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