Moxley refuses to save Arden

Tell councilman community wants Bloede House to stay

Letter to Editor of the Catonsville Times published: August 20, 2008

Councilman Sam Moxley decided to allow the demolition of the Victor Bloede house on Forest Avenue.

His four reasons for not placing the house on the County Landmarks list are quoted below from his e-mail to me and others. Following each one is my response.

"I based this decision on several factors. First, this property was considered for landmark nomination in 2006. At the time, the Landmark Preservation Commission did not move forward because staff determined the existing house was not historic and the application was withdrawn."

Reply: Staff did a hasty drive-by, and did not know the historic significance of Mr. Bloede, which is the reason his house was nominated to the landmarks list. In January, the Landmarks Preservation Commission voted 7-3 to put the house on the Preliminary Landmarks List, which makes any earlier considerations irrelevant.

"Also, the LPC staff review of this recent third party request did not support landmark status. In fact, the county staff did not believe the house is 'a distinctive example of a particular architectural style or period' and that 'the house Mr. Bloede lived in while he was notable burned down.'"

Reply: The house was not nominated for its architecture; it was nominated -- and approved by the LPC -- because of its association with Mr. Bloede. It's true that the original house burned, but the new house occupies the footprint of the old one, and Mr. Bloede lived on the site for 40 years.

While Albert Einstein lived in Princeton, his productive days were behind him. Should Einstein's house in Princeton be demolished for a new subdivision?

"Additionally, the LPC's own technical committee recommended that the property not be listed: that it be torn down instead."

Reply: The full LPC disagreed and overwhelmingly voted to put the house on the Preliminary Landmarks List.

"Lastly, the property owner did not apply for this status. While I am very supportive of historic preservation, it is important to me to have the property owner's support. When someone else applies for the status, I expect there to be absolutely no question as to the validity of the request. With the reports I received from county staff, the LPC, and residents and interested persons, that did not happen here."

Reply: The property owner does not live in the United States. He is an absentee landlord. The push for demolition comes from a developer, who does not live in the area and does not even own the property yet.

Under these circumstances, I don't see why their desires should outweigh those of the community, especially since all the new houses can fit on the site without having to demolish the Bloede House.

The law and the facts overwhelmingly support the landmarking of the Bloede House. Its demolition in the face of community opposition can only be construed as a handout to a developer.

How do we know?

Because there is one question Mr. Moxley did not address: How does Catonsville benefit from the destruction of the Bloede House?

It's not too late. The County Council will meet Aug. 26 at 2 p.m. to discuss the landmarks bill.

Please contact Councilman Moxley and ask him to add the Bloede House to the landmarks list.

Daniel Rosen
Catonsville

Welcome to the Save Arden blog

Arden was the former home of Victor Gustav Bloede built in 1924 in Catonsville, Maryland. It is currently at risk of being razed to make room for a 23 unit PUD on the grounds of the estate. The property was given preliminary Historic Landmark status in January by the Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Commission.

The Baltimore County Council held a public hearing on July 7th. The Council will vote on Arden’s final Landmark status on July 29th. We need YOUR help! Please contact Councilman Sam Moxley, and the rest of the Council members, to voice your opinion on the necessity of preserving Arden. We need you to urge Councilman Moxley to draft a bill placing Arden into permanent History Landmark status.

Take a moment to read the posts below to learn why this property is so important to not only Catonsville, but to the general public as well. We welcome your comments. Don’t forget to visit the related links to the left. Please click on the subscribe button so you can be kept up-to-date on the progress. We will post information on this site as it becomes available.

Letter to the Editor of the Catonsville Times

Razing of home would be a loss for Catonsville history

The building of the Baltimore Beltway tore the heart out of just one neighborhood: Eden Park in Catonsville.

The stately streets at the edges of that neighborhood still run between Edmondson Avenue and Frederick Road, but they are separated by Interstate 695.

What's left of Eden Park is on the verge of suffering demolition of yet another of its great historic houses.

The developer of 23 townhouses on Forest Avenue wants the Victor Bloede house gone.

Built to be fireproof in 1924 and called Arden by its owner, the house, though in disrepair, is habitable and structurally sound.

Three of the proposed 23 townhouses barely intrude on the footprint of the existing house. The new houses and the Bloede house can easily coexist on the 7-acre site, but the developer won't budge.

If Councilman Sam Moxley does not place the Bloede house on the final landmarks list at the County Council's work session July 29, it will disappear.

Victor Gustav Bloede (1849-1937) was one of the greatest people ever to live here.

Catonsville, as we love it, would not exist if not for him, because he brought water, electricity, the streetcar and the First National Bank -- which still stands on the corner of Frederick Road and Ingleside Avenue -- to the town, in addition to building Eden Park.

To learn more about Mr. Bloede's achievements, his more than 20 patents, and his national and international renown, go to http://savearden.blogspot.com/.

Please write, call, e-mail or visit Councilman Moxley, urging him to place the Bloede house on the final landmarks list.

It is difficult to pass on traditional values without traditional places, and the short-term interests of a contract purchaser do not outweigh the interests of the community, where Victor Bloede lived and worked.

His house has stood for 85 years and deserves to remain.

Daniel Rosen
Catonsville

In Summary: Victor Bloede

Victor G. Bloede
1839-1937
Catonsville Baltimore County
Maryland

Baltimore Countian Victor G. Bloede was noted as a chemist; among his 20 plus patents are creation of aniline dyes (called Sunfast), and postage stamp glue. These inventions almost pale in comparison when mentioned along with his other achievements:

-Graduate of Cooper Union at 18 with degree in chemical engineering and associate of Peter Cooper (the "Tom Thumb")

-Contemporary of Thomas Edison and executives of Standard Oil and member of the turn of the century cult of invention in the US

-Winner of the Republique Francaise Medal, Paris 1889, the World Columbian Exposition Medal Chicago, 1893, the Franklin Institute Medal 1894, Peter Cooper Medal for Significant Contribution to Chemical Research 1918 and Cooper Union Award for Assistance to the Blind and Afflicted

-National pioneer in construction technology

-Who's Who in American 1925

-But most important to us he built or caused to be built:

Bloede Dam (power generating) – on the Patapsco; first of its kind in nation with reinforced concrete and with underwater hydrological plant housed in metal plating from Poole and Hunt who made plates for the Capitol Dome. (By comparison Conowingo Dam was not built until 1928.)

Patapsco Electric and Manufacturing Co using power from the dam to bring electricity to the area

            Catonsville and Ellicott City Electric RR 1899

These creations are representative of the means by which Baltimore City could be accessed; opened the door to the expansion of the suburbs with the introduction of municipal comforts as was transpiring in other urban areas. This is a time when no other company or government would extend these facilities.

1^st National Bank of Catonsville – 1897 along with John Glenn of Hilton and Dr. Charles MacGill regimental surgeon to the Stonewall Brigade. (the 1902 building still stands in Catonsville)

Avalon Water Works 1906

Maria Bloede Building part of Eudowood Sanitarium

Eden Terrace Water Co. – pumping station and water from Caton Springs with a water wheel powered by steam

- But further he was a man of compassion, intellect and civic activism:

Supporter and signatory to a letter for President Grant along with Horace Greeley, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Peter Cooper

Provider of a form of workman's compensation before any such assistance was used

            Assured that citizens had local banking opportunities

Frequent contributor to the Sun

Author of The Reducers an innovative work on recycling photographic wastes/      toxins

Member of the Maryland Fifth Regiment Reserve Corps (the famous "Dandy Fifth")

Member of the 6^th International Congress on Tuberculosis along with B. Griswold, Governor George Brown, Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte, Mayor Barry Mahool, Cardinal Gibbons, Dr. JMT Finney and Daniel Gilman

Victor Bloede was a chemical engineer, entrepreneur, banker, innovator, construction genius, benefactor, businessman, award winner, philanthropist, catalyst and a dedicated citizen of Baltimore County.

A letter to Councilman Moxley. . .

. . . from a former Catonsville resident.

Dear Councilman Moxley,

How many times have you said, "I remember" referring to someone or something from your childhood years? I, for one, have certainly had that experience and that phrase came back to me recently when I heard of the plans to raze the Victor Bloede home in Eden Terrace, Catonsville, MD.

The close proximity of my childhood home to Eden Terrace made it possible for me and my brothers to play in that area in the mid-to-late 1930s. I recall the beauty of the interior of one of the homes on Arbutus Avenue (which was vacant at that time) and find it almost impossible to believe that any part of Eden Terrace, and particularly the Victor Bloede home, could be destroyed for townhouse development. If you, Councilman Moxley, or the members of the Council have read the history of this great man, I believe you would be hard-pressed to allow his home to be destroyed. An important reminder of Bloede's life and contribution to society would be his home and Catonsville should be proud to call him "one of our own" and not allow this horrible plan to move forward. There will be many more homes and townhouses erected in and around Catonsville, I'm sure, but there will never be another Victor Bloede home.

While I am no longer a resident of Catonsville, I still have roots there and I hope you and the Baltimore County Council will let clear and wise minds prevail in this decision-making process.

It is important to pass a bill to give this home permanent historic landmark status. Once destroyed, it can never be retrieved.

Catonsville Times Article

House's protection may hinge on guilty plea 100 years ago

Lawyer makes case against landmark

By Marcia Amesmames@patuxent.com

Posted 7/16/08

The fate of Victor Bloede's Catonsville home may depend on his rap sheet, not his achievements as a chemist, inventor and entrepreneur.

Wanting to preserve the 83-year-old, vacant house at 110 Forest Ave. that Bloede built and occupied until his death in 1937, neighbor Steve Lackey nominated it for county landmark status last year.

The house qualifies based on its association with a historically significant person, according to Lackey and the county Landmarks Preservation Committee, which approved the nomination in January.

From Towson attorney Scott Barhight's point of view, however, Bloede's guilty plea in 1908 to charges of conspiring to defraud the U.S. government should trump the nomination.
Barhight represented developer Charles Skirven in a July 7 hearing before the County Council, which has final authority to designate county landmarks.

The County Council has 90 days from the July 7 hearing to decide whether to approve the landmark nomination.

Barhight described the 1908 case as one argument against preserving the house, he told the Catonsville Times.

Furthermore, a final ruling that preserves the house would cause Skirven to drop his 23-unit, county-approved plan to raze it and build The Villas at Eden Terrace at 110 Forest Ave., Barhight said.

Skirven, who has described the house as "a shambles," has a contract to buy the 6.5-acre property from its current owner, Lino LaPenna, who lives out of state.

His plan for The Villas at Eden Terrace was approved last fall under the county's Planned Unit Development review process.

In May this year, the plan received the zoning relief needed for construction to proceed on the development, which would be marketed to people age 55 and older.

With the Bloede house a county landmark, however, Skirven would need county Landmark Preservation Commission approval to demolish it or change its exterior architecture.
"Fat chance of that happening," Barhight said, referring to approval for demolition.
Lackey describes Barhight's account of the 1908 conspiracy case as "misleading."
"Personally, I found Mr. Skirven's lawyer, with his affront to Victor Bloede, to be remarkably offensive," he said.

Although Bloede was technically guilty of violating the law, he had not intended to defraud the government, according to a 1908 Washington Post article.

Lackey also defends Bloede's historical significance.

In addition to his namesake dam on the Patapsco River in Catonsville, which housed an electrical generator thought to be the first of its kind, Bloede is credited with developing Eden Terrace, the neighborhood that includes Forest Avenue, Lackey noted.

Bloede invented and patented the first adhesive used on postage stamps.

He also collaborated with a U.S. Department of Treasury chemist to develop an ink used by the department in steel engraving.

It was in the development of the ink that he ran afoul of the law.

Lackey, who has researched the issue with a Bloede family member, alleges that Bloede had the U.S. Department of Treasury's blessing in the late 1890s to collaborate with a department chemist to develop ink the department needed for steel plate engraving.

Bloede subsequently sold the ink under annual, competitive contracts to the department for more than 20 years.

Beginning in 1901, he agreed to share royalties from the sales with the department chemist who had helped him develop the ink.

The agreement was approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, according to Lackey and the Bloede family.

In 1908, Bloede and the department chemist both were indicted by a federal grand jury for conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government, according to the Washington Post.
Acting on bad advice from a friend who was a Baltimore judge at the time, Bloede pleaded guilty and paid a fine, according to Lackey.

Barhight's attempt to discredit Bloede was "pathetic," Lackey said.

"If this is the best they can come up with, Mr. Skirven is not getting his money's worth," he said.

Aerial Image

To see an aerial image of the property click on the link below:

http://tinyurl.com/5lr5m2

Bloede Facts

1. Victor Gustav Bloede
   
   1. Bloede was a remarkable entrepreneur who not only made a significant contribution to Catonsville and Maryland, but the nation as well.
      
   2. He was born in Dresden, Germany in 1849 an emigrated to Brooklyn, New York as an infant.
      
   3. His father, Gustav, was a surgeon during the Civil War.
      
   4. Bloede worked days while attending the Cooper Institute, a unique educational and charitable institution "for the advancement of science and art" in New York City, where he studied chemistry and pharmaceutical preparations.
      
   5. In 1867, at the age of 17, he applied for his first patent in dextrin processes.
      
   6. By 1877 he moved to Baltimore and started the Bloede Company on Caton Ave.
      
2. The Glue
   
   1. Bloede is the inventor of the gum adhesive on US postage stamps – the source of his first fortune.
      
   2. By 1916 the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing contracted with Bloede for all the dextrin used for the gumming of stamps which lasted until 1987.
      
3. The Dye
   
   1. In 1888 he received international fame for his discovery of the process for dyeing textile fabrics in Sunfast colors. This was the first of its kind.
      
   2. Thanks to Bloede, the clothes you are wearing resist fading and maintain their color.
      
4. Family Man
   
   1. In 1883 he married Elise Schon of Toledo, OH, daughter of renowned architect, Carl Schon, Sr.
      
   2. They had five children: Marie, Carl, Ilse, Victor, Jr., and Vida.
      
5. Eden Terrace
   
1. Although Catonsville's origins begin with Charles Carroll of Carrollton and his son-in-law Richard Caton in 1810, Bloede played a significant role in establishing Catonsville as a thriving suburban community.
   
   1. Up until the 1850s Catonsville was a popular stopping place for wagons and stagecoaches traveling the Frederick Toll Road to Ellicott City and points beyond.
      
   2. From the 1850s to the 1880s Catonsville became a summer community for the wealthy and affluent of Baltimore City escaping the heat.
      
2. It wasn't until 1892 when Bloede established the Eden Construction Company, and began development of the community of Eden Terrace, did Catonsville begun to look like the homey suburb we know today.
   
   1. Eden Terrace consisted of over 50 plots with the intention of the homes to be year-round residences. Some would be palatial homes; others would be more modest cottages.
      
   2. His father-in-law Carl Schon, Sr., designed the community and at least six homes.
      
   3. Renowned Philadelphian architect William Lightfoot Price designed at three cottages in Eden Terrace.
      
3. The residents of Eden Terrace would have all of the modern conveniences, provided by Bloede, of course.
   
   1. Bloede brought electricity to not only Eden Terrace but Catonsville as well with the establishment of the Patapsco Light Co.
   2. In 1906 the Bloede Dam was built in Ellicott City to generate the power needed.
   3. It was one of the first concrete enforced dams in the country.
      
   4. The Eden Terrace Water Company, via an artesian well, provided water.
      
   5. Bloede had the foresight in 1899 to bring develop Catonsville & Ellicott City Electric Railway.
      
      1. Not only did this guarantee Eden Terrace residents convenient travel to and from Baltimore, it assured the continual growth of Catonsville as a suburb of Baltimore City.
         
4. Arden
   
   1. One of the first homes to be built in Eden Terrace was Bloede's home known as Arden.
      
      1. Designed by Carl Schon, Sr.
         
      2. Construction completed in 1893.
         
      3. Made of stone, five-story tower, an observation deck with views of Baltimore as well as Annapolis.
         
      4. It was often referred to as a masterpiece of Queen Anne Architecture while others argue it was of a baroque Saxon style.
         
   2. In December 1922 the Bloede family would be struck by two tragedies in as many days.
      
      1. On December 22 of that year Victor Bloede Jr. died of pneumonia.
         
      2. The next day Arden caught fire and burned to the ground.
         
      3. Bloede was devastated.
         
5. Arden II
   
1. In 1924 a new Arden was built, much different from its baronial predecessor.
   
   1. The new Arden is believed to have been built to be fire proof with its 18 inch walls and copper roof.
      
2. The property stayed in the family until the 1960s.

The Jeffersonian Article

Bloede house could be razed to build 23 townhouses
Council to hold landmarks hearing July 7
Posted 7/04/08
by Marcia Ames

The Baltimore County Council will hold a public hearing Monday, July 7, on proposed additions to the county's Final Landmarks List, including a house at 110 Forest Ave. in Catonsville.

Built by the late chemist and entrepreneur Victor Bloede, the 83-year-old house received preliminary landmark status in January from the county's Landmarks Preservation Commission.

Forest Avenue resident Stephen Lackey nominated the property on the basis of its association with Bloede, who lived there until his death in 1937.

Bloede developed Eden Terrace, the neighborhood that includes Forest Avenue, and the first power plant that supplied electricity to the area.

Opponents of the nomination included landmarks commission member Qutub Syed, who had inspected the house and recommended it for demolition, saying it appeared structurally unsafe.

The County Council has the final decision, which will affect the outcome of Charles Skirven's plans for a 23-townhouse, Villas at Eden Terrace development at the 6.4-acre site.

Skirven, who also opposed the nomination, has a contract to buy the property from its current owner, Lino LaPenna, and intends to raze the house.

If the house becomes a historic landmark, Skirven would need to reconfigure his plans and retain it in the new development or obtain Landmarks Preservation Commission approval to demolish the house.

The July hearing follows the council meeting, which begins at 6 p.m. in the County Council hearing chamber, second floor of the Old Courthouse building, 400 Washington Ave., Towson.

Speaker registration begins at 5:30 p.m.

http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/news/1312/bloede-house-could-be-razed-build-23-townhouses/

Letter to Developer

Dear Mr. Skirven:

This letter is to tell you that I was sincere at the Landmarks Preservation Commission last week when I volunteered to help you with the historic tax credit paperwork and to edit your marketing materials for the Villas at Eden Terrace should the Bloede House remain as part of the development. Ms. Wise, who also testified at the hearing, and I would also be willing to create a booklet on Mr. Bloede and his house that you can reproduce for distribution to potential residents. It would be our contribution to help save the house.

I know that I am not in your shoes, but in this buyer's market I have to think that you really don't believe the house is a complete millstone.

The house adds panache and a tradition that other developments don't have. Preservation is a green endeavor as well. Finally, it lets buyers know that you are serious and trustworthy. I suggested one marketing slogan at the hearing. Here's another: "We restored this house for another hundred years. We took the same care building your house." The running gag about new subdivisions is that they are named after the special features that they remove; the Villas can escape that fate by retaining the Bloede house.


Daniel Rosen

Catonsville Times Article

Historic connection the foundation for landmark status
01/17/08
By Marcia Ames

The Baltimore County Landmarks Preservation Commission has denied developer Charles Skirven's request to raze the Victor Bloede house in Catonsville.

The Jan. 10 decision gave preliminary landmark status to the 83-year-old house at 110 Forest Ave., site of Skirven's proposed Villas at Eden Terrace development.

He said he was shocked by the decision, as the house is "a shambles" that would require about $250,000 to $1 million to salvage.

Built by the renowned Catonsville chemist and entrepreneur, who lived there until his death in 1937, the building has historical value for its association with Bloede, according to Forest Avenue resident Stephen Lackey, who proposed it as a county landmark.

The case will go next to County Executive Jim Smith and the County Council, which has the final say.

Skirven has a contract to buy the 6.5 acres from its current owner, Lino LaPenna, who lives out of state and did not attend the landmarks commission hearing in the case.

Skirven's Eden Terrace received county approval as a Planned Unit Development last fall, on condition that he design and market the gated, 23-townhouse community to buyers age 55 and older.

Although he still faces a challenge in obtaining building permits for the site because it falls within the boundaries of the Frederick Road and Ingleside Avenue's failing-grade intersection, Skirven can apply for zoning relief to allow construction.

But with the Bloede house a historic landmark, he would need to reconfigure his plans and retain it in the new development.

"It sabotages the plan," he said, adding that he was surprised by Lackey's action in nominating the house as a landmark.

Skirven said he had worked for some months to reach agreement with Lackey on an alternative, such as a plaque on the site honoring Bloede.

"Steve just came out of left field with this," Skirven said.

The house has no historical significance architecturally, according to Skirven's attorney, Dino La Fiandra.

Furthermore, landmarks commission member Qutub Syed had inspected the house and recommended it for demolition.

"It does not look like it is structurally safe," Syed said at the hearing.

Catonsville historian Marsha Wight Wise and Ruth Mascari, a former member and chairwoman of the commission, supported Lackey's assertion that the house is associated with a historically significant person.

Under county guidelines, that condition alone qualifies a structure for landmark consideration.

A stamp collector since childhood, Lackey told the commission he was impressed by Bloede's reputation for inventing and patenting the first adhesive used on postage stamps.

He described Bloede as an entrepreneur and developer as well as a chemist and inventor, whose many achievements include Eden Terrace, the Catonsville neighborhood that includes Forest Avenue, and the first power plant that supplied electricity to the area.

Bloede is credited with the development of Bloede Dam on the Patapsco River in Catonsville, which housed an electrical generator thought to be the first of its kind, Wise said.

Under county guidelines, the County Council will hold a public hearing before deciding the Bloede case. The hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Skirven said he did not know what he would do if the final decision goes against him.

"We are looking at all the options," he said.

E-mail Marcia Ames at Marcia Ames@patuxent.com