5th Season of Baltimore History Evenings Kicks Off Next Thursday in Charles Village

Baltimore History Evenings 5th seasons opens on January 17, 2013, at 7 p.m. in the Village Learning Place with "The Writer's Block:  Baltimore's Vice District in Fiction and Journalism" Professor Cindy Gissendanner, History, Towson University

The Baltimore City Historical Society will be co-sponsoring its fifth year of Baltimore History Evenings at the Village Learning Place, 2521 St. Paul St., Baltimore (21218).  

The series of meetings will be held on the third Thursday of each month, from January through June of 2012. Each evening begins with a reception at 7:00 p.m., and the speaker begins at 7:30. There is no charge for the receptions or speakers, but contributions to the co-sponsor Village Learning Place are encouraged.  

In the first evening of the 2013 series, on January 17, 2013, Professor Cindy Gissendanner of the History Department at Towson University will speak on "The Writer's Block:  Baltimore's Vice District in Fiction and Journalism."  Baltimore's infamous vice district has served many Baltimore writers and journalists as a symbol of the City's unique and quirky character while also providing a microcosm for exploring shifting community values and structures based on gender, race, ethnicity, class and sexuality.  Dr. Gissendanner is currently working on a book titled, "The Block: A Social and Political History of Baltimore's Vice District, 1904-Present." 

The schedule of remaining speakers in the Baltimore History Evenings series is as follows:

February 21: "The Rejection of Duck and Cover:  Baltimore's Revolt Against the Original Federal Homeland Security Program" by Eric Singer, University of Baltimore.  

March 21: "The Great Wave:  Immigration to Baltimore 1830-1914" by Nicholas Fessenden, Retired Friends School History Teacher and member of the Board, Baltimore Immigration Memorial.

April 18: "Young Thurgood:  A Future Supreme Court Justice's Baltimore Roots" by Larry S. Gibson, University of Maryland School of Law.

May 16: "Swine and Steam Engines:  The Antebellum Struggle to Control Baltimore's Streets," The Grace Darin Memorial Lecture by Matthew Crenson, Professor Emeritus, The Johns Hopkins University

June 20: "The Baltimore Gay Community:  The Early Years" by John Wood, McDonough School and  panelists.

The Baltimore City Historical Society is participating in the War of 1812 Bicentennial Passport Program.  You may get a War of 1812 Bicentennial Commemoration Passport and have it stamped at any BCHS-sponsored event. 

For more information, contact Michael Franch, Baltimore History Series Coordinator: franch@verizon.net 

The primary goal of the Baltimore City Historical Society is to promote the study, presentation, and appreciation of Baltimore City history.  

It also encourages the preservation of the City's material heritage, such as buildings, records, artifacts, and other items that contribute to the Society's primary goal.  

Visit www.historicbaltimore.org for a history events calendar, membership information, and for past issues of Baltimore Gaslight, the BCHS newsletter.