Robert Baker Park

Bounded by Key Highway to the North, by Light Street to the west, and overlooked by several dozen historic residential townhouses to the east and south, the park sometimes appears on maps, colloquially as Gateway Park — because of its location near where cars enter the Federal Hill neighborhood, coming from downtown Baltimore. went unlisted with the Department of Recreation and Parks, and went unnamed on most city maps. Various congregations and citizens groups worked to clean up the park. Today it falls under the purview of the Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point, as well as the South Baltimore Gateway Project, the latter which was formed in 2016 to manage dedicated community resources. Community members maintain a Facebook page, Robert Baker Park Federal Hill, to enable ongoing volunteer maintenance and awareness. The sculpture was dedicated in February 2019, by its prime fund-raiser, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, and the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association (FHNA). ==Origins==

The history of the Robert Baker Park extends to the period of Baltimore's history when much of South Baltimore's housing stock lay in a severe state of dilapidation, and pressures mounted to cut major roadways directly through the neighborhoods. Interstate Highway plans overlaid the historic district; leading to a period of controversy and litigation between highway planners and preservationists. Federal Hill-Montgomery Street residents made several suggestions, including developing a garden or promenade park that would replace the vandalized row houses along Hughes Street. (It was questionable whether the Hughes Street houses could be restored.) The design and detail of a plan for the garden will accentuate the historic quality and beauty of nearby residential structures. In an earlier plan for the boulevard, an attractive neighborhood fire station was to be taken. The community insisted that the station be saved along with the historic homes to the west of it. This resulted in the decision to have all these structures remain in their present location and the homes restored. A portion of Hughes Street would become a four lane (rather than fourteen lane) section of the Key Highway, crossing in front of Federal Hill. Opposition by the Federal Hill Neighborhood Association was ameliorated by the park. Abandoned homes and properties on what was then Hughes Street, were condemned to make room for the proposed buffer park. In 1976 the corner property at Williams Street and Hughes street was purchased out of condemnation — preventing the proposed buffer park from stretching the entire block Important aspects of the community design process stood out, in retrospect: ::"Several important factors emerge as having been decisive in reconciling the various viewpoints involved in the Federal Hill project and in developing plans satisfactory to groups whose interests differ so greatly. Those factors, which figured in achieving the compromise between residents of the historic district and the Interstate Division for Baltimore City, are: ::::1. Direct and open communication, ::::2. Concern for more issues than merely moving traffic volumes, and ::::3. Serious interest in minimizing harmful highway impacts. ::The mayor of Baltimore and his staff established direct communication with the community organization. Opposing views thus could be aired, and the problems faced by each side were more readily appreciated. The design consultants found that their greatest effort lay in communication. Their initial task was to understand the goals of the community and its assessment of the highway. The design consultants came to appreciate the concern about the derelict and decaying structures on Hughes Street and the image that the residents wanted their district to project. The consultants felt it essential to substantiate the reasons for various aspects of the proposal with proper technical information. The scale model and detailed drawings prepared for the residents of Federal Hill helped in achieving that goal." ==Robert Lewis Baker==

Robert (Bob) Lewis Baker was born in Baltimore and an internationally recognized plantsman. the book Pruning Ornamental Trees & Shrubs; and the small booklet, A Small City Garden: A Beginners Guide. In addition to traveling to Europe and Asia, including Japan in 1974 to study Japanese gardening principles, at age 42. ==References==