expansion of the insti­tutions and cultural centers on Mount Royal avenue and Preston street.

The State Office Building complex on Preston street is expected to expand from the present 1 million square feet of office space to 6 million.

The Maryland Institute,

Lyric Theater and Universi­ty of Baltimore should 'be able to expand to where they create one cultural-educa­tional unit, according to the plan. .

The growth of these instu­tutions is expected "to provide the impetus for residential middle-and high-rise apart­ments just north of the Jones Falls and to the south of Mount Royal avenue along Charles street and Maryland avenue.

The park-platform over the Jones Falls expressway would run beside and through this development from Howard street to Eager street.

-The plan views the B&O Railroad yards south of

. Pratt street as "the largest open space remaining within MetroCenter and. subject to major development."

It suggests the use of the air rights over the yards for the development of either a convention-conference center or a wholesale manufactur­ing and sales area.

The present plans for the Charles Center and Inner Harbor renewal areas are expected to 'continue with the construction of a downtown Community College of Balti­more, high rise apartments on the piers and more mun­cipal buildings south of the War Memorial Plaza.

As the new construction progresses, the plan predicts the continuing renovation of existing residential commun­ities along the edges of the

downtown areas. The sucCess of the plan de­

pends largely on the develop­ment of a rapid transit sys­tem and a downtown boule­vard system as .part of the

East-West expressway.

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priva e Interes sMuUing . $5 illion Project Here

"" .- , By JERRY ADLER Lombard Street are slated for ment." __ Downtown Reporter comnielical developme'nt. They A reliable source said the city

. A $50 million commercial pr<>- ~ pay for fuetn3e~~es with the has already bee~ asked t~ pe~t ject is under conside'ration by aid of federal loans, he explain- a hotel on the SIte but rejected It ;private interests in the downtown ed. for the time being because a 500-lbiock bounded ,by Charles, THE REST of the ·ect·11 room hotel is already slatoo for Hanover Lombard and Pratt . proJ. w~ Light and Pratt Streets in the In· Street.'t I ed tod ~ncompass housmg. ~ WIll ner Harbor I project.

.s, I was earn. . ay. mclude 1,500 to 2,500 umts of ex-Reliable ~ources mdlcate three 'peri mental construction and a Millspaugh said no ' official

.of th~ parties are Ja<;k Bayl1n, school for pubHc grammer and negotiations are underway for the :Allen Be~an . and Alvm . Snyd,er, junior high students. ClassrOQITls site in question but sa i~ he hc:s 'SUccessful busmessmen, who \\on for kindergarten to second grader been approached about It and IS

about 70 per cent of ~e proposed will be scattered throughout "delighted anytime pot e n t i a I SL'te. •. "moderate" income houses. developers indicate an in.terest."

• 'There is a big problem - The It may well be, Millspaugh said, city. It has designated the block that vhe five blocksMt being part ,of the Inner Harbor West developed with the $19 million m project, a $24.6 million urban federal and $5.5 million in local renewal plan for which Uncle Sam funds will be 'completed before the la:st week agreed to reserve a $19 neiohborhood phase of ,the project. million grant. The federal funds <> , , will be bolstered by $5.6 million in TIlE BLOCK slated for $50

.city loan funds. million in commerical improve-. ments would include, it is unders-BUT THAT is apparently only tood two 4o-story office buildings

enough to cover. housing units and a l.iOO-car garage and, perhaps"a school ca;ntrudioo. hotel. ' A portion of the Inner Harbor It might also include a ,bank. A

• West project, about five blocks l1lmor that Equitable Trust Co. induding the one at Olarles and will have a branch there was Hanover Streets, will utilize carefully fielded by a bank federal loans. according to Martin spokesman. ·Millspaugh, Charles Center Inner He said, "I can't say yes or no. Har,:,<>r Management 0 f [i c e We have been approached by al p resldent. number of developers in that area , "Those five blocks south of but have made no firm commit-

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~alvert Bujlding lIe

For Wrecl{er~s Ball Soon The Calvert Building, a 70-year. GSA has informed us that the

old Baltimore landmark at St. city wil be in touch with us." Paul and Fayette Street, \v111 be THE CITY LEASES the first torn down as soon as municipal eight floors for office space. Ren· offices are moved out of it. ovation- are under way at the

"The eventual plan is to raze Whittaker Building, . Guilford the 'building," said Charles E. Avenue and Saratoga Skeet, and Kinsey, senior vice president of operations there \v1thinDK·Avenw the Uruon Trust Company of the city is expected to move its Maryland, today. operations there within the next Gen~ral Services Administration three months.

announced Thursday that the Kinsey said the bank "will na· building had been sold by the turally agree to let them stay ... / federal govemment to the Union until their arrangements are com· Trust Company for S866,220. Threc pleted." . other films placed lower bids on Eventually, the .. 31·acre lot the property in April. . could become the sIte for a new

" . , . Union Trust building. - I . We hav~ n~t y~t dlscussed}nIS "Subject to proper zoning and

WIth the CIty, saId Kinsey, but permits," Kinsey said, "it will probably be surfaced for a park· ing lot until determinations can be made in connection with our own housing needs."

meHcan - JUIL' 6. Ig10

He emphasized that these plans are subject to city approval and possible change.

THE CALVERT BUILDIXG, as it stands today, is 12 stories and basement of brick and slone with more than 104,000 square feet of space. It was built in 1900 and gutted by the Great Fire of 1904.

It was acquired by the U.S. Veterans Administration after World War II for S800.ooo and has . ben OIVl1ed by the govel11ment ever since.

The city's lease officially ex· pires July 16.

Union Trust's dO\\11town head· quarters, at Baltimore and st. Paul Streets, is paltially sur· rounded by the Calvelt Building property.

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Inquiring Reporter .By TOM QUEST

The Ne.ws Americall will pay $5 ' for questiolls aliked in this coz,umn . . Address postcurds only to the Inquiring Reporter, The News American, B altimore f1202. Today's question is from Joseph T. Kasprak, 6721 Roberts Ave.

QUESTION: What is the fi rst place you would show a friend who has never be.en to Baltimore?

Asked Downtown

l\IRS. ROSLY~ CASSELL Secretary

. ' . Glen Burnie

The center of Baltimore and all the new development of the city . . . There are so many changes that bave been made ... Baltimore does not have all

... :..{)f those historical places . . . I ; : . would then take them to Haussner's Restaurant because it has good food and a museum.

BRIAN lUURPHY Office Boy

Baltimore County ~~flm"''''''F!''''

'I1he new Chades Center and the Morris Mechanic Theater . . . The new improvements in

=<""."" • .,.,,,,,, city have made a great dif· . .' ference in Baltimore .. . It was . a mess before . . . The Morris

Mechanic is one of the best looking buildings that I have ever seen.

CHARLES GREEN Carpenter

. I Baltimore County

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July.

CHRIS 'MOJCIK Clerk Typist Baltimore

, - \ r"~4 (4!!f:f.:eW.t-~ I would show them around · <r)?'_~ "'%t~

Mt. Vernon Place ... It is the E,;-;..·/",t. . I· ''''l most historical part of Baltimore rt ';#;;:fi?:t. lj and has the most monumen.ts l ... ~"~~ -/'\

G~II.e~ere aI}~ th~eWal~~~~~ ~. ;:,.9itl;~j Institute which would be of m· ~ 'i'h., .. >' '~I' , terest. to everyone ... Besides, , .... ,,":;(" __ . the area is so pretty. ,.,,:,:,~ ., ,-<:1':­

l;...4;.,. ,

FRANK T. BUTLER . District Superintendent of Parks

Baltimore

'~ ~~f~E~~: -hlY;.~¥;i\ that people wIH come down and '<;>,,:~~? spend their money for the benefit

" .''''':4~j' ,.I of the city . . . They would :::"":'i .::':~:;:.~: ~probably go to The Block.

l\1URRAY S'-\U~DERS Retired

Baltimore. '

~opkins Plaza and all the n~w ." . .4~:~" :; Baltimore has become a ruce " .,~ . ",.04 :

place for vi!;.itors. an~ I thir;k f:/~'--'£;l' .:. ; they would be mterested In ·. ."~;~ seeing all of the new develop-·ri\f:·<--Y~1.Z.."i ment that has taken place . " ·;" .. f';>j~" The Hopkins Plaza is a nice 4 1~" :}?';;JfJrJ ~lace for people to relax at lunch ( - ) "i;;ii,i time. I ~~~:~ c. ' ,',

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. Litte1· C(unpidgn LauncJled -~ ...

Clean Center City Aim By JERRY ADLER . /t:more St., east of Holliday C:;t .. -- The . downto\m anti-pollution Downtown-Reporter lena:1tr-,j by a slew of strip joint~ fight is being spearheaded by

The prestigious Committee for hock. shops and book stores. - Schaefer. CD is underwriting the -Downtown (CD), original sponsor I- No. he said, not over there. "r tab for 'signs. o~ dynamic (barles Center, today I do!!'t see us going over there. McNeal said neither Mayor launched a major effort for a Toat's a separate question." D'Alesandro nor Gov. Mandel w-as clean center city but it excepted i HE SAID TIL<\T the rest ot invi:ted. _ _ . _ -"'from its campaign the worst of- downtown, roughly bounded by the ...... • - • . .#

fender of litter the Block. Fallsway and Pra.tt, Paca and Assembled in the 200 block of E. Centre Sts. is included in the

Il Lexington St., City Council presi- ('"Impa~gn. - !

dent William D.. Schaefer and McNeal said it is felt "a filthy other municipal and CD officials downto"i1l. h~rts the ~ntire city pledged a three-pronged crack- because It IS B a I tIm 0 r e ' s down against burgeoning trash. showpla~e and the whole city has

• An unspecified increase in ~ ,taKe In downtown. sai1i~3t;on personnel is b e i n g He said present laws cover lit­mobilized for the center city. - terers but are difficult to enforce - . S eve r a I tho usa n d, downtown.

'I'f' chn;coior, 14 by 22 inch signs will be posted as encouragement

' t .• peGE'~trians not to litter. 0 , ~everal letters are being sent

to center city property owners • asking cooperation and urging : them to. place additional disposal receptacles at their shops and buildings.

. CD Executive Director Edward

I,J. MrNeal was asked whether the clean-up includes the Block, that'

.. thr~e:5l.lUare are a, al~ng Bal-I

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• cao-

An 'Omission ~ A MAJOR EFFORT to produce a clean center

.city has been launched by the prestigious Committee · for Downtown.

Working with city officials, the CD will under­take a three-pronged crackdown against the trash menace.

There will 'be . more city sanitation personnel. There will be several thousand signs posted to urge pedestrians not to litter. Letters to property owners will urge their cooperation and ask them to place extra disposal receptacles at their shops or buildings .

There seems to be one significant omission in the program, however. The Block, that three-square tourist mecca along Baltimore St. known for its strip joints and "book stores," has. been left out. .

'''1 don't see us goipg over there. That's a separate question," CD executive director Edward J. McNeal told reporters.

The Block has always been a world of its own, but this divorcement from the rest of the center city for clean-up purpo.ses leaves us a little puzzled. . . '

Trash is trash, and it's as unsightly on The Block as anywhere else. But perhaps the theory is that a clean-up there would somehow deprive the place of the present seedy, down-at-the-heels aroma ythich is part of its charm . .

Or maybe Block patrons are so bedazzled by the lights .and the girls they just don't notice the trash I

I Whate~er the. CD's rationalization is, another look : would appear to be in order. 1 .

10, 1970

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Wa erfront Hotel Bi{ s

Fac.e· Today's Deadline By JERRY ADLER

Today is H·Day . .

well. On the other, the older hotels seem to be having trouble.

By closing time at the Charles 'J;lIE EiHERSON stands closed Center-Inner Harbor Off ice, and empty. It is involved in a developers interested in an inner court dispute. City Solicitor harbor package which includes a George Russell tells us he is ready, 5OO.room hotel on Light St. Just to put it up for tax sale the minute beJ.m; Pratt St., must submit bids. the court allows him to do so,

Their reaction will tell a lot A modernization which owner about the hotel picture, which has Zanvyl Kriegel' says \\111 cost up a two-faced look right now. to S3 million is underway at the

On one hand, the Hilton, Holiday , Lcrd Baltimore. But it can't Inn and Sheraton 'Inn are doina match modern conveniences like

~ drive·in parking which are offered by the next-door Hilton.

The Southern has been sold to private interests. Other older hotels are said to be hurting.

Tony Kouneski at the Blatimore Area Convention and Visitors Council said there are more con-' vention people now than ever bef~. re and that they fill hotels I durmg the week. "

THE TROUBLE, he said,. is on weekends w~ there is a dearth i of conventions and a lack of j tourism.

Despite this situation, Charles Center officials are convinced there is a need for a new, water­fr~[lt" modeI~ hotel. One oUicial

j saId m April, II'hen the inner habor package (there's a 300-unit a~artment building, two garages WIth 1,500 spaces and 300,000 square feet of retail, olfice and commercial space in addition to the hotel) was offered, "a dozen hotekhain executives are inter· ested."

If that prediction pans out to­day, we'll have our answer about hotels. People must want new ones,

13 D~' ~ Z·· ~. ~ . T merman, 2d, and John A. Luet-. " eve opnlent ealns Bid kemeyer, of Baltimore.

, Gateway's proposal called for

F H · b H t 1 P · . development of the entire urban or ar or 0 e rOJect ' renewal site. It's pJan lists the operator of the hotel as the lTf

By KATHY KRAUS Sheraton Corporation of Ameri­ca. The YMCA of Greater Balti-

Three teams of developers- HOliday Inn chain submitted a more was listed as a possible including among their backers, proposal to const!:uct the hotel investor with plans tabuild a the Ford Foundation, American only. The architect named in the 40,000 square-foot men's athletic Motor Inns, and a west ~oast proposal was William W. Bond club. , . . . hotel chain-h~ve submItted Jr. and Associates of Memphis I Gateway s .archite~t IS LoUIS I.

. proposals to bUIld a SOO·room . ' .' ' Kahn, of Pbiladelphla, and the hotel in the Inner ' Harbor I pro. The corporatIOn. holds the Hol!- I contractor is John 'McShain, ject. day Inn franchise for much of Inc., of Philadelphia and Balti-

The hotel, a SOO·unit apart. the East Coast, and already more. ment building with parking for owns one Holiday Inn downtown. I The third bid was submitted 1,500 cars, and retail and office A second proposal was SUb./ by Harbor Plaza, Inc., of Balti­space, is e~t~mated to cost more mitted by Gateway Developers, more. This is a development than $20 nulhon to construct. a joint development venture team composed of McCloskey &

Holiday Inn Bid whose partners include the Ford I Company, Inc., builders and de-The complex is earmarked for Foundation, the Hammerman velopers, of Philadelphia.

'\ 5.5·acre site at the Southwest Corporation a subsidiary ?f S: L. , It. also included Western Inter­corner of Pratt and ' Light Hammerman OrgamzatlOn national Hotels, of Seattle, a , Streets. mortgage bankers, 1. H . . Ham~ large hotel chain which owns the

The hotel proposals were re- . Olympic Hotel, of Seattle, the ,ceived yesterday by the Cbarles Century Plaza, of Los Angeles, 'Center· Inner Harbor Manage: and the Continental Plaza, of ment, Inc. Chicago, as well as other hotels

American Motor Inns, Inc., of around the world. Roanoke, Va., representing the' The YMCA was also listed as

-. a possible investor in the Harbor . Plaza proposal, which, like the proposal submitted by Gateway; calls for develO'pment of the en­tire 5.5 acre site. .

Other possible investors in the : Harbor Plaza venture are Mary­land Cup Corporation and Paul K. Hampshire.

The team of architects was chosen by Harbor Plaza in­cludes Fisher, Nes, Campbell, & partners of Baltimore; Cochran, Stephenson & . Donkervoet of , Baltimore; and Sasaki Dawson, ' DeMay Associates, of Boston.

The three proposals will be submitted to a selection panel which will recommend one of tbe development teams to Rob­ert C. Embry Jr., the city's housing commissioner. He will decide whether to sell the site to the developer for construction of the project. .

Included in the sale of the land ,vill be air rights to allow construction of a walkway over Light street, wbich is slated to be the closest street to the har-

. Ibor. Calvert street will be part of Light street under current In­ner Harbor I plans.

The selection panel is expect-ed to make its recommendation within 90 days, but the earliestj"

rdate for the start of construction is set at mid-1972. .

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Hotel Complex Proposals Given , Three separate proposals for the development of a hotel .

comolex on a 5.5-acre urban renewal site at the Southwest corner of Pratt and Light streets were received yesterday ' by Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management, Jnc, The three teams r.f developers included among their backers the Ford 'Foundation, American Motor Inns, a West Coast hotel chain and possibly the YMCA. American Motor Inns, of Roanoke, Va" representing Holiday Inn, proposed to construct the hotel only. A second proposal, by Gateway· Developers, whose partners include the Ford Foundation, is for the develop­ment of the entire urban renewal site including, pOSSibly, a ' 40,000 square-foot YMCA athletic club. The third bid, this also for the entire' site, was submitted by Harbor Plaza, Inc"

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Downtown Reporter John Leutkemeyer, par,tner, In-By JEnny ADLER IYOrk, 1. H. Hammelman, partner,

Jubilant Charles Cemer-Inner ternational Tell and Tell Sheraton Harbor officials are screening Corporation of Ammica' pperator . proposals today which were sub- and Baltimore Young Men's mitted by three development Christian Association, :possibJe teams for a 500-room, waterfront investor. hotel. e H arb 0 u r p,laza Inc:

d I McCloskey and Co. Inc. of

1\vo proposab offer eve op- Philadelphia and Western In­ment oC a S20 million complex on ternational Hotels Co. of Seattle, .the west side of Light. St., ?ust principles and Maryland Coup ' sou~ of P~att St., Jncludl~g, Corp.. Paul K. Hampshire and beSIdes . a hotel, 1,500 parkmg. Yl\ICA possible investors. spaces m two gaTages, 300,000 ' . , square feet of retail, office and The ~urd proposal, f~r tne hotel commercial space and a 300-unit alone, IS from Amencan :1IIotor apartment buildinO' - Inns Inc. of Roano~e, Va., woner

o· of Holiday.Inns, of which there are THE THIRD proposal, at the already several here, including

same site, is for 'a 5OO-room hotel CIne at Lombard and Howard Sts. alone.

The two package developers are:

o 'Gateway DeveloPers: ' Ham­mernlan Corp. (a subsidiary of S. L. Hammerman Organization

Yi\ICA WANTS tv participare in the hotel development iva a Sl.5 million investment 011 condition the completed project contain a 40,OOO-square foot athletic club.

lll'c.), Ford Foundation ' of New Mortgage financing, it is un--- derstood, is aVailal;>le up to S3.2

million from the city's Off Street · Parking Commission for the $,500 public parking spots. .

J ohn Leutkemeyer who is part of the Gateway Developers team, is chairman of the board of Equitaplz Trust Co.

They said the McCloskey firm, part of Harbom' Plaza Inc. "was part of the development of the Blaustein B u i I din g , " and

'Hampshire is a local businessman. '

BOTII JEFF Miller' board I chairman ~d Mar tin Millwpaugh, president of Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management Inc. Said they are "very pleased."

Millspa ugh added Hi am delighted that three organizatiOJ~ of real substance submitted pro­posals. It is VE.'ry good for Bal­timore that people of this stature

. are interested. " He added~ "There people include some of

the largest hotel chains. Westem . has marc Ulan 120 hotels here and abroad. American Motor IrulS has about 35 on the East Coast. Spera-ton has more than 200 in this country and overseas.

"Out' highe:;t e»''})eCtatiolls are ~ulf.illed."

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·jjesuits Get lsFede ,

$300,000 Will Finance academi~ matters but also in the school will receive $30,000 of the preparation for college and grant.

2 Leal'nin I)' 'Cell tel'S careers. . The Paca street center will • 0 Special courses likely to be employ 23 persons from the

In BaltImore provided-in addition to stan- community not only to teach but dard subjects-include film also to help design programs,

By WELD~:-; WALLACE making, black history, African for "we are beginning with no [Rellgton Edttor 0/ The SunJ drama, silk screen production preconceived ideas," Father

Maryland Jesuits have re- and photograph. O'Brien explained. ceived a grant of almost $300,000 Instructors at the centers will Community Educational Sources from the federal "overnment to not wait for studenrs to appear. Beyond the youth level, he develop two cO!Tl~unilY learn- Inst~ad, "stree~ counselors" to co~!inued, the. centers will se~k ing centers tn Baltimore Mayor g.o mto the neighborhoods and to do somethmg for persons In

D' Alesandro announced' ye.ster _ fmel them. . . their 30's and 40's," ~e~ping West Side Center them to become better citizens

day. .' One center will operate on and to have a clearer under­- -Local representahves of the the west side in part of the standina of their childrens' edu-Society of Jesuits believe this is former St. Mary's Seminary on cationa! needs. . .

,the first time that the federal Paca street; this unit is ex- Father O'Brien who was or­. government has financed a pected to draw about 1,000 stu- dained only two years ago, said JEsuit project. de~ts a week, Father O'Brien he views this new venture as

It also is the first such project said. . . an oppo:tu!lity to. develop rich . conducted outside the Jesuit · On the .e~~t Side a center Will commumty educatIonal sources educa tion system according to share faCIlItIes tempora!,i1Y with outside. t~e traditional fixed ones the Rev. Andrew J. O'Brien, the. Ralph YOU?g. Boys School, now available. S.J., director of the Jesuit which the JesUits operate. in ~he Above all, he s~id,. "we wiII Education Association. The as- 1400 bloc~ of ~orth Caroh~e try to develop motivatIOn among I sociation is a federation of col- street for mner-clty youths.-Thls :the young." ~eges operated by the Maryland - -Province of the religious so· ciety.

First Classes For Girls This will- also be the first '

Jesuit high school-level teaching ever given to classes that in­clude girls, Father O'Brien said. Courses planned for them will include modeling and food plan­·ning.

The centers will begin operat­ing September 16.

The new units will be strictly secular. No religion is to be taught, nor wilt the Jesuit in­structors wear clerical garb.

Funds for the project are be­ing made available by the De-artment of Housing and Urban

Development through its local subdivision, the Baltimore Model Cities Agency.

Designed for persons between I the ages of 16 and 22, the pro­gram will be aimed at adapting education to individual needs in fresh ways, Father O'Brien ex­plained.

Special Efforts· Special efforts will be directed

toward students who have drop­ped out of school or who are having such difficulties in the classroom that without extra assistance, they may drop out.

Where needed, remedial help will be given. Counseling also Will be provided, with the aim of helping not only in immediate

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"'chaefer Plans Blight Fig'ht ,In Mount Vernon Place Park . William Donald Schaefer, garbage, look like abandoned re­president of the City Council frigerators." took a tour of Mount Vernon After viewintT the small dust place yesterday and promised bowl and the rOagged shrubbery ~fterwards to take steps to halt in the east square, Mr. Schaefer what has been called "galloping agreed that replanting was nec-blight" in the park there. essary. ·

The City Council :president' He also agreed that winter . said he would look into replac- salting of adjacent roads should

ing battered and overstuffed be controlled so as not to affect 'trash cans, repainting chipped the greenery. and carved park benches and Trash Cans Overflowing re·sodding barren pitches in the The ' time·honored trash cans park. in the park, most of them with

Complaints Sounded squashed rims, were indeed ov-Mr. Schaefer's afternoon visit erflowing. Mr. Schaefer suggest­

to the park with other city offi- ed replacing them with 30·gallon cials was prompted by com· wire baskets. '. plaints about conditions there Mr. Schaefer noted that the from Baltimore Heritage, Inc., a tourist office in the base of the non·profit preservationist organ- Washington Monument in the ization. park is to be repainted very

A resolution passed June 18 by soon. . the group's board members "Mount Vernon place has asked the city "to take emer- been one of the most beautiful gency measures to reverse the spots in the city," he said. ''It rapid deterioration of Mount can continue to be, but the city Vernon place" and to halt "gal· needs co·operation from the loping blight" in the park. public," he said.

"Lack Of Maintenance" The Peabody Institute and the The organization cited a "de- Mount Vernon Club, both adja­

plorable lack of maintenance" cent to the square, have prom­of plants and "unsightly trash ised co-operation with Baltimore cans which, even when they are Heritage in improving the area. not overflowing with trash and a Heritage spokesman said.

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'Slperblock' Prflposals The city has received three

proposals for developing the first lot in the western section of the inner harbor renewal program.

Bidders were asked t·) de­velop a plan for the "super­block" bounded by the water­front, Conway, Pratt and South Charles streets, where renewal programming calls for a $20 million apartment­-hotel·retailing complex in a midris~ format.

Bidders on the project were American 'Motor Inns, Inc. , (representing the Holiday Inn chain); Gateway Developers, a joint venture including the Baltimore-based Hammerman Foundation and Harbor Plaza, Inc .. and a development team including ilIcCloskey & Co., Inc ., Philadelphia contractors­developers who are building . the new Baltimore city post office building.

The 800·unit inner harbor plan would include a 500·room hotel, 1.5CO parking places and, under various options, 30;) new apJrtment units.

Bidders were allo'ved to pro­pose development of part, or all of the 5.5-acre harbor site.

, Gateway and Harbor Plaza :\ prop03oo developing the en-

I tire site. while American Mo­tor Inns bid only On the h'an­

I sient part of the complex.

New Jesuit Centers BALTIMORE shortly will witness one manifes­

tation of the philosophic upheavals that recently have shaken the Jesuit order in the United States and led

. to the closing of venerable Woodstock College, the center of academic life for members of the Society of Jesus. .

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~, The first Jesuit education project outside . the confines of the Roman Catholic order will get under way in ' Baltimore in early September. Using a $300,000 federal grant-also a Jesuit first-Maryland Jesuits will open two community learning centers . . Their purpose will be to provide remedial help in liigh-schoolle'vel subjects to school dropouts or those having difficulty in school. The Jesuits also will /?ffer special courses tailored to the interests of inner city youth, and provide a counseling service.

Priests will forego clerical garb in working as teachers, and they will go out on the streets to ac­tively recruit potential students of the learning centers. ~. The Baltimore project is a good example of the type of work in which Jesuits more and more will become involved. Where Jesuits at Woodstock studied in a cloistered setting and were mainly con­~erned with philosophical matters, the new direction 0'£ the Society of Jesus is aimed at achieving more practical goals with projects that will benefit social change in the United States. With the closing of Woodstock, for instance, ' Jesuits moved their center to Manhattan as a concrete symbol of their commit­ment to improving urban life.

Baltimoreans can consider themselves fortunate to have a ringside seat for the new Jesuit movement. The learning. centers are innovative undertakings, and we wish the order all success . .

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n Ca led 'A Mist til rte ' . were termed "soft," which The dentist said that in the

Plan g Dmt Member mcans they are "Ihose older nearly nine years that he and d Tl buildings with high vacancy his family have lived at their

Had Approve Ie rates and low assessments." BalIan Hill house, "we've put Demolition Of Her "Their sites," . the MetroCen· many t.hou~a~ds of dollars into

. tel' plans say, "are suitable for renovatmg l.t. . ' . OW11 Home redevelopment." .Larry Re:ch, the clty'planrung

"There has been no vacancy director, said yest;.rday ~hat t~e on my block for at least 16 MetroCenter plan certamly did

By KATHY KRAUS ttl . I d t d Irt ye rs" Mrs Harris lamented no m en 0 ec are any pa .A membe: ~f the city's Plan· ye~te~day . "And besides, our as- of Bolt~n Hi.ll "soft" and that

DIng CommissIon has approve? sessments have tripled since the deSignatIOn would be cor-

I a plan that calls for the demoh- e've lived here." reeted. lion of about 50 Bolton Hill w "Ob ' I l\f d" He pointed out that the plan Is homes, including her own. VIO.US y a ., not an "official" plan of the , Planning Department spokes- Not only IS Mrs.. Hams 5 city. .

h the "soft" lIst but the men sai~ that the whole thing house ant 131 W t L'afa ette The MetroCenler plan was de-was "a mIstake." ouse .a es y veloped after a four-year, $135,­I Mrs. Barr Harris, who lives at stre~t IS also slated to go, ac, 000 study conducted and ft­; 1309 John street in a house that ~ordJl1g to , the plan. T,~at h?use nanced jointly by the city Plan-

has been part of the Maryland IS owned b~ Dr. Ah ill Alsen- ning Department, the Mount Pilgrimage Tour, approved a re- berg,.a ?entJ.st a~d a member ~f Vernon . Area Neighborhood port issued by the Planning De- the cIty s ~tstorJC~1 and Arc~l- Council, the Greater Baltimore .

. partment June 26 called Metro- t~ctural PleservatlOn Commls- Committee, the Charles Street:

,Center. . "" Sl~~ think it's funny," Dr. Association and the Committee

I DeSignated Soft Aisenberg said. "I have no idea for Downtown. !

M~troCenler, a 20-year ~lan to who is resp'onsible, but whoever The plan calls for developing , rebUIld the center of B~lt~mo-:e, he is is obviously mad." some 1,072 acres in. the area defines structures wlthm Its bounded roughly by North ave-bou as either "hard" or nue the Inner Harbor Green: . "soft. . , ,

mount av~nue and Fremont ave-Mrs. Harris's property, as , nue over the next 20 years.

f~_:,as th.~,t 'of her.~eighbors Referring to the Bolton Hill

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question: ''It was a mistake," Mr. Reich said. .

Those blocks deelared "soft" are the odd side of the 1200 and 1300 blocks of John street, the even side of the 1300 block of Rutter street, the odd side of the 100 block Lafayette -street, and the .odd side of the 100 block of Lanvale street.

Recent sales on those blocks vary between $15,000 and $21,-500.

James D. Hall, a city planner who has worked on plans for MetroCenter for two years, said that those streets declared "soft" are "some of the· most beautiful streets around." . " .,

He said: "It looks like we sh~~\'ed pictures of it in a pam- I made a mistake," phlet printed in 1968 on Balti- ,

The Planning Department Imore's historic areas. t thought so much of Mrs. Har- ' "I would have appreciated it ris's street two years ago that it if they [city planners] .would . . nave told me about the mis- '

' take " !\Irs. Harris said yester­I day, after spending a whole day 'trying to determine if, in fact, it' was.

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'Schaefer De'nies City O.j(.' d i ,

Stlident Bus .. F are Rebates By KATHY ERAUS

The president of the City I Not even explored by the ,Council said yesterday that the school department, Mr. Schae, decision by the city 's Depart· fer said, is a modified identifica· ment of Education to stop issu· tion card system, with each ing permit cards to students card containing a laminated pre· who ride buses to school has not I ture of the student for identifica·i been approved by the city ad· tion by the bus driver, Another ' ministration. card system could be based on a

William Donald Schaefer, the monthly pass issued to each stu· . council chief, said the dent who rides the bus. Such a D'Alesandro administration has pass would contain dates of each "never been informed" of the I day that school is in session, school' department's decision to ' allowing the student to ride to

'replace the permit cards with school and from school, but not cash rebates to parents who to joyride. must first pay cash for their Chaos Was Result children to ride buses. Last year's system of student

Mr. Schaefer said the newly identification cards resulted in announced system would pose a chaos. Cards were stolen, stu· ' "hardship" on many parents dents skipped school and rode who cannot find 30 cents in all around the city for free, per· change for each child every sons not attending school used morning. the cards, and students passed

Fraud Feared their cards to friends out bus ~ Besides, Mr. Schaefer said, windows. "the state might end up paying The Department of EdUcation for trips that were never announced plans for the cash,re· made." bate system early in the sum·

The state will foot the bill for mer, but later amended the the cash rebates, but Mr. Schae, plans to allow indigent students fer said the city will disburse to use the card system: the money to the parents if the School officials are currently new system is actually put into considering ways to get cards to , effect. an estimated 12,000 poor stu·

Mr. Schaefer said he will dents whose parents are unable question school officials about t~ pay 30 cents a day for round· the plan at a meeting he has trip bus fares. called for Friday. Also invited to Need Acknowledged I attend the closed·door session Transit officials want the card

, are Walter J. Addison, general system used by the entire stU' jl ' manager of the Metropolitan dent bus,riding population-not Transit Authority and represen· just by poor students. But they I

tatives 'of the city's disburse· acknowledge that any card sys· ! ments division, which would l tem must be drastically modi· make rebates to parents. lfied from last year's system.

He said the new system of Under the newly announced rebating bus fares to parents I pl~n, parents must give their llvice a year "raises all sorts of chIldren bus fare daily, but problems," and "I'm not sure I would receive $27 in February approve of the entire thing any· ~nd again in July in compensa· , way." han.

Approval Needed Whether the parents receive The council president said the full $27 twice a year would

that the school administration depend , however, upon school cannot make a decision on the I attendance records which would plan without the approval of the show how many times the stu· city administration and of the , dent attended .school that semes· Metropolitan Transit A!Jthority. I te~.

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, JIigh-Rise Plans Scrapped ...

Economic Faclors fieet. roject ~ By Paul D. Samuel I

.: Inflation, rISIng construction Cascade Urban Development" a Section 236 of the National Hous­costs and other economic fac- subsidiary with a branch office ing Act would be the most finan­tors have snagged progress on in Washington, ,said that Sec~ion cially feasible," . the planned :construction of a .236 (moderat~ Income) hOUSIng . Frank Dunton, head of the liixury high-rise apartment / de- IS under scrutInY. . " land development division of the velopment in the Mount Vernon .' Mr, Olson ~Iso l~dICated that Department of Housing and renewal area, ~ne cOl11pany IS ha,:,mg p:obl~,?s Community Development, said

, , In puttmg togethel the fInancial that Boise Cascade has until ' ~BolSe Cascade Corporalion, backing necessary to construct S b 5 t ' b't f 1"

\'(hich the city selected to devel- the development. leptemto

he~ Iff' 0 su ml ma 2 2 It" d d b "tTT' t'll' th f pans IS 0 Ice. op a , acre 0 uoun e y n e ,re S I In ,e pr?cess ,0 No construction will take

Calvert, Centre, St. Paul and anal~sls !,r0m the fInancl~1 pomt place on the site until HCD has 1'.,onument streets, has, presently of View, l\~~, ,Olson said, He approved final plans and deeded sc~apped plans to bUlld a 333- ~dded, that gJVe~ the sev~re the land to the developer. __ umt luxury apartment house on fmanclal constramts," HOlse _. __ _ the site. Cascade has concluded that "a

Having Problems project of similar scope under "What the company will con­

struct on the now-cleared land is uncertain at the present time, but 'Richard Olson, director of lP!lstern operations for Boise

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Sellftefel· Pledges ]Fig it

p s f o al By JERRY ADLER Sondheim is presently on a maJJ was tl:!at we asked merchants Down1own Reporter month-long vacation in Europe along the 2- b I 0 c k site, from

City Council President William following retirement after 41 yeal'S LibertY to Howard streets, to pay . D. Schaefer today pledged a fight with Hochschild Kohn. Sondheim half the tab. They rebelled at to make the Ion g - d 0 r m e. n It was chainnan ot the city School paying their $150.000 share."

· Lenginton Street 1\o~an proposal the Boa<rd when the Supreme Court Now, he said, :the city can put up hlst order of business in Metro deseg1reating deci ion was an- two thirds 01 the cost and he Center. nOl~ced, and was chairman of .the thinks involved merchants \\ill be

The Metro Center Concept, .a $1 Baltimore Urban Renewal and wilting to pay for benches, trees biULon, 1,OOO-acre master plan for Housing Agency when Chal1les and other landscaping. de\-elopment of dmv11to\V1l, in- Center was unveiled. THE }IALL WAS first proposed volves "closing Lexington Str~t Schaefer said Lexington Street 12 yeaTS ago by the Planning from Charles Center to the retall Mall has been contemPlated by Council of the Greater Baltimore core to traffic except emergency the city for many years. "It WaB Committee as a $5 million, vehicles." . under way and then got enclosed, double-deck corridor. It

Plans would: "Create a pedes- sidetll:acked. About a year ago, at was· revived in 1963 by local · trian mall with booths, benches was, to all extents and purposes, a architects Tatar and Kelly as a 1 · and trees to serve the heaviest dead issure." million, unenclosed, overhead · pedestrian. t r a f I i c in Met~'O "I ATTE~IPTED TO revive it coridor. I Center_ Direct access to rapid and generated some enthusiasm In 1967, the mayor's trouble-· transit station under Eutaw city acrencies and big shooter, Buzzy Hettleman, said a · Street," Shae[er stated. ~mollfo busi~ess The main $1 million planning loan might be · SCH.<\EFER S;'-ID ~ltE mall p~~~e~~vas finan~g and I think ~ked for the mall. Today, he said , can be launched .Imm~a~ely. and this has been solved by an item we struck out o~ the. loan .and we I · should be "the ~rst pnonty ltem included in the present city struck o~t on ledel~ aId. ;?>n , in Metro Center. . - b fI t" Schaefer IS on top of It now. · He, revealed he ~as sent a letter uT~:' item, he revealed, is

to \l,alter Sondhelrrl Jr., Charles S200 000 from pavin<7 tax revenue Center~Inner H~1'bor ~ranagement \\'hi~ is in the public works Inc. vice preSident-m-charge of budget for .the mall. . Metro Ce~ler, ~ king for a l!:eet- He said "the troubl<> with the I iog "ith hinl. Ned McNeal, rorec· T

tor of the Committee for 00\11-to\m and city depal't7ncnl heads to I get Lexington Street Mali' moving.

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Hyman Wan s tush _For §idewal~{ Cafes'

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By J ERRY ADLER I "It just isn't ·practical in a [ Domltown Reporter park," Waltjen said "and Ross

understood why it couldn't be Comph'oller Hyman Pressman done."

is anxious to have sidewalk caf::?s He said. others who had cafe here and is willing to buck the proposals understood why they , Charles Center·Inner Harbor :'I3.1I. were impractical. . I agement Office 10 get them for the Charcoal Heal'th. . NO ONE HAS ever "really

Pressman said he was told by pushed hard" once we explained the prior owners, Tom Ross and the problems and we hope that

. sons, they wanted to place tables someday, perhaps as part of -the with chair!; along the outside wal! I third apartment tower, soon·to-be­of the restaurant on the Hopkins i built by the Mullans, a Rockefel­P laza side but Charles Center uf- ler Center-type, outside cafe can ticials said no. . become practical, he said.

"'Dhis city needs sidewalk Charcoal Hearth Director Joel cafes," Pressman told the new Barish said he is "all for it" if owner, Dr. N. Burton Grace, !'and "we can get approval, somehow." I 'm so sure it is a good thing for "We expect to push hard for it our citibens that I'll fight Jeff in time for the 19TI spring sea­Miller (Charles Center Board son," Dr. Grace said. President) over it!" . "We aren't pressing for it this

NORi\IIL" WAL'l'JEN, a vice year because by the time We got president of the Charles Center It approved, summer would be Office said " 'e aU" fo dl look over. 'I ' . :\ .n y "However, it is something that upon the addItion of outSide cafes, Baltimore most definitely needs but the one propose? by Ro:>s, and I hope the Charles center/ ,vould have been In HopklIls eo Ie aaree." P laza, a park, and "that means p p '" . no drinks, and it means narrow-.ing the walk space too much at the side of the restaurant for tables, umbrellas and waiters." .

Besides, he said, such outside use is limited to about three months - June, July, August - I and is lessencd even more in en-I joyrnent due to rain, heat and dirt. _ J

\

RENEWAL I~AP" The r:::~~~sI~:n~~t a cost

HELD 'UllRO JG' of $135,000 by Planning Depart. n 11 ment personnel and outside con· • ' I sultants and was released in

early July aiter at least two:

M t C t CI t D f· . years' work e ro en er 1R1' e In S Mr. Reich' said that the print.

Usable, Unstable Buildings er was not to blame for the-

By KATHY KR.\uS

The city's planning director said yesterday that a widely cir· culated map in the Planning De· partment's $135,000 MetroCenter report is "really wrong and we ' don't intend to 'use it for any- : .thing." •

The map, which designates : the structures in the business area of Baltimore as either "hard" or "soft"-in other words, as stable structures or as buildings which should be torn down-has "many errors in it," , according to Larry Reich, plan-

errors. _ "It was a lot of people's

, fault," he said. "But not the printer's. Let's just say it was staff errors."

"Stable; Intensive Uses" J

The "hard" structures are de­fined on the map as "those ' buildings with stable, intensive uses. They are expected to reo' main indefinitely and can gener­ate new developments around them:"

Ining director.

Plan Hits Home . The map, which shows "hard" . structures in brown and "soft"

"Soft" structures, on the other ~ hand, are described as "older buildings with high vacancy rates, and low assessments. Their sites are suitable for re-development." . ~

Among those sites colored blue, or "soft" are about 50 Bol­ton Hill properties, including the: home of Mrs. Bnrr Harris, a Planning Commission member, ­and Dr. Alvin Aisenberg, a member of the Historical and Architectural Preservation Commission, who both said they put thousands of dollars into re­storing the homes. '

structures in blue, indicates sec­tions of Bolton Hill as "soft," including the homes of a Plan­ning Commission member and a member of the city's Historical and Architectural Preservation Commission.

Mr. Reich said that all proper­ties shown in blue-meanincr they are "soft" and ready fo;' redevelopment-are "reany pretty 'hard.' "

The errors occurred, the plan­II ning chief said, "by superimpos­ing two negatives."

"Detailed Explanation" He said the map will be re­

printed and that the corrected map will contain "a detailed ex­planation. "

The map, which is contained in a colorful pamphlet released by the Planning Department" early this month, is being cov· ered ovel' by a "paste-up," Mr. Reich said. The paste-up tells the map's reader that the "in­formation indicated in blue is wrong and the map should not be considered definitive." ,

The Planning Department or.' dered some 8,000 pamphlets and , 8,000 30-page MetroCenter re- ' ports at a cost of $12,000. All '8,000 pamphlets, including those already distributed, contain the erroneous maps. • . '.

The _ IetroCenter plan calls for a 20-year redevelopment of the business area of Baltimore, extending approximately from the Inner Harbor to North ave-nue.

J

, . ,

GardenCluh§ Aid Sought By JERR1< ADLER DO\\lltown Reporter

Charles Center offidafs are trying to invoive private garden

. clubs in the care of downtown flower beds.

The idea is 19 invite garden and flower clubs from the Greater Baltimore Area to tend ·Bower

beds in median strips already park pel-sonnel for their flower planted witli cherry trees and plan. An off-the-cuff survey WlllS

elms. made by Parks and Precreation Three such medians run along Superintendent Doublas Ta\\11ey.

Baltimore St., Park Ave. and He reported to Charles Center Hopkins Place. within Charles people that it would not be feasible Center. for park employees to handle the ~HARLES CEKTER 'officials flower beds beca~e the mainte­

first sought help from municipal nance .would be too mvolved.

/'

Besides, he suggested, It would be too costly if city employes were used.

PARI~ BOARD chairtnan Joseph Rash confirmed that position and added: "It . would be garbage if it, wasn't kept properly."

But Martin Millspaugh, presi-dent of Charles Center-Inner HaT­bor Management Inc. thought ,turning flower-tending over to private ladies' clubs might ac­complish two objectives . . First, it would obviate the tax

cost. Second, it would bring the ladies

downtown, \\!here more people llire needed to liven up the new center city.

OF COURSE, the lowers would have to buck air pollution.

Park officials actually like the idea.

- Jut" 31, ,Q70 --------------------~-----

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r

J'~~---~./

- - - I 'We Have TooNlany People,' I

Reservoir Hill Tells City: r- Impatience inarked the meet- the problems and lump them

ing of Reservoir Hill residents together, but you · still have to and city officials last night as take it by the block and by the about 40 persons showed up to street," Mrs. Rachel Galusca tell the planners what should be I told the officials. done with the area north of Mr. Davis emphasized that North avenue and west of the last night's meeting was only a Jones Falls expressway. start and that residents are ex-

"We have too many people. pected to corne up with sugges-, Anything that's overloaded will tions themselves. cause a breakdown, and this One woman suggested that the neighborhood is at the edge of a median park on Mount Royal breakdown," Roscoe Herring, terrace be used as a playground an area resident who is chair- for children. "All it would take man of the Neighborhood Action is a little supervision there," she Group, said. said.

,Asked what the city Depart- Another woman complained of ment of Housing and commu-!the drunks loitering in the Whi­nity Development is doing now telock street commercial area, . to help the community, Thomas though no one disagreed when W. Davis, chief planner. replied o.ne of Mr. Davis's staff men­that the agency was taking so- lioned that the stores seem cio-economic surveys: ideally located for the neighbor-

"There has to be ' a starting hood. place, and all we're doing now is l The next meeting. tent~tively I startina" Mr. Davis said. He scheduled for August 13, IS sup­'said , a<>fInal rehabilitation plan pose? t? discuss populati~n might meet City Council approv- denSity ill the area. Mr. DaVIS al "by late next spring possi- urged everyone to come back bly_" 'and bring his neighbor, too,. so

The area is bounded by the that as many people as pOSSible Jones Falls Expressway on the might p~rticipate. east Druid Park Lake drive on I He said several alternate pro­the 'north the alley behind le- posaJs might be completed by Culloh st~eet on the west and late fall or the end of the year if I North avenue on the south.' citizen participation is good.

"When are you going to start with specifics? We can take all ,

olton Hill la

By Larry Carson

A city plan to restrict access , to Bolton Hill by closing most ,through streets into the neigh­'borhood is floundering in uncer-tainty following a trong vote to

i reject any such plan taken at a community meeting recently,

At that meeting, called by the ?l10unt Royal Improvement As­sociation, about 165 of 225 people , in attendance voted to reject any insulation plan."

Several alternative plans, iI1-eluding one backed by the im- , ' provement association leader­ship were rejected,

Apparently surprised by the ' large "no" vote, neither the i,m- ' provemen~ association nor cIty planning and housing officials , know what to do next.

M, Jay Brodie, Deputy city 'housing commissioner, said yes­terday that the department ,of Housing and Community De~ : i velopment is awaiting written word from the Mount Royal As­sociation before deciding how'to

Ii proceed, '

Association View Spokesmen for , the improve-

ment association, and tl)e city indicated yesterday that approv­al of one of the plans involving insulation of the neighborhood by closing streets had been tak­en for granted and that it was only to decide which alternative to accept that the meeting was, called in the first place,

Warren Anderson, chief city ,planner, said he is waiting for the housing department to de­cide what it wants to do before' presenting a proposal to the planning board. Any proposal 'would have to go before the city council -lor final approval, he 'added.

/

Alan Rothenberg, president of " the Mount Royal Improvement Association, said yesterday that his group is unsure what to rec­ommend, This indecision leaves the entire process as far away from realization as it was when first proposed in 1963.

The several plans involving the closing of streets deal com­monly with restricting acces.s from North avenue, Eutaw street on the West, and Dolphin street on the south, with con­flicting plans for rerouting Mount Royal avenue away from the community's edge.

Despite Promise ; ,Despite his promi.se to those attending the recent meeting to follow their recommendation and seek its prompt implemen- , tation. 1\1r. Brodie said yester­day that questions have been raised as to the representative nature of those at that meeting.

Mr. Rothenberg, who also ad­mitted surprise at the strongly negative vote, that "a great deal of confusion" has resulted.

He said a regular' meeting of the association, which had backed some form of insulation, would not be called until Sep­tember, when the matter would come up again, ' '

Meanwhile, a separate group of 35 to 40 residents is busy collecting petition signatures from those who want the plan

I originally approved implement· ed without further delay.

This alternative, originally ap- ' proved in 1963 a's part of the , l'vladison Park North urban r~

I newal project, was discarded by , Jhe city because of the expense and difficulty in building a pro-posed service drive behveen Mount Royal Avenue and Bolton Hill.

A spokesman for the petition groups said the Signatures will be presented to . the Mayor next , week. '

Mr, Rothenber.g added that possibly further meetings would be held in the area before the association puts its feelings in writing to the Housing depart­me~t.

·EYeni!N Su~- Auq. 3, IQ70

More Meetings That alternative, further meet- '

ings, received only 14 votes at the June meeting,' • .

The association originally called its meeting in order to allow residents of Bolton Hill to express their preference be­tween se\'eral street closing in­sulation plans which differed ~.,1" in plans for Mount Royal aveilue,

.', \':'l'.sing department amend­ment submitted to the planning' board,in January had been with­drawn after members of ths as- ' sociation objected, sul>mitting , their own alternative, Mr. An·' derson said. '

According to Mr. Rothenberg, ­the street closings are needed to. preserve and protect Bolton Hill's residential status amidst growing office complexes and ·

', increased traffic on its fringes.

Second of a series. By JERI:Y ADLER

News' ,\ll1crican Staff Writer There are curiously opposing

forces at work downtown, one tugging forward, the 0 the r backward. So far, the white hat is leading the black.

There is, on Ule asset side, the , $150 million Charles Center. a

monument to the bold imagination of people like Jeff Miller, Bill Ewald, Walter Sondheim, Charles Buck and Hunter 1I105s; the $300 million waterfront redevelopment,

an extension of Charles Center and the entire central business district chain reaction to it.

WITHOUT CHARLES Center would there have been two magnificent Blaustein Buildings, a new police headquarters nearby, several new office buildings (Arlington, First M a l' y I and, Telephone Co. ), a reconstituted Playboy Club minutes away and a huge, new, main post office within looking distance?

On the debit end sits the empty, fodom-looking Emerson Hotel, its

future still in the courts. Auction­ed, too, was the Athenian-temple­like office building at South and Redwood Sts. because of 111e ex­pense in modernizing it.

THERE'S THE saga of t11e SSOO, 000 Charcoal Hearth, a magnificent restaurant which is part of Mechanic Theater, whose O\,l1ers, the Ross family of Rich­mond, sold out to Dizzy Dean Inc., a fast-sale franchise operation from Mississippi. It is said the Dean people wiJI continue to run

Ithe Hearth as a posh dinery. They, have, to prove it, hired a German-

, descent chef. But it is an ominous ' sign to some that the restaurant was sold.

S chI' a ff t ' s Restaurant, nationally-respected for its food and service, is due to move in on the other side of Hopkins Plaza from the Healih but it isn't hur­rying. And on the second floor of the Schrafft Building, intended for a bank, lack of interest has led' to

a change which \\~Il bring several shops instead.

,TEANl\1ULE, the Downtown I .Merchants' Association is con-I c:erned enough about improvi.ng business fo talk of ha"ing a pro­motion bureau and changing I t l' a ditional Monday-Thursday evening open hours to , switch ' Friday lor Monday. ' I

There is, Ito go back to the happy side, th,e MetmCcnter proposal, an all11ost-S1 billion guide or master I plan for 1,000 acres of center city, including Charles Center and In- I ner Harbor. -

And a group of eagle-eyed developers is hoping to put a $50

I million commercial project in the I block bounded by Charles, Hanover, Pratt and Lombard Sts.

THERE ARE FOUR fast· food shops which have opened down- ! town during the past year, yet several big restaurants are in tJ 'ouble because suppertime is a yawn instead of a snort.

The Civic Center has added $7,000 in higher-intensity lights to circle itself ,dth sunshine which is supposed to make lowlifes wary of committing misdeeds. Yet, due to misdeeds following rock and soul shows, the arena had to shut off evening shows.

I Though the Emerson sits decaying, the Hilton is doing fine

I and preparing to e:»-pand. And, another, 5OO-room hotel is slated I for Light St. just below Pratt St. in ' the llmer' h~'bor redevelopment.

TWO SHOPS AT the apartment towers in Charles Center, one a ladies' dress shop and the other a men's hail; styling parlor, failed. '

Yet, shops neal' Mechanic Theater .are O,K.

The twin towers a're filled to 400- . unit capacity and a third tower is

lsoon-to-be-built for 300 more. Yet, there are evenings after 6 p.m.

'when you can shoot a cannon oii' ,Fayette St. at Charles Center fac­ing west, and hit no one: . . ,

Gentlemen II, Cy Bloom's Alley and .other top dineries are for sale

,at the light price. But, jUst this year, the Bar Ass 0 cia t ion Restaurant opened atop the Arlington Federal B u i I din g " Charcoal Hearth was sold but is being renovated and Ian eatery

topened in the British American Building. •

J _ ' "

wsAmwCQ () - ~q.

t AU, SU31MJo.:R peOple came to

the Charles Center's three plazas to lunch, romance, enjoy the at­mosphere, look at the "Energy" statue, watch musicals (or dem­onstrators of all sorts). Yet, l\!echanic Thea1er had about two monUls of dark d~ys:

Scotland Yard, · a ' traditional di~cl"Y diagonall)', ilcross Fayette S1. from City Hall, is closed. But, 10 Downing St.. a sinlilar cafeteria of historic note, across Calvert St. from the shut Emerson Hotel, is busy 24 hours a 'day.

The Civic Center is 111e biggest downtown attraction yet it can't , seem to book stars like 'Dean Martin, Moms Mabley, Barbra Streisand and the like.

THE I1'I'F ANT Convention and Visitors' Council has tripled in two years the $25 million in revenue that came tp the city prior to its inception, It even put in a down, town information booili. Yet, in limbo is the idea for a convention hall atop the Civic Center.

, V;lJ1at is all that, doctor, '/ scliizophrenia? Or is the dual personality of downtown merely a reflection of that ability or lack ot it which makes some a success I and others a failure?

' In 'any ca:se, t11e over-all picture_

shows the patient to 00 Overcom. ing rejection of hIS downtoWn

. heart. Perhaps a little enthusiasm ;l over his progress would spur hini to faster full health. . ,('

l j .• -' - ~ • ~ # .. _

.0

ve § Third Of A Series

BJ' JERRY ADLER Xe\\'s American Staff Writrr

Docs anyone 01111 downtown? Say the bankers or big businessmen or political bossE's? Actually, it looks like there is no mys:erious cartel or indil·idual. You 01111 it.

That is not to say it was ever thus. Greater Baltimore Commit-

tee Director William Boucher III feels BCC (Before Charles Center) there was ' a triumverate which had "very, very substantial downtown holdings." The trio was Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Co., Morris Mechanic and Allen Wurtzburger .

But the two individuals have passed on and the bank is not as all-poweIiul as it once was, ac­cording 10 Boucher.

"TA.XPAYERS OWN down-10I1~1," he said, adding "even though Jacob Blaustein has his owri buildings and the Davidson

Building and Johns Hopkins and 0e Archdiocese have great hold­mgs."

But, he said, ~he citizenry owns downtown because the biggest OI'mer there now is the govel11-ment, local, state and city. "And, though we tend to forget it" Boucher said, "we are the government. "

Wha1 about the polifician? Said Boucher: "George Hocker has no. property downtown. Jack Pollack

. has had and still has some but his ol'mership hurts him rather than helps him because, for instance, if he weren'.t the owner of the Rivoli Garage, lt would long ago ha been developed. ve

"Irv KovE'ns makes no impact on downtown real estate. Willie Adams has a slight impact via his

bre~ald~ve, Allen QUille, who is Ul mg an inne h bo P hi Ii I' ar I' garage.

b"" ~ Goodman olVns a few small ..J.dmgs. '

~~LLACli, a power in local ?ohtics for 30 years, has had his ~surance office dOl\lltOlI11 about . e same, length of time. Inter­

. Vlewed at his RedwO<?d St.' inner

} .

y. sa 1clum, where he sported a blue bo.\· tie a top a blue shirl, he said "\le cily adminislration runs do,l·nloll'l."

He added: "1 don 't beliel'e tile banks run it.

The Archdiocese hi s a lot of pro­perty but so do corporation a nd some individuals. Blaus ein mUst have 800 miilion dollars himself." .

John A. Luetkemeyer is chair­man of tile board of Equitable Trust Co,., one of the downtown

banking films which holds I massive amounts of property in trust.

Reticent to discuss whether banks "01111" downto\V'll, he nevertheless, said "there is no question that we and others hold a

great deal of p~perty in trustand that makes for a sort of control."

"But," he explained "not by any yarostick is there the kind of con· trol some people t h i nk . Trusteeships involve so manY others besides us, that it is not control."

IF A,1'YO~E owns dOlllltOl\11, he said, it is a tie between 1:\vo giants for which has more. One is the Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. and the C&P Telephone Co. (buildings, overground and un­derground equipment- on the one hand and governmental agencies on the other. .

John G. ArjJlUr, municipal assessment director for more years than he cares to count, se· conds the Luetkemeyer pinpoint. "The largest Olll1ers dOl\11town are the gas and electric and telephone companies," he said.

Second largest, he said, are govemmental holdings, which he listed'as follows : . .

The police building, War Memorial Building, City Hal l Plaza, City Hall, Post Office. Court House, Federal OffiCI) Building, Customs House and ' State Office Building. . Private Olll1ers, he said, ar~ dispersed. "Billy Siskind O\\l1S trot Hilton. The Goldman Brothe:.. 01111 the Equitable and Mtmse.~· buildings, Zanvyl Krieger Olm~ the LOi:d Baltimore Hotel. And th'1 various banks have holdings .~ trust."

o. :1

CO.\Il'THOLLER H y m all Pressman has a surprise ansll'£!: for who O\\'IJS downtowlJ. "Bi~ Boucher." he !'aid, without a m() memt's hesitation. "Of all tht people downtown, Boucher ha! more influence at City Hall, · witi: the news . media and with impor. tant people. He has exerted 'more influence on important decisions than those in high public office. He is aliiculate, intelligent and stubborn ."

City Council Vice President Jack Edelman has spent 45 of his 70-plus years dOlllltOl\l1. He's been a councilman for . 31 .years. He knows downtown. . -

"If by olming dOlllltown, you mean which fan1ilies," he said "then the most powerful are the Hoffbergers. Of course, you mustn't forget J acob Blaustein."

THE BASKS, as such, do not control dO\I~tOlVll , he said, but the strongest is Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Co.

City Council President William -D. Schaefer said dO\Vllto\V:tl is o\Vlled by ihose large merchant$ of big businesses who are there. They include, he said, the banks "who ought to reconsider their

.position on lending money for ex-. ,Pansion." •

, Finally, Mayor D'Alesandro said through his top aide, Peter Maruda.s.. .... "DowntoIVn belongs to ~ll our citizens."

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,

e Last of a Series

By JERRY ADLER News'American Staff Writrr

The same city planners, who , . worked four years to prepare the Sl billion, 1,OOO-acre, 20·year master plan for do\\l1to\Yn development and dubbed it MetroCenter, admit Uleir dream depends on one man: Walter Sondheirn Jr.

Sondheim may just be able to bring it off. .

He's the socially prominent. politically lmo\\'ledgeable. retired department store executive who is capping an illustrious public ser· \;ce career by heading up Metro­Center.

'SOXDHEDI \\1LL be remem· bered as school board chainnan when integration traumatized public schools, and later as the chaiJ11lan of the Baltimore Urban Renewal and Housing Authority when Ule city's heart trcU1splant, Charles Center, became a reality.

Senior city planner James D. Hall said, "We believe in Sondheim just like we believed in Jeff l\liller. who made Charles Center a reality."

Announced at the end of June, MetroCenter 'S Sl billion price tag includes S300 million for do\l11town subway construction and street repair. This was not revealed at the unveiling. .

BUT, WHATEVER THE .. tab, MetroCenter is a dynamic blue. print for rejuvenating the area

bounded by the Inner Harbor, North Avenue, Fallsway and Fre. mont Avenue.

Major facets of Ule plan are: o Replacement of B 1 0 c k

nightclubs and bookstores on East Baltimore St. Municipal offices, including the new police head­qualters: a separate central police station, otiler city bUildings, a 4,000 student dOI~l1town campus for the Community College of Baltimore and a Commerce Street

ettf2I'

§ mall will push out the Gay \Vrute Way.

Hall said city planners believe the Block ought to be retained as one entity, but tllI'y have been unable to find a ncw site.

1\\'0 "mrgastl'llcturcs," one along Eutaw Strcet from Bal. timOl'e to Mulberry Strccts, the other spanning the Jones Falls Expressway wcst of Guilford Avenue. The westem onc would be .

. fh·c·blocks long, linkcd by a pedestrian walJ..·way over the streets for retail shops. 111e easl ern one would be a six·block affair for wholesale manufa<;­lurel'!'. Both would prol'ide park· ing and might have housing units on top.

E) Air rights O\'er the 50 acres of Penn Central railroad tracks at Mt. Royal Avenue and the Jones Falls Expressway after the tracks are covered to be used for a com­mercial - residential - parking complex, similar to New York City's Lincoln Center and twice , the size of Charles Center.

o A huge park at Seton Hill and smaller parks from Preston Gar­dens west to Ho.ward Street leav­ing only tile Basilica aJld Pratt Library standing.

• 1\\'0 showcase boulevards,

one along both sides of l\iden~d Pratt Sh'eet from Fallsway to I Fremont Avenue and the other to comiect Key Highway, Biddle Street and Fremont AI·enue. The first is intended to be Baitimore's

. Champs Elysees, Irhich is in I I Paris, as a 205-foot wide, tree- , lined attraction, Witll a subway beneath it. The second would link Federal and Bolton hills . .

o Development of the delayed Le:dngton Street mall, a two­block, open shopping, outdoor cafe corridor from Charles Center west to Howard Street.

S Enla rgement of the Lyric I Theater and expansion of the Unh'ersity of Baltimore and l\'Jaryland Institute at their present locatiops as a cultural center to serve the Penn-Central complex.

-

o Th: Shot Tower, Flag Hou~. cafon-Carroll Mansion 'would be united into one historic park, and homes within the site would be rE'stored in the architectural style of revolutionary days back in the 18th Century.

There would also be buildings in the Lexington Street corridOl' west of the mall sPaJ1lling the Jones Falls Expres way northl\'est of \rar Memorial Plaza. These would hal'e multi-purpose uses similar to the tll'O megastrucfw'es.

Additional skyscraper resi-dences would be built, besides those already pJanned for Charles

Cenfer and the 1\'at('r[r01lt, via tI\~n <: partment fOll'ers flanking the OrJpans Sfreet ViadUct at Calvert Street north of Mercy Hospital.

IT ALSO CALLS for expansion of the State Office Building at its present Eutaw Place site.

The MetroCenter tract now has 14 per cent of all employment in the metropolitan Mea and handles 20 per cent of all retail sales, yet it

' Covers only one tenth of one per . cent of the land area of Greater Baltimore. .

It is assumed' by planners that the proposed East·West Express­w~y, on the bOOks for years arid stIli changed peliodicaIJy, 1\1ll not cr~sh tlll'ough downtown but will skirt the center city and serve it through a system of boulevards.

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Businesses PrOluote Act'ivities ,

Ge-s a By JERRY ADLER ways to sell downtown through from a showplace of new build-Dowilton'll Reporter what thas been accomplished ings into a show place of activi-

The prestigious Committee for (Charles Center. etc.) in a hard- ties I '

Downtown (CD), which repre~.en ts hitting, igorous campaign of ad- CD Secretary Ned McNeil said 1~ 'o.f the largest central business ver~ising; through enlive~g it by the move is "a massive approach dlstnct concerns, is prepanng a haVlng shows and festivals at by all concel'ned to tw'll downtown master plan to promote the center downtown plazas and through

I city utilizing most of its $50,000 changing the dow'lltO\\TI image into a lively, continuing, s a f e annual budget. . place, II

In its 15-ye1!r history, CD has ' It is understood S1oo,OOO is being been an angel, money-wise, tor sou17ht from its O\\TI and other ideas to promote downtown. It sou;ces by CD to tum the new, contributed, along with the commercial, central business dis-Greater Baltimore Committee, trict into an active place, toward the 'round-the-country hip by William Ewald which led to the most dynamic improvement in Baltimore 's chronology, Charles Center, I

IT WAS the Planrung Council of GBC which developed ,the Charles Center blueprint.

For some months, there have been secret discussions between GBC and CD to delineate the aims of each and, at the same time, to set up a' new thrust to promote' downto\\'ll.

It is agreed CD will change its ' direction from backer to active promotel' while GBC will concen-trate on long-range goals.

GBC will work on Charles Cen­tel', Inner Harbor, MetroCenter and mass transit as far as its downtown actiVities are concem­ed.

CD WILL get into immediate dO\\TItown promotion.

It cannot, of cow'se, pour all its funds into its new thl1lst imme­diately, because the bulk is com­mit teed to such programs as the anti-litter signs. CD also paid for the successful Arts F est i val which Iilled Hopkins Plaza in May.

But it has enough Ieit to' start promoting this year.

Although details are still being . worked out, it is known the massive promotion move will in- t volve cooperation from the ( Downtown Merchants Association, Restaurant Association, Retail Merchants Association, Are a Conventional and Visitors Council, athletic groups and, perhaps the , : municipal' govemment. I;

THE ;\IASTEll plan will propose '

ONE OF the first items on its new agenda, it is believed, is a program that this Christmas wiiI festoon downtown \Vith balloons, banners ribbons and other decorative devices.

Another, more immediate item, it is said, will be an attempt to enlist department s tor e s , restaurants , movies and Mechanic theater into a park-shop-enjoy ticket book system with discounts at the various places which par­ticipate, in the scheme.

TJE BALTIMORE NEWS AMERICAN August 21, 1970

. I )

Lyric F outldation Quietly, this swnmer, the giant first step finally oc­

curred toward the betterment of OUr Grand Dame theater, ' the Lyric. .

By the middle of June, the Lyric FOW1dation had ac­quired 77 per cent of the stock of the Lyric Company and .at the annual meeting of the old Lyrfc Company a resolution was adopted authorizing the sale of the theater to the non-stock, nonprofit, tax-exempt foundation. .

The transfer took place immediately and the old Lyric Company is now in the course of being dissolved and liquidated. . The foundation purchased and owns the property lO()" 102-104 West Mount Royal avenue (the old Dickman prop­erty) for fUrther expansion of the back-stage area.

In a letter outlining current plans, W. Russell Mules. ,the chairman of the fOW1dation who worked so hard-and long 011 ' this, stated: "We hope we can get permission for the city to extend the stage back over the sidewalk on Maryland avenue, thereby adding additional stage area.

"Of. course, with all of this we would hope to add addi­tional lobby space (intermission space), air conditioning, and other necessary improvements without, however, inter­fering with the acoustical excellence of the building."

, .The . ulitmate intent, of cour3e, is to turn the Lyric into one of. the focal points in the proposed Mount Royal area educational-cultural center.

Back-stage modernizing needs being discussed are: new dressing rooms, larger stage, an. elevator, new scenery

: , f\1oving equipment and storage space, Other plans include exterior improvements, \,ith . office

.. and rehearsal space for symphony 'and opera associations, . , and parking space. - . I.

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Congress Asked For Study I To Free Harbor Of Debris

By JOSEPH S. HELEWICZ

City and state officials are re- of debris ~ t~e inn~r harbor, questing Congress to authorize a ~ut the legIslatIOn ~vlllch auth.or­study on how to rid the har~or Ized ~ho.se f?nds ~ld hOt provIde of its overload of garbage, dnft- [or elu11Inahon of Its sources. wood and general debris Named as a principal source

In a letter to George H. Fallon of debris-although not destined I (D., Md.), chairman of. the for elimination at this time-!s : House Public Works Comrmttee, the Jones Falls storm dram I­Mayor D'Alesandro and Avery which reg:uar1y spews slat~ of W. Hall, chairman of the ~1~ry- wood~ old tires and garbag~ mto l land Port Authority comn1lSSIOn- the Inner harbor near PIer 6, l ers, asked that the Army Corps Pratt street. ' of Engineers conduct a study According to Capt. RObertI "to determine whether it would Wilcox, port operations director be advisable to eliminate for the port authority, "about 65 sources of drift and debris in per cent of the debris in the Baltimore harbor" and its tribu- harbor comes from that drain . .. taries. You should ' see it when it:

Seen as general sources of de- rains!" . bris are "dilapidated structures In addition to producing an and derelicts [vessels]" in and eye-sore, the floating debris has along the shores of the harbor caused considerable damage to and its. tri~utaries Which men- small craft. Captain Wilcox said I . . ac~ ndavlgth~n. d b b the port authority's vessels lose "because I feel their report could

~l e~f t ~ s·t a~e 1~~~ two·or-three propellers a year- strengthen the legislation. Of .avtahl a e 0 t ef~IGOY oSolonce I at an annual cost of - about course" he added "I could go In e amoun 0 ~ annua - $500- ft b . " tId ' . ' I t b til· d f th I a er ecommg en ang e ahead now and mtroduce a sur-..} ° e u lze . or e c ean-up in plastic bags, or running over vey resolution on the matter

partially submerged tires." but sooner or later some for~ And the Coast Guard said that of testimony will 'be required

each month it .replaces or re- from the engineers." pairs several propellers on its If after their study, the corps boats. . determines that the debris elim-

Representative Fallon said ination project would be feasi­yesterday that he has· advised ble, the city would be in line for the corps of engineers to submit additioal federal funds. Already a preliminary report to him on the ports of New York and the status of debris sources in Hampton Roads are receiving the harbor. funds from the federal govern-

"I've asked them to advise me ment on a sharing basis for sim-of this situation," he explained I ilar projects. .

New Facility Planned , Two-Thirds 'Size Of Present Structure

By KATHY KR'-\U~

The federal government has . given tentative approval to a site in the Inner Harbor West project for a. $20 million federal courthouse building.

The site, bounded by Lom­.bard, Pratt, Sharp and Hanover streets, has been recommended by William Badger, regional ad­ministrator of the General Serv­ices Administration.

The proposed new court house would include 84,000 fewer

. square -feet of usable office space than does the present Post ,Office Building, which houses both postal and judicial functions.

Final GSA approval of the new location is pending, according to

' Representative George H. Fal­lon (D., 4th), even though an appropriations bill to allow pur­.chase of the site was yetoed :earlier this month by President Nixon. "

According to J. Jefferson Mil­ler, chairman of the bOard, Charles Center-Inner Harbor Management, Inc., the building would have 186,000 square feet for office and courtroom space, and would be built on a lot of about 90,000 square feet.

Paul J. Robinson, GSA area manager, said that the post of­fice and federal court house building, located at Calvert street between Fayette and Lex­ington ' -streets, has 402,000 square feet of gross , space, or 270,860 square feet ,of "usable office space." -

Although those 270,860 square feet are now shared by the postal authorities and the courts, the Post Office proper is due to

·move out of the pres~nt ~uilding

- in J a short' time,' leavIng its' shet'e of tile office space vacant.

1]he massive six~story bUilding'] cUrrently houses the Post Office, federal courtrooms, the U.S. at­to/~ey's office, as well as law I eri!orcement agencies, but the ' Post Office is slated 'to mOve to its new building in the Shot Tower Industrial Park in a year.

George Beall, the U.S. attor­ney; said yesterday that the new building would solve his "horri~ bte, a~ute space problem," but he·· sald he was "shocked" to

, learn that the new building has less 'space than the building that currently houses his offices.

He said that he is authorized toc . have 13 assistant federal prosecutors, but that space problems allow him only 12, and five of those, he said, "are in to ally inadequate office space."

.Federal Judge Edward S, Nq,rthrop, who has worked on plans for the new building with Mr~ Miller, said yesterday that the , old but larger building is "not susceptible to additional courtroom use because of the I

: structure." . , Judge N~rthrop said that sur­veys have shown that the old building cannot be renovated to prOvide enough courtrooms ,for ' the next 30 to 40 years, and\

' renovation of usable courrroom I space would take three to four .years to complete. ,,:'

Other Agencies I The proposed building, 'ac­

cording to Judge Northrop, would house enough' courtrooms : for at least four more federal I judges as well as room for more ' . .~~~rts if more jUdge~ were a.dd-'j

. In a1dition, the FBI, Internal

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Revenue Service, Sccret Serv­ice, and othcr .federal enforce­ment agencies would move to the new building, as well as federal cell facilities, , Also probable tenants may be­

the officcs of the U.S. Customs and other fcderal agencies cur-' rcntly renling space around the city, the judge said. . .

, The bill vetoed by the Presi­.dent was a gener'll housing bill containing appropriations for the GSA. A spokesman for 11r. Fallon's office said yesterday that Mr. Fallon wiII introduce another bill' containing appropri­ations for the new courthouse site and architectural develop­ment.

The bill vetoed would have provided $3 million for land ac­quisition, and $716,000 for de- ' si~n~g !.h~ building. '. ... ;

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Commercial Building Quadruples . ,

Baltimore city office build- Alteration and repair work ing activity quadrupled during went from $14 million fo $19 the fiscal year ended June 30, million during the most recent according to data of the con- period. ' struction and building inspec- Most othei' improvements tion division of the city. and building classes main-

Developers planned 15 new tained normal levels during office buildings worth $28.6 million during 1969.1970. This 1969·1970. The city recorded compared with only $6 million more than 32,700 permits on

. in dollar volume for office pro- projects worth $141.4 million. jects in 1968-1969. 1 Uuring the previous year the

Public school activity was up almost one-third for the fis­cal period. There was $38.3 million in new school building scheduled ' by last June 30,

. compared to $26.7 miilion for the 12 months ending June 30, 1969 .

. A partmenls Up , . Institutional and illdustrial buildings showed declines dur­ing the period, but apartment production increased about 25 per cent in cash values to $19.5 million for 1,597 new rental units. The previous year's production was 1,802 new un its that cost of about $15.7 million. I·

total value of new construction was $139.6 million.

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'. The city and 'Maryland Gen· could then be used ,to expand

eral 'Hospital are engaged in emergency Toom areas, a preliminary talks on ihe pur- spokesman for the institution chase of the Richmond Market indicated. Armory, a 149-year-old city The armory building has

. property on the Armory place "been refurbished several between 'Linden avenue and times at city expense. The

, Howard street. latest major improvement was The hospital said it was cleaning of the brick exterior.

~ studying plans to develop ,the The Maryland National first floor of the structure as an outpatient clinic rior treat. Guard notified the city Board ment of ambulatory patients. of Estimates earlier this The hospital could also use the month that it was terminating multi-story building for stor- a ~l-a·year lease on the ar­age. Space freed in existing mory building that it has had ' buildings at Maryland General since 1957. . . ....

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In.ner Harbor' Viet-iJ" : .

Sa § ................... ·th Park Closing .By JERRY ADLER The bulkhead reconstruction is a by Miller that a proposed new, $20 DoWntown Reporter multimillion dollar job, expected million hotel complex, including

I A 15 Sam S 'th P k' to get into full swing early next apartments, parking lot!, cultural , t age, nu ar 1S February, which involves the activities and restaurants will be

[' bei~ cl~sed Se~tdemb~~ 8, ~ve~ northern, western and southern well along toward, completion on agam

tered 0 P,roVl

f e 110S h e~ lips of the inner harbor. the western side of Light St. just

me serVJce or _ ours, 0 below Pratt St make way for a paved, detour . :-Vter the ~Ikhead ~ork is ' ., street needed while the inner har- fimshed, early m 1973, it 15 hoped SA.,)! S1\llTH PARK was once bor buLldlead i~ rebuilt. ~ - con$idered the garden spot of ,

Substitute parking will be made downto'Wl1. It was built via a $1,5 available'at the same rate to Sam million loan, approved in 1948. Smith users at areas along Pratt Work began in 1950 and was com. St. being razed for new structures. pleted in 1955.

Bulldozers ,vill go to' work as At the ribbon-cutting, May~ soon as the park is closed, Thomas J. D'Aiesandro Jr" father .

J_ Jefferson Mi).l.er, Charles of the present mayor, said the Center·Inner Harbor management park will "restore the harbor chainnan, said the park closing is frontage to its rightful place of temporary becaus.e it will be re: prominence in the activities of our opened as a small plaza contered city," -. by Gen. Smith's statue, but won't "This waterfront park will pro-be accessible for two years be- vide a safe place where Bal-' cause of bulkhead construction, timoreans and visitors to Bat-'

THE PARK IS one of those unique meter-sites at which park­ers had to pay even during holi­days.

It must be paved over for use as • a temporary street for traffic I coming northward from . Key Highway because a , small portion of Calvert St. just south of Pratt St. is being closed . during the waterfront \'lork and the Sam Smith site will be used to detour traffic onto Pratt st.

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timore \vill be able to get a vie\,; of our waterfront." : >\

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fllarles Center After Dar i I

33 Ac - ,

ByFREnTHEROUX K('\\'S Amerkan Staff Writter

Fourteen people. Singles,

if amenities, e>.iemally it appears decayed-and f1,1ll of people. to be something left over from In due time the two blocks \vill the original film set for "Beau be "restored" in concrete and Geste" . Or bring on Ronald steel and garden courts. Am} Colman. underground parking, subterra-

Stick the Tticolor of the nean vistas of parked cars, full Two policemen, one with a K9 Foreign Legion atop its stark, all day, empty all night. And all

hound of the Baskervilles. frO\l11ing bastions (if one can night the glistening buildings

widely separated just sitting around on tile benches.

Six teenagers hoppipg benches, find a "top"). fill HopJdns Plaza ann the garden comis will be leapmg from the low wall ",iOl sand dunes, add a few evil- deserted except. for the po-around a corner of Hopkins I 0 0 kin g , dirty - burnoosed licemen and their K9s. Plaza, cavorting in a subdued bedouins creeping up the back of Somehow, ,vith our Urban sort of disorganized merriment the dWles \~ith their long- Renewal, when we tear our ci­under tile watchful eye of the barrelled lifles, and the Fourth ties apart and create great mon­fuzz and his four-legged friend. French .Republic ~ back in tlments to "modern" architec-

Incongruous, somehow, <this Dusiness in lhe Sallara_ tural genius, we mange to take 'youthful romp in a deserted Included in the cost of this the life out of them too. forum. formidable outpost of desert When we left Charles Center,

A drugstore of manlmotil di- colonialism were the destruction after walking 0 v e r the mensions: Closed. of two theaters on busy streets, pedestrian bridge to Fayette

An inviting-looking restaurant, one on Fayette, one on Howard. Street, we turned left to tile soft lights \"itilin. Closed. - The first, Ford's, was historic, Civic Center; Dark.

A fountain, called the Jacob ' gracious, human, drafty and too Just across West Baltimore small. The second, built in the Street we sought onle sort o' France .1emorial, in tile center s •

of the plaza. Dry. glory days of vaudeville, was solace in one of Baltimore's Stairs leading from the plaza the largest tileater lin Maryland. most enjoyable restaurants. The

, Bolli have been demolished. In 0 st B I'S - th Id' Goa to upper le\'els. Clos~. The big y er ay In e 0 ge the name of "progress" tiley are Buildmg-<f at LI-bel'ty Street It white highway sa\\-horse bar- . . now -shabby park.im · lots. d m1 li hted ricades proclaimed "No Admit- - was open, an war y g ,

tance." Deser,ted alter six on weekdays and inviting. And empty of The rear (we fuink) of an Un- and all weekends. diners. I

mense tilealer. Dark. But tile loneliness of Charles But the dinner hour was past, This is Charles Center at 9:35 Center replaces what was, about and tile coU1:ly man at tile bar

p_m. Tuesday on a pleasant 10 years ago, a jumble of grimy, said tilings ,vere livelier when summer evening. ta,,-dry, deteriorating eyesores. something was going on at Fort

Underground, a two-level So the planners said. Mechanic or tile Civic Center. parking garage sheltering in its Tax revenues were ' dropping, It was little consolation to

'vast catacombs one atiendant, retail sales likewise, and tile recall that Montreal and Pitts-about five cars, and an elevator. area was too crowded, burgh and Philadelphia (penn Inoperative. Walk. Witil-people. : tawdry, deteriorating eye:oores.

The guide book says Charles Charles Center, after business Center) and Hartford (Coosti-Center's 33 acres "contain 2 hours, as just IIOt a p8.rt of life. tution Plaza) -and Washingtoo \ million square feet of new office It's a monument, or a (Watergate) and· many another space, 400 new apartment units, mausoleum. Witilout people, city has applied the drastic dozens of new stores and bou- dead or alive. solution of total destruction and tiques, tilousands of off-street Standing amidst its archltec- total renewal \vitil the same parking spaces, a new motion tural prize-winning towers -of results as Baltimore. _ picture theater; and the first glass and steel and aluminum, Paradoxes: Proud, people-less legitimate theater to be built in its reclru~les, squares, circles places. ' tPe United States in 50 vears_" and "functional" 21st Century, We salute the planners and

: More from the book: "The aseptic, IBl\l:~rd; -impersonal the men of vision and the ~isually exciting building on the piles, the eye involuntarily architects, designers and sculp­northeast .comer . . . He is the strays to the old Lord Baltimore tors, the artisans and craftsmen, Morris ;Vrechanic The ate r _ Hot e 1, the pr£:·Depression who brought tilese wondrous -Named for its late builder and skyscraper First National Bank; things to reality. Olll1er, the theater is sometimes to the northeast and west where Yet we chose, we think appro-called "Fort Mechanic" by life seems still to exist. priately, a bottle of Schweppes Baltimoreans who aren't used to Our last story of Our Town Bitter Lemon to drink a its ad\'anced arcl1itectural style was about the wholesale market toast m their honor. • • • The theater was con- centered at South Charles Street Then we ransomed our car structed by pouring concrete and Camden, and we left there from tile subterranean vault and , into. wooden forms. Close in the grey dawning to work our headed once again north on inspection will reveal tilat its way nortilward. Charles St. Quality Street.

. wall_s have retained the texture But we had to skip two blocks This llIight, more tilan eyer, we , , ' of the \,-000." of South Charles because they were looking for that other part

dose inspection, we decided, aren't there. They were tilere of Charles Street. , was neither necessary nor before the \\Teckers came, and The part where people are. desi;able. Whatever its interior tiley were drab. d i r t y , Even after 6 p.m.

NW3 Amer-iCC1() -kq-ust-

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. . Who Wants It?

I ~ new Post Office building is' under con- ,

. struction. Plans for a new federal court build­ing are in the works. 'What to do then with the present Post Office Building, which also houses the federal courts, when and if a new federal courthouse becomes a reali ty? : The apparent answer. is for the city to buy -the building and convert it into· a second courthouse, which is so sorely needed. The . building is ideally located directly across Cal- . vert street from the presently overcrowded courthouse. Comptroller Pressman says he is

, all in favor of the idea. Part of the building, - he says, could be used for 'a courthouse and part for a warehouse. But Mr. Pressman is not a planner.

A man who is, Ali B. Sheybani, chief of land planning and project design for the city planning department, questions whether the building would be suitable for the . city's ~eeds. Mr. Sheybani's boss, Larry Reich, the 'city planning director, says it might be suit­'able, but then again it might not be. A de; tailed study of the needs of the city court in relation- to the structure of the building will be needed ' before any decision can be made, Mr. Reich says. How true.

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CITY ISHEI G rnST HtrlCE BuHding Could Provide . Courts ~nd Stqrage, ~ ::. · Pr.e·~~.hi~r) _ ~~Ys~

The city "is definitely inter­ested in purchasing" the 1Ilain Post Office building after postal and other federal offices shall have been relocated, Hw _an A. Pressman, city comptroller,

lsaid yesterday. ' ..': . I Mr. Pressman said that the 40-year old building, which now' houses the federal courts,- the U.S. Attorney's offices, and the FBI as well as the post- office, is ideally' located at Calvert 'and Fayette streets for use _as a city courthouse.

Federal officials announce'd last week that the building would be "disposed of" when a new post office near the Shot Tower and a new U.S. court­house in the Inner Harbor devel-i opment project shall have been

I completed.. - - --. A Critical Need _~

"The need for additional courtroom space is critical," Mr_ Pressman said, "and the post office building has some beautiful courtrooms that excel any we have in dignificd. awe­

some appearance." _. _. .

I "The remainder of the build­ing," Mr. Pressman said, "is

, suitable for warehousing, for which the Bureau of Purchases has requested the city to erect a new bui!9ing." -

Mr. Pressman said he "takes issue" with planning officials who "have rejected the idea of the city acquiring the post office building. "

Planner Is Puzzled --Last week, Ali R Sheybani.

chief of land planning and pro­ject design for the city's depart­ment of planning, expressed puzzlement about how the build­

ing might be used if the federal government succeeds jn -getting -rid of it. -

"We would . reaUy have to' scratch ollr heads to find out what to do with it," Mr. :;ney·

bani said. Mr. Pressman s3id that May­

or D'Alesandro has already in­formed the Federal government of the city's interest in acqui.ring the. building. .

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Downtown Renaissance I - BALTIMOREANS who have chosen to forego

coming downtown rather than risk its parking-and :crime-dangers ought not stay away too long. The place will be so changed 'they won't know it.

A case in point is the section known as the Inner Harbor Renewal areal which lies south of the exist­ing glitter of Charles Center. : . The federal government has given tentative ap­proval to a site in the Inner Harbor Renewal area for a $20 million U.S. Courthouse to replace the out­moded facility in the present Post Office. The loca­tion is bounded by Lombard, Pratt, Sharp and Han­over streets.

If plans proceed as tentatively outlined, a multi­story building will arise on that site to serve as an anchoring diamond in a growing diadem adorn!ng the downtown section.

A minor snag in getting on with construction of a " new federal building was the veto by President Nixon of the omnibus public works appropriations bill, a catch-aU $S "billion measure which Mr. Nixon sent back to Congress on grounds it exceeded his requests by too great a margin. " There were not enough votes to override the presidential veto. The bill as a result is in limbo.

Rep. George Fallon, D-Md., chairman of the House Public Works Committee, has indicated that he will introduce a new public works bill containing the Baltimore federal courthouse money, or a sepa­rate one. Baltimoreans wish him success, but he prob-ably, does not need it.. ' . ' '

The fact is, Rep. Fallon's position as chairman of the House Public Works Commission gives him almost incalculable power inso'far as public works spending, is concerned.

That ·is the way , Congress works.