Construction and Change of Garden Squares in 19th-Century Baltimore

Abstract

This paper presents an overview of the development of a series of city-owned publicly-accessible garden squares in nineteenth-century Baltimore. I also examine the successful 1873 campaign to remove the iron railings that enclosed these locations, showing the campaigners introduced the new mode of urban green spaces by claiming moral superiority of absence of such railings. Thus I conclude that the iron railings here were not a reflection of governance, but a cultural existence. I also mention that the city's ownership rather made the discussion on the railings open, beyond the actual users and administrators, and promoted the city-wide change.