The Mount Vernon Place Conservancy (MVPC), the so-called “private group”, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization with a Board of Directors established in November 2008 to restore and manage the use of Mount Vernon Place in partnership with the City of Baltimore. Board and committee members have extensive historic preservation, horticultural, operations, and fundraising experience.

The MVPC-City of Baltimore partnership is modeled after successful public-private partnerships, such as those between the City of New York and the Central Park Conservancy and the Bryant Park Conservancy to restore and manage New York’s Central Park and Bryant Park respectively. The main goal of the MVPC-City of Baltimore partnership is to restore and manage the use of Mount Vernon Place so that people today and in the future can continue to enjoy it.

Mayor Rawlings-Blake, Mayor Sheila Dixon, Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, Friends of Mount Vernon Place, and many institutions, organizations, and individuals. Click here for more endorsements and testimonies or click here to add your own.

A museum-quality comprehensive plan by the design firm, Olin Studio of Philadelphia, to restore and install much-needed infrastructure and accessibility improvements in the four Parks and Washington Monument, which comprise Mount Vernon Place. The Conservancy has so far raised over $200,000 in donations to commission a plan of this comprehensive nature with the highest calibre of excellence.

Simply, there are few firms with the same level of world class experience. Further, an out of town organization is more able to provide bias-free best practices advice. Olin Studio is a leading landscape design and preservation firm in the United States with expertise in urban landscapes. The firm’s work includes the Washington Monument grounds in the District of Columbia, Bryant Park and Columbus Circle in New York, the Midway Plaisance Winter Garden in Chicago, the Stark Sculpture Garden at the Getty Center in Santa Monica, California, the Sculpture Garden of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, and the landscape for the new U.S. Embassy in London, England. The firm also recently received a new commission to redesign the public space in front of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Make no mistake: The Olin Studio is committed to preservation and urban revitalization, and have made their recommendations after extensive research and evaluation.

No. The MVPC board and restoration committee members are committed to preserving the characteristic design features of Mount Vernon Place. Every aspect of the Master Plan was carefully considered and debated.

The Plan has been reviewed by the MVBA’s Architectural Review Committee and peer reviewed by many experts in historic preservation, who have praised it as a model of preservation and park management with standards exceeding those recommmended by the Secretary of the Interior.

There is significant damage to and deterioration of the marble balustrades, fountain basins, retaining walls, sidewalks, and other architectural elements throughout Mount Vernon Place, including structural issues with the Monument itself. The soils, which are compacted and contaminated, cannot support a successful tree canopy or grass. There is no irrigation or electrical infrastructure to support the many activities that take place in Mount Vernon Place. Everything looks good from a distance (including some of the trees) until one takes a closer look. Recently, the historic iron fence that surrounds the Monument was even hit and damaged by a vehicle. The Conservancy has the expertise to effect a proper restoration. Click here for Images.

The Conservancy was formed because it is clear that the City of Baltimore, with so many pressing demands on its resources, cannot fully support the restoration that Mount Vernon Place deserves. The majority of funding will come from foundations, businesses, the federal government (Baltimore’s Washington Monument is a designated National Historic Landmark within a National Historic Landmark District on a newly designated National Scenic Byway), state government, and private donations, which will be used to leverage Baltimore City’s contribution.

Above ground and under ground infrastructure (irrigation, drainage, rainwater run-off collection, electrical) along with replacement of all contaminated soil, and new perimeter sidewalks for improved access. No more stringing electrical cables through trees during Flower Mart and Book Fair. The Plan is an investment in the future of Mount Vernon Place for the next century.

The Plan looks to not only the present but also the next century, with strategies to create a thriving tree canopy. Removing and replacing the existing trees is an unfortunate necessity. Look closely and note how many are dying or are near the end of their lifespan. Bill Graham, previously Chief Horticulturalist of the University of Pennsylvania’s Morris Arboretum and consulting arborist for the MVPC, has carefully evaluated each tree and reported that many of them were planted too deeply, which prevented proper drainage and nutrition, and in soil pits that were too small, which hampered their growth and ultimately damaged their health.

Regarding the so-called “historic trees” in the petition that has been circulating: What the petition does not mention is that many trees in each of the four parks show signs of stress, 21 have been recommended for immediate removal due to their present condition, and 24 are judged to have a life expectancy of less than 15 years. Among the warning signs that the trees are in trouble are the exposed roots, thin canopies, and calluses and wounds on the trunks.

Also, it would be impossible to install the necessary drainage and irrigation systems without some potential damage to the existing trees. Tree replacement would be closely coordinated to minimize impact, and of course no removal of existing trees would occur until all funds and preparations were in place.

New trees in the four Parks will be mature 8″ caliper (diameter) specimens and approximately 30′ tall, providing an instant canopy. Species will be different for each of the Parks and carefully coordinated for greatest visual impact.

Trees along all the surrounding sidewalks will be 6″ caliper (diameter) and approximately 25′ tall. Species of these trees will also be coordinated with each Park.

In contrast, trees typically planted by the city are 1.5″ to 2″ caliper.

Over the past two centuries, the trees in Mount Vernon Place have ben completely replanted on a number of occasions. Examples in the following years: [YEARS, PHOTOS] Most recently in Baltimore, all of the trees have been replanted in War Memorial Plaza, City Center Plaza, and on Charles Street — all with impressive effects. Elsewhere, in New York and Paris, trees have been recently completely replanted in historic parks. With several exceptions, many of the existing trees in Mount Vernon Place are from the 1980s or later — they are not “old growth” trees, and while they have sentimental value to many, some were planted randomly, and most were planted incorrectly in improper tree pits and are now nearing the end of their life. At present, there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in Mount Vernon Place and leave a lasting legacy for future generations by installing a coordinated and historically accurate tree canopy that will be able to survive in the harsh urban environment.

Mount Vernon Place is considered the finest landscape still in existence by the Beaux-Arts firm of Carrere and Hastings, which was most famous for their winning 1897 New York Public Library design. Originally designed as formal French gardens with symmetry and clear lines of sight, the current status of the four Mount Vernon Place Parks does not reflect the firm’s original vision. Once restored, proper visual focus and grandeur will be returned to the spaces.

The budget is significant because Mount Vernon Place is a national treasure and deserves the finest level of care and museum-quality craftsmanship. The public-private partnership created to achieve this goal will allow resources to be brought to this project that the City could not accomplish on its own. The financial analysis is also conservative with multiple contingencies.

The MVPC and Olin have presented the Plan many times in public forums and to city officials over the past year, most recently at a CHAP-sponsored public informational hearing at the Engineers Club in June and again to CHAP Commissioners (open to the public) in September and October. The Plan has been well-publicized and was also presented twice to the open general membership meeting of the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, which voted to support the Conservancy and restoration plan.

2015 is the bicentennial of the cornerstone laying of Baltimore’s Robert Mills–designed Monument. It is anticipated that there will be a renewed interest in preserving and restoring the nation’s first monument in honor of George Washington. Potential donors, including the federal and state government and foundations, would expect that any plan worth contributing to must be of the highest caliber.