Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Infusing Style and Sophistication: The Influence of Maximilian Godefroy

 
 
Infusing Style and Sophistication: Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck, March 26, 2008
1. Infusing Style and Sophistication: Marker
Inscription.
For its first 25 years, the burying ground remained a simple place characterized by plain grave markers. After 1810, tastes changed and First Presbyterian Church's leading public figures demanded the ornate.

The most dramatic change was a new entrance and imposing brick wall on Greene Street, completed by September 1815 at the enormous cost of more than $5000. The gates and flanking piers were designed in the Egyptian revival style by French emigre Maximilian Godefroy (1765-c.1840). The new entrance created a pronounced east-west corridor that was soon lined with impressive burial vaults.

For more information, see Robert L. Alexander's Architecture of Maximilian Godefroy (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1974).

[illustration]
Egyptian and Classical Motifs The symbols on Godefroy's gates "mourn the brevity of life and celebrate the eternity of the spirit" (Robert L. Alexander, 1974). The large flanking piers are carved sandstone, a soft sedimentary stone that is prone to damage as evidenced by its present condition.
Cavetto Cornice - Hollow or concave molding
Lekythoi - Greek, or lachmyral, urns, denoting grief
Inverted Torch - Inverted or extinguished torch symbolizing death
Winged Hour Glass - Symbols of time's swift flight

Entrance
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
to Westminster Cemetery Green [sic] Street
by Edward J. Wunder
From Maryland Institute...Announcement Schools of Art and Design 1914-1915
First & Franklin Street Presbyterian Church Archives

[painting]
Charming and Headstrong Maximilian Godefroy spent 15 productive years in Baltimore beginning in 1805. Godefroy, along with the British-born Benjamin H. Latrobe, designer of the Roman Catholic Cathedral, introduced a sophisticated classically inspired architecture to early Baltimore.

Maximilian Godefroy by Rembrandt Peale, oil on canvas, ca. 1815
Courtesy of the Maryland Commission on Artistic Property of the Maryland State Archives

[photograph]
Designer Vaults Several wealthy merchants hired Godefroy to design stylish burial vaults. His vaults for John O'Donnell, Cumberland Dugan and Robert and William Smith share similarities among their columns, doors, and details. Notice, too, Godefroy's use of slits in the masonry which allowed for air circulation, a system he also used in powder magazines at Fort McHenry.

Vaults (left-right): Dugan-Hollins, Robert and William Smith, O'Donnell
Photographs by Jennifer White, June 2006

An Indelible Stamp Godefroy produced a number of outstanding buildings that infused taste and sophistication into early Baltimore. They include
Marker location image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck, March 26, 2008
2. Marker location
St. Mary's Chapel (located nearby, off Greene Street), Battle Monument (Calvert and Fayette Sts.) and First Unitarian Church (Charles and Franklin Sts.)
 
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. In addition, it is included in the Unitarian Universalism (UUism) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1810.
 
Location. 39° 17.393′ N, 76° 37.413′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in University of Maryland. Marker can be reached from the intersection of West Fayette Street and North Greene Street. Marker is on the grounds of Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 509 W Fayette St, Baltimore MD 21201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 26 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Gilmors (here, next to this marker); The Carriage Gates of Westminster Burying Ground (here, next to this marker); Believe it or Not (a few steps from this marker); “…a truly affectionate wife” (a few steps from this marker); An 18th-Century Burying Ground (a few steps from this marker); James McHenry (a few steps from this marker); Bernard von Kapff (within shouting distance of this marker); Local Hero, National Leader (within shouting distance of this marker); James McHenry, M.D. (within shouting distance
The Dugan-Hollins Vault image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck
3. The Dugan-Hollins Vault
This vault, pictured on the marker, was designed by Godefroy.
of this marker); Dugan-Hollins Family Vault (within shouting distance of this marker); A Swashbuckling Merchant (within shouting distance of this marker); Fame, Fortune and Financial Scandal (within shouting distance of this marker); A Monument to the Memory of Edgar Allan Poe (within shouting distance of this marker); A La Memorie D’Edgar Allan Poe (within shouting distance of this marker); Westminster Hall & Burying Ground: Where Baltimore's History Rests in Peace (within shouting distance of this marker); Poe’s Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); John McDonogh (within shouting distance of this marker); The McDonoghs of Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); Westminster Church and Cemetery (within shouting distance of this marker); Rev. Patrick Allison (within shouting distance of this marker); A Mother’s Grief (within shouting distance of this marker); Among the Illustrious Men (within shouting distance of this marker); Among Family: Poe’s Original Burial Place (within shouting distance of this marker);
The Greene Street gate, designed by Godefroy image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Christopher Busta-Peck
4. The Greene Street gate, designed by Godefroy
Original Burial Place of Edgar Allan Poe (within shouting distance of this marker); Monumental Lives (within shouting distance of this marker); A Beloved General (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.
 
Maximilian Godefroy image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 5, 2015
5. Maximilian Godefroy
This c. 1815 portrait of Maximilian Godefroy by Rembrandt Peale hangs in the Maryland Historical Society Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.

“Baltimore's Committee of Vigilance and Safety selected French-trained neoclassical architect and former soldier Maximilian Godefroy as the designer for its Battle Monument. Godefroy, a former soldier who fought on the royalist side of the French Revolution, chose the monument's symbolic Classical elements to memorialize Baltimore's fallen heroes. While Godefroy personally oversaw much of the monument's construction, he returned to Europe in 1819 well before his masterpiece was completed in 1825.” — Maryland Historical Society
Egyptian and Classical Motifs image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 5, 2015
6. Egyptian and Classical Motifs
The symbols on Godefroy's gates “mourn the brevity of life and celebrate the eternity of the spirit” (Robert L. Alexander, 1974). The large flanking piers are carved sandstone, a soft sedimentary stone that is prone to damage as evidenced by its present condition.

Cavetto Cornice - Hollow or concave molding
Lekythoi - Greek, or lachmyral, urns, denoting grief
Inverted Torch - Inverted or extinguished torch symbolizing death
Winged Hour Glass - Symbols of time's swift flight
Close-up of blueprint on marker
The Robert and William Smith Tomb image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 5, 2015
7. The Robert and William Smith Tomb
Designed by Maximilian Godefroy
The O'Donnell Vault image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 5, 2015
8. The O'Donnell Vault
Designed by Maximilian Godefroy
Winged Hourglass image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Allen C. Browne, September 5, 2015
9. Winged Hourglass
on the O'Donnell Vault
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on February 20, 2021. It was originally submitted on March 26, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,010 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on March 27, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.   4. submitted on March 30, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.   5, 6, 7, 8, 9. submitted on September 18, 2015, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=6645

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 19, 2024