Twenty-five Baltimore locals congregated on the Olmsted lot to express their dissatisfaction with the University's lack of development of the property. On Sunday, Oct. 9, the attendees — residents of Charles Village and others from farther-reaching neighborhoods — gathered for an afternoon of recreation, bringing Frisbees, blankets and children.
Purchased by Hopkins for $12.5 million in April 2009, the Olmsted property is the vacant grass lot surrounded by a chain link fence on the corner of 33rd and St. Paul Street.
The event, referred to as "Public Park" on its Facebook page, was held to contest the property's aesthetic blemishes and security hazards. Though the event held no relation to the Baltimore extension of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which descended on the Inner Harbor in a clamor two weeks ago, Public Park relied on similar social media mechanisms for advertisement.
Baltimorean Mike Riley, the CEO of Firestarter/Toxic Pop Records, a local "hardcore/punk/indie record [label]," according to his Facebook page, utilized Facebook to spread word of the gathering.
He superimposed the words "Public Park" in white capital letters over a picture of the Olmsted property from the vista of its street corner, including below it the event's goals by means of a photo description.
The photo description invited participants to arrive "promptly" at noon, since "the project's success will depend on a critical mass of participants at the start."
The lock on the lot's gate had rusted through, permitting participants to enter passively.
University officials had no prior knowledge of the event, according to Dennis O'Shea, University Spokesperson. University security officials soon took note of the congregation, they did not interfere, though, and took no official eradicative action.
The lot was empty by sundown simply because the protesters elected to leave.
Local artists Nolen Strals and Bruce Willen spearheaded the gathering, according to Baltimore City Paper Senior Graphic Designer Frank Hamilton, who participated in the event with his wife and infant daughter. Strals and Willen, who could not be reached for comment, serve on the faculty of the Graphic Design department of the Maryland Institute College of Art.
In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, Strals cited inspiration for the event from the fact that the lot "[seemed] like a waste of space." In the same interview, meanwhile, Willen contended that the gathering was no "huge political statement," but claimed that the need for change was subtly resonant from it.
Change, however, appears distant. Recent university construction efforts have been focused on the Brody Learning Commons and the undergraduate teaching laboratory. A University press release issued following the accession of the property describes the purchase as a "strategic acquisition for future development," setting forth an outline of "gradual" development.
Previously, Baltimore-based development firm Struever Bros., Eccles & Rouse planned to construct a multimillion-dollar condominium-shopping complex on the Olmsted property. However, plans for the project were quashed with the onset of the recession.
At present, University officials cite financial concerns as the foremost obstacle in proceeding.
"We've been through some difficult economic times," O'Shea said. "People are certainly very interested in what will be developed on the property, but it doesn't change the economic facts on the ground."
However, O'Shea asserts that the implicit message of the Public Park gathering did not fall on deaf ears. Though no definitive plans for the lot's development have been drafted, there exist some basic expectations for the property, appealing largely to the present deficits of certain resources. When the university does develop the property, he said, it will include parking and residence facilities, as well as additional storefront retail along St. Paul Street.
At a dinner with the Student Government Association last Tuesday, October 11, President Ron Daniels expressed enthusiasm for a burger joint on the property.
Many undergraduate students share this enthusiasm for revamping Olmsted, if only out of dissatisfaction with its present state.
"It's just . . . ugly," freshman Eleni Padden said, passing the lot, now devoid of Frisbees, on a lunchtime walk to Chipotle Mexican Grill.
