O'Donnell Square Businesses Profiled in New York Times

The travel section of Sunday's New York Times featured a review of some of the vendors on O'Donnell Square, including CCA Business Members 2910 on the Square, Claddagh Pub, Coburn's Tavern & Grill, Cosmpolitan Bar & Grill, and Mama's on the Half Shell.

The article describes O'Donnell Square as a "manicured grassy knoll where locals walk their dogs, play Frisbee and bask in the sun" -- a description that awkwardly blends the idyllic with the sinister. But the author brightens up the piece by sampling many well-known highlights including Claddagh's hearty mashers, all things oyster at Mama's, and Cosmo's famous martini menu.

So why not do what the locals do (according to the author) and start off your next lazy day at a bar?

Read "Cold Yuengling, Fresh Oysters" by Matt Villano in the August 26 New York Times.

Image: detail from original NYT illustration by Jorge Colombo

Fire Damages Historic Canton Church

A weekend fire in the empty Methodist church on the corner of Dillon and S. Ellwood (the former site of CCA public and board meetings) has Baltimore Fire officials looking for anyone who might have seen anything out of the ordinary on Sunday afternoon.

Fire Department spokesman Chief Kevin Cartwright said that units responded to reports of heavy smoke and fire coming from the rear of the unoccupied church on Sunday, August 26, at around 2:00 pm. The fire had spread to the second floor before it could be extinguished. Unfortunately, the church's stained glass windows were destroyed in the course of fighting the blaze.

Fire and Baltimore Police arson investigators concluded that the fire was caused by an electrical problem, possibly related to Saturday's heavy lightning. The church's trustees are in the process of cleaning up the debris and boarding the windows. While the structural damage appears to have been fairly light, the Canton Connection Online has learned that the building may be razed.

Pictures of the fire can be seen on Flickr.

Conkling Street Construction Schedule Updates

As reported previously on the Canton Connection Online, the Hanover Company recently began a two-year construction project to build an apartment complex on the site of the old Tulkoff Food Products/Gunther Brewery buildings on S. Conkling between Toone and Elliot Streets.

Project Manager Robert Hooten reports that the construction crews will be pushing back their starting times each morning out of consideration for nearby residents who are impacted by the noise. From now on, during the week construction will begin at 8:00 am. On Saturdays, work will begin at 9:00 am.

"We will start work at 7:00 am further south on our project away from Elliott Street," Hooten said. "We are anxious to complete the demolition as quickly as possible and are making every effort to do so."

Hooten also said that he anticipated the completion of a report by the project's structural engineer by this Friday, which he will distribute to community organizations and residents who would like to receive it.

UPDATE (Saturday, August 25): The interim vibration monitoring report is available for download here (PDF, 792kb). Thanks to Robert Hooten of the Hanover Company for providing this and subsequent reports.

UPDATE (Friday August 31): Construction crews will not be working over the Labor Day weekend. Work will resume Tuesday, September 4. On Saturday, a service crew will perform equipment maintenance, but no construction work.

UPDATE (Friday, September 7): Crews will be dismantling and removing the Tulkoff Bridge tomorrow (Saturday, September 8). Conkling Street will be closed between 7:00 am and 7:00 pm; please use Clinton Street to connect between O’Donnell and Boston Streets.

UPDATE (Wednesday, September 19): Demolition of the existing foundation and building should be completed by the end of September. The process of recycling the existing building should wrap up shortly after that. The crews are in the process of excavating and shoring up the space for the new foundation walls and parking garage, which should be completed in late October. Work on the concrete foundation will begin at that time and should last until February 2008. The Hanover Company is waiting to hear from Comcast about when they will come to remove overhead lines on the 2500 block of Elliott.

UPDATE (Wednesday, September 26): Comcast has informed the Hanover Company that the relocation of the overhead cable lines along Elliott Street into underground trunks will begin on Monday, October 1 and should wrap up by Wednesday, October 10. Comcast crews will be working in the North and East alleys between Elliott and Conkling Streets.

Saturday Concert at "Du" Burns Arena Could Impact Parking

Canton residents may have more than the usual trouble finding a decent parking place this Saturday night. That's when "Du" Burns Arena will be working to the beat of Grammy-nominated rapper/songwriter Lil' Wayne and Juelz Santana, who are in town to celebrate the release of Lil Wayne's new album, I Can't Feel My Face.

City Councilman James B. Kraft said in a press release issued earlier today that he has been working with City and State agencies to provide coverage for the event since hearing about the concert for the first time last week. “It has always been my policy to work with our neighborhoods to mitigate potential problems and promote safe and successful events that are respectful to the communities that host them,” said Kraft, pointing to this year's successful St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in O’Donnell Square as an example.

The event will feature valet parking, which will hopefully minimize the concert's impact on street parking in the neighborhood.

Contact Erin McVay, Councilman Kraft's legislative assistant, at (410) 396-4821 or emcvay@baltimorecitycouncil.com for more information.

League of Women Voters Announces City Council and Mayoral Forums

Throughout August and into early September, the League of Women Voters of Baltimore City will be hosting a series of forums for Baltimore City Council and Mayoral candidates. Forums that are of interest to Canton voters include:

• First District Candidates: Thursday, August 16, 6:15 pm at the Southeast Anchor Library, 3611 Eastern Ave.
• City Council Presidential Candidates: Tuesday, August 21, 7:00 pm at the Wheeler Auditorium, third floor, Pratt Library, 400 Cathedral St.
• Mayoral Candidates: Tuesday, August 28, 7:00 pm pm at the Wheeler Auditorium, third floor, Pratt Library, 400 Cathedral St.

More information is available at the LWV website above.

Image: iStockPhoto.com

Bridge Demolition to Close Part of Conkling Street

As part of the ongoing development of the properties in and around Brewer's Hill, this coming week the Hanover Company will be tearing down the overhead walkway that straddles S. Conkling by the old Tulkoff Food Products plant. A stretch of S. Conking between Toone and Elliott Streets will be closed from Wednesday, August 15, through Wednesday, August 22, for the dismantling process.

The "Tulkoff Bridge" is a familiar feature to Canton residents. Tulkoff Food Products, the family-owned and Baltimore-based spice manufacturer famous for its horseradish and its Tiger Sauce, was founded in the late 1920s. The company moved its spice manufacturing operations from "Corned Beef Row" to the site of the former Gunther Brewery in 1980. Recently, Tulkoff moved to a more modern facility at the Holabird Business Park near Dundalk.

The bridge removal is part of the Hanover Company's two-year construction project to build an apartment complex on the site. More details on the project can be found on the Canton Connection Online here.

Reminder About Newsblog Comments

The Canton Connection Online welcomes comments from readers -- opinions, comments, and follow-ups to our stories. However, in the interest of fairness, we have adopted the policy of only publishing comments that include the sender's name.

In other words, as is clearly stated in the "Interact" section at right: Anonymous comments will not be published.

This blog's software includes an "anonymous" option for comments. Please don't use it if you want your comments to be published!

We also require contact information (e.g., an e-mail address). The contact information is for verification purposes only -- we want to make sure you are who you say you are. Your contact information is never published, unless you give us permission to do so.

If you've recently submitted a comment and are wondering why it has not appeared on the newsblog, that's why. I'd like to include your comments as part of the ongoing discussion of news and events that are of interest to Canton residents, but I can't do it if no one knows who you are.

Thanks!
Paul Lagasse
Editor, Canton Connection Online
newsblog@cantoncommunity.org