Patterson Park is an
urban park
An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...
in
Southeast Baltimore,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of
Canton,
Highlandtown
Highlandtown is a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
Description and history
The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside the Baltimor ...
,
Patterson Park
Patterson Park is an urban park in Southeast Baltimore, Maryland, United States, adjacent to the neighborhoods of Canton, Highlandtown, Patterson Park, and Butchers Hill. It is bordered by East Baltimore Street, Eastern Avenue, South Pat ...
, and
Butchers Hill. It is bordered by
East Baltimore Street,
Eastern Avenue,
South Patterson Park Avenue, and South Linwood Avenue. The Patterson Park extension lies to the east of the main park, and is bordered by
East Pratt Street, South Ellwood Avenue, and Eastern Avenue.
Patterson Park was established in 1827 and named for
William Patterson (1752–1835). The park consists of open fields of grass, large trees, paved walkways, historic battle sites, a lake, playgrounds, athletic fields, a swimming pool, an ice skating rink and other signature attractions and buildings. At , Patterson Park is not the city's largest park; however, it is nicknamed "Best Backyard in Baltimore."
Attractions and activities
Patterson Park has four main entrances at each corner. Its notable attractions include the boat lake (where fishing is permitted), the marble fountain, the
Pulaski Monument, and the Patterson Park Observatory The Patterson Park Observatory was built in 1891 as an observation tower for viewing the city and is still open to visitors.
The park is also home to the
Virginia S. Baker Recreation Center.
The park has smooth pathways suitable for biking and jogging. The sports fields are open for use to anyone who wants to play a game, and there are public tennis courts as well.
There are two playgrounds for children as well as a fenced-in dog park. There is a swimming pool open during the summer
and an ice skating rink that operates during winter. From spring to early autumn, several
festival
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...
s are held in the park. The neighborhood surrounding the park is part of an innovative
urban renewal
Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of blighte ...
campaign by the city and neighborhood leaders.
Nature
There are no heavily forested areas of Patterson Park; however, there are plenty of open spaces. The boat lake, reconstructed in 2001 and set for a small renovation in 2022, is inhabited mostly by
mallard duck
The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Argen ...
s and nesting Green Heron, but its avian visitors include
American Coot
The American coot (''Fulica americana''), also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the we ...
s and
Wood Ducks.
Great Blue Heron
The great blue heron (''Ardea herodias'') is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over most of North America and Central America, as well as the Caribbean and the Galápagos ...
and Black-crowned Night-Heron are occasionally seen on the lake. There are also fish, frogs, and turtles in the lake.
History
The high ground at the northwest corner of Patterson Park, called Hampstead Hill, was the key defensive position for
U.S. forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
against
British ground forces in the
Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore (September 12–15, 1814) was a sea/land battle fought between British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces repulsed sea and land invasions off the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland ...
during the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. The
redoubt
A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...
was known as Rodgers Bastion, or Sheppard's Bastion, and was the centerpiece of the earthen line dug to defend the eastern approach to Baltimore, from the
outer harbor in
Canton north to
Belair Road. On September 13, 1814, the day after the
Battle of North Point
The Battle of North Point was fought on September 12, 1814, between General John Stricker's Maryland Militia and a British force led by Major General Robert Ross. Although the Americans retreated, they were able to do so in good order having inf ...
, some 4,300 British troops advanced north on
North Point Road, then west along the
Philadelphia Road
Maryland Route 7 (MD 7) is a collection of state highways in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known for much of their length as Philadelphia Road, there are five disjoint mainline sections of the highway totaling that parallel U.S.&n ...
toward Baltimore, forcing U.S. troops to retreat to the defensive line. When the British began probing actions, the American line was defended by 100
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
and more than 10,000 troops. The American defenses were far stronger than anticipated, and U.S. defenders at Fort McHenry successfully stopped
British naval forces from advancing close enough to lend
artillery
Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
support, and British attempts to flank the defense were countered. Thus, before dawn on September 14, 1814, British commander Colonel Arthur Brooke decided the land campaign was a lost cause, and ordered the retreat back to the ships, and the United States was thus victorious in the Battle of Baltimore.
William Patterson (d. 1835), a Baltimore merchant, donated to the city for a public walk in 1827, and the city purchased additional from the Patterson family in 1860. Additions and improvements to the park made after 1859 were funded through the city's "park tax" on its streetcars, which was initially set at 20% of the fare. During the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the site was used as a Union troop encampment. Additional purchases in later years increased the park size to its present .
Several public accommodations at the park such as the swimming pools, picnic pavilions, and playgrounds were managed as "
separate but equal
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protecti ...
" until they were
desegregated
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...
in 1956. The park is included in the
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Baltimore National Heritage Area is a federally designated National Heritage Area encompassing portions of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The designated area includes the central portion of the city, waterfront, inner neighborhoods and portions of the ...
.
On October 10, 1962, President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
visited Baltimore and landed in his helicopter at the park and took an open top car to the 5th Regiment Armory. He was in town prior to the midterm elections to stump for the Democratic ticket.
Patterson Park Observatory
The Observatory, previously known as the Pagoda, was designed in 1890 and completed in 1892 by
Charles H. Latrobe who was the general superintendent and engineer under the Park Commission, led along with architect
George A. Frederick
George Aloysius Frederick (December 16, 1842 – August 17, 1924) was a German-American architect with a practice in Baltimore, Maryland, where his most prominent commission was the Baltimore City Hall (1867–1875), awarded him when he was ...
, who also designed
Baltimore City Hall
Baltimore City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Baltimore, in the State of Maryland. The City Hall houses the offices of the Mayor and those of the City Council of Baltimore. The building also hosts the city Comptroller, som ...
. It was designed as a people's lookout tower with an Asian motif, inspired by Latrobe's fascination with the East. The Observatory was designated as a
Baltimore City Landmark in 1982.
References
External links
The Friends of Patterson ParkPatterson Park– City of Baltimore
Patterson Park Audubon CenterPatterson Park Pagodaat Explore Baltimore Heritage
{{Authority control
East Baltimore
Parks in Baltimore
1827 establishments in Maryland
Baltimore National Heritage Area
Nature centers in Maryland
Southeast Baltimore
Patterson family of Maryland
Baltimore City Landmarks