Roland Park Marker

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Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Roland Park

By William Pfingsten, September 16, 2007

1. Roland Park Marker

Inscription. National Register of Historic Places. One of nation’s oldest planned garden suburbs. Named for Roland Thornberry, a Baltimore County landowner. English investors backed 100-acre development proposed by William Edmunds and Edward H. Boulton, and the Roland Park Company was incorporated July 30, 1891. Landscape architect George E. Kessler laid out first plat east of Roland Avenue in 1897. Frederick Law Olmstead, Jr., took up planning of steeper terrain on the west side. This tudor-sytle commercial sturcture pioneered the “shopping center” concept in America.

Erected by Roland Park Garden Club, Roland Park Civic League and Maryland Historical Society.

Location. 39° 21.016′ N, 76° 38.123′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. Marker is at the intersection of Roland Park Avenue and Upland Road, on the left when traveling north on Roland Park Avenue. Click for map. Marker is in this post office area: Baltimore MD 21210, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 10 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. Keswick (approx. 0.9 miles away); Confederate Women of Maryland (approx. 1.5 miles away); Clover Hill (approx. 1.5 miles away); Evergreen on the Falls (approx. 1.5 miles away); Homewood (approx. 1.6 miles away); Keyser Quadrangle (approx. 1.7 miles away); The Sheridan Libraries (approx. 1.7 miles away); The Home of Governor Augustus W. Bradford (approx. 1.7 miles away); a different marker also named Homewood (approx. 1.7 miles away); First Boy Scout Armory (approx. 1.9 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Baltimore.

First Shopping Center Photo, Click for full size

By William Pfingsten, September 16, 2007

2. First Shopping Center

Also see . . . Evolution of the Shopping Center. 2006 illustrated essay by Steven E. Schoenherr. “1891 Edward Bouton built Roland Park near Baltimore that included a ‘store block’ arranged in a linear pattern along a street to serve the commercial needs of a planned residential community.” Includes photo of Baltimore streetcar on the Roland Park line. (Submitted on September 19, 2007.)

Example of a typical Roland Park home Photo, Click for full size

By William Pfingsten, September 9, 2007

3. Example of a typical Roland Park home

Another Roland Park home. Photo, Click for full size

By William Pfingsten, September 16, 2007

4. Another Roland Park home.

Roland Park Presbyterian Church across from the marker. Photo, Click for full size

By William Pfingsten, September 16, 2007

5. Roland Park Presbyterian Church across from the marker.

Credits. This page originally submitted on September 16, 2007, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. This page has been viewed 2,739 times since then. This page was the Marker of the Week October 7, 2007. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 16, 2007, by Bill Pfingsten of Bel Air, Maryland. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.