Structural Engineers
Source: Baltimore Fishbowl
A new park in south Baltimore has been named after the late US Representative Elijah Cummings, who died in 2019 and would have turned 73 today.
Elijah’s Park is the name of a public park created as part of Baltimore Peninsula, the mixed-use community overlooking the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River.
Located between Rye Street Market and 250 Mission, the 28,000-square-foot green space opened several weeks ago as Triangle Park. Representatives for the development team behind Baltimore Peninsula – a group led by MAG Partners and MacFarlane Partners, with investments from businessman Kevin Plank and others — said they decided to name it after Cummings as a tribute to his legacy as a champion for Baltimore.
“Having the opportunity to pay respect to Congressman Cummings, who played such a vital role in uplifting Baltimore, is an absolute honor,” said MaryAnne Gilmartin, founder and CEO of MAG Partners, in a statement. “The dedication he showed to the City of Baltimore and its residents is truly awe-inspiring, and it is only fitting that his legacy is commemorated at Baltimore Peninsula as we strive to contribute to building a better Baltimore for all.”
“As someone with such deep roots in Baltimore, and having spent so much of my life in this city, I am deeply grateful to Congressman Cummings for his commitment and dedication to helping Baltimore thrive,” said Plank, CEO and Principal of Sagamore Ventures, in a statement. “As we began initial planning for this park, I knew right away that it was of vital importance to pay homage to the congressman and the unwavering care he put into representing and advocating for the city and especially Baltimore youth.”
“Congressman Elijah Cummings will forever live in Baltimore’s history as one of our greatest heroes – a testament to Black excellence, dedication to our city, and love for every Baltimorean,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, in a statement. “His spirit and example have inspired so many Baltimoreans to pursue public service, myself included. This park will be a physical manifestation of that legacy: a place where all Baltimoreans will be welcomed to honor one of the best Baltimoreans to walk our city’s streets.”
Gifted orator
Born to two sharecroppers in a segregated Baltimore in 1951, Cummings graduated with honors from City College, Howard University and the University of Maryland School of Law.
He served as US Representative for Maryland’s 7th congressional district from 1996 until his death in October 2019. Before he was elected to Congress, Cummings served in Maryland’s House of Delegates from 1983 to 1996.
A gifted orator, Cummings was the first Black legislator to be named speaker pro tem in Maryland’s House of Delegates. In the House of Representatives, where he represented parts of Baltimore City, Baltimore County and Howard County, he rose to become one of the most powerful and respected voices in Congress, a civil rights leader who fought for social justice, fairness and a democracy that serves all Americans.
Throughout his career, Cummings was an advocate for the rights and welfare of young people in Baltimore and nationwide. He fought to improve children’s education and healthcare and was outspoken on the need to foster healthy and safe conditions for future generations.
The 28,000-square-foot park at Baltimore Peninsula, formerly known as Port Covington, is one of two new city parks that honor Cummings. A park on Mura Street in East Baltimore also has been dedicated to the late congressman. Portraits of Cummings are on view in the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at Johns Hopkins University and in the Elijah Cummings Room in the Rayburn House Office Building, part of the US Capitol complex in Washington, DC.
‘Living messengers’
Designed by Hoerr Schaudt Landscape Architects of Chicago and PI.KL Studio Architects of Baltimore, Elijah’s Park includes sculptural pavilion structures, a large oval lawn, playground, trees and native plants. The playground was designed by MONSTRUM, a Danish playground maker, and is its first project in Maryland.
The park also features a work of mosaic art inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement. It was created by high school participants of The Choice Program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in partnership with teaching artist Carien Quiroga, and created at Baltimore Peninsula’s Impact Village.
The Choice Program at UMBC is a nonprofit organization administered by The Shriver Center that works to disengage youth from the juvenile justice system and strengthen community ties through educational and vocational opportunities.
Each year, the Choice Program leads the creation of a mosaic during spring break to engage local youths while they’re out of school. Etched into the mosaic at Elijah’s Park is a quote from Cummings: “Our children are the living messengers we send to a future we will never see…so, we want to send them to that future healthy, strong, vibrant, and with their destinies in their own control.”
“Elijah’s Park is a living memorial and a beautiful tribute to my father’s legacy,” said Jennifer Cummings, the congressman’s eldest daughter, in a statement. “My Dad would often say of his work, ‘this is bigger than me,’ and this park is exactly that, a large public greenspace for the community to make productive use of and enjoy. It fills me with great joy to know that his impact will be remembered by all those who visit the park, and I am grateful to the Baltimore Peninsula team and the City of Baltimore for commemorating his dedication to and representation of the city he loved so deeply.”
