BGuthrie Photos: MD -- Baltimore -- Maryland Historical Society -- Exhibit: Treasures Unearthed From Baltimore's Washington Monument

MD -- Baltimore -- Maryland Historical Society -- Exhibit: Treasures Unearthed From Baltimore's Washington Monument:

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Description of Pictures: Treasures Unearthed From Baltimore's Washington Monument
July 2015 to December 2015
During the $5.5 million restoration of the Washington Monument, begun in January 2014 by the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, not one, but two time capsules were discovered. Both were located during construction investigations by project superintendent George E. Wilk II of Lewis Contractors.
The 1815 Time Capsule was hidden away in the Monument's cornerstone. On February 18, 2015, the cornerstone's outer lid was removed, revealing an inner lid carved with the names of the Monument's original stonecutters and masons. Beneath this were three glass jars stuffed with newspapers and wrapped bundles. Barely visible below the jars was a metal plate said in the original accounts to commemorate the day. The items were removed from the well by conservators from the Walters Art Museum and taken to the Maryland State Archives for further treatment. Despite their age and original damp condition, the items are in remarkably good condition.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. MDHSTU_150830_01.JPG: Treasures Unearthed from Baltimore's Washington Monument
2. MDHSTU_150830_05.JPG: Remarkable Monument, Remarkable Restoration: 1815 Baltimore's Washington Monument is the nation's first memorial to President George Washington. As the contents of its cornerstone reveal, it is also a monument to American independence. An account published in the Baltimore American on July 6, 1815 notes the monument was a memorial "in honor of the illustrious Defender of American Independence." Designed by American architect Robert Mills, the monument has long been the centerpiece of one [of] the most beautifully designed spaces in the United States -- Mount Vernon Place. Baltimorean Robert Gilmor Jr., President of the Monument's Board of Managers, shepherded a three-decade long campaign to fund the construction. By 1843, the total cost reached $203,764.08. The Board of Managers' papers provided valuable guidance for the restoration, including documentation that the wood doors were originally "bronze" finished and that the cast iron railing was originally painted "bronze green." Original documents from that collection are exhibited outside of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library on the second floor of the museum.
3. MDHSTU_150830_09.JPG: Marble Inner Lid: Inscribed "William Steuart / and / Thomas Towson / Stone-carvers / Sater Stephenson / Stone-Mason", 1815
4. MDHSTU_150830_11.JPG: Brass Commemorative Plate: Obverse inscription: Fourth of July cornerstone Reverse inscriptions: Board of Managers, Architect, Mayor, John Eager Howard Bottom of the plate etched, "Engd. Wm. H. Freeman". Right side stamped, "E. Hubball. / Balt." 1815
5. MDHSTU_150830_13.JPG: Jar with no lid, c 1815 A copy of the July 3, 1815, Federal Gazette, open to a page showing the Declaration of Independence printed in the paper that day, was found on the top of this jar. The newspaper appears to have been laid over the jar as it was installed. Looking into this jar it was clear that there was one bundle wrapped in paper, surrounded by other folded newspapers. A variety of other newspapers were also inside the jar. Jar with Cork, 1815 This jar contained the items mentioned in the 1815 account. It may be the jar documented as purchased for the cornerstone in the Washington Monument Committee papers. At the top of the jar were three newspapers, folded into small square packets: Daily Federal Republican (Georgetown), July 1, 1815. The American & Commercial Daily Advertiser, July 3, 1815 was found below these papers and wadded up in a ball. An article had been cut out of the paper, possibly from page 2 based on the orientation. Below this, with the newspapers still encircling the outside of the jar, were two packets, each found to contain a book.
6. MDHSTU_150830_19.JPG: Twelve coins and medals were found at the bottom of the jar with the lid. Each one was wrapped in its own paper and labeled with an inscription.
7. MDHSTU_150830_32.JPG: Columbia's Legacy; Or, Washington's Valuable Advice to His Fellow Citizens, Published by Him at the Period of Announcing His Intention of Retiring from Public Life at the Expiration of the Present Constitutional Term of the Presidency of the United States. To which is added, His Speech to Congress, at Their Present Session, Which Terminated His Political Career. This volume was wrapped in a paper inscribed, "Washington's Legacy." An embossed profile likeness of George Washington on a lack background is on the first title page.
8. MDHSTU_150830_36.JPG: Federal Gazette & Baltimore Daily Advertiser, July 6, 1815 William Gwynn, by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin, c 1815 The newspaper was found in the covered glass jar. On page two is an account of the laying [of] the cornerstone. The profile likeness of William Gwynn, editor of the Gazette, by Charles Balthazar Julien Fevret de Saint-Memin (1770-1852) was found between pages two and three of the paper.
9. MDHSTU_150830_40.JPG: Copper Time Capsule Box, 1915 This time capsule marked the centennial of the laying of the Washington Monument's cornerstone. Soldered shut to protect its contents, it was discovered during the monument's restoration. Within it was a group of documents and objects that commemorated two great moments of independence in our nation's history: the Declaration of Independence and the centennial celebration of the victory at Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. A sample of the objects found within the capsule are on view in this exhibition.
10. MDHSTU_150830_47.JPG: History Discovered, Treasures Unearthed: 2015: While conducting the restoration of the Monument, a number of discoveries were made. Craftsmen found a wall of signatures in the subterranean vaults beneath the monument. These names identify and document just a few of the site's many visitors during the early years of construction. The restoration team also discovered places where the original craftsmen left their names or initials on the undersides of stones. 1915: In October 2014, the 1915 Time Capsule was discovered behind a bronze plaque commemorating the monument's centennial. In February 2015, while excavations were being made for a sewage tank, the long lost 1815 cornerstone was revealed. Inside it were glass gars containing many of the objects seen in these cases. The contents of both the 1815 and 1915 time capsules provide a wealth of insights into the remarkable history of this national landmark and some of the people who helped to create it.
11. MDHSTU_150830_53.JPG: Scroll with signatures of "Subscribers to the Washington Monument Centenary Tablet Fund", July 4, 1915
12. MDHSTU_150830_60.JPG: This exhibition case holds a selection of documents and other objects found in the 1915 time capsule. Star Spangled Banner Centennial Commemorative Medal, 1915 Commemorative Medal for the Opening of the Panama Canal, 1914 As a port city economically-fueled by trade, the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 was viewed by many Baltimoreans as the beginning of an even more prosperous period for the city. Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of the Battle of New Orleans and Major General Andrew Jackson, 1915
13. MDHSTU_150830_62.JPG: National Star-Spangled Banner Centennial / Baltimore, Maryland / September 6 to 13, 1914
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AAA "Gem": AAA considers this location to be a "must see" point of interest. To see pictures of other areas that AAA considers to be Gems, click here.
Description of Subject Matter: The collections include the original copy of Francis Scott Key's writing of the Star-Spangled Banner.
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [Museums (History)]
2015 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used my Fuji XS-1 camera but, depending on the event, I also used a Nikon D7000. I retired from the US Census Bureau in god-forsaken Suitland, Maryland on my 58th birthday in May. Yee ha! Trips this year: a quick trip to Florida. two Civil War Trust conferences (Raleigh, NC and Richmond, VA), and my 10th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles). Ego Strokes: Carolyn Cerbin used a Kevin Costner photo in her USA Today article. Miss DC pictures were used a few times in the Washington Post. Number of photos taken this year: just over 550,000.
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