If it's all about making a good first impression, what better way to start than with the perfect stoop. White marble steps — a trademark of Baltimore architecture — are a common element among Baltimore's rowhouses. While the rowhomes erected were kept affordable for the working-class, the marble steps offered that "touch of class" to the otherwise modest home.
Homeowners of the past took great pride in caring for their front steps, scrubbing the dirt, grime, and footsteps from them weekly. While it may seem that this is a fading Baltimore tradition, is it possible it's making a comeback?
At local gift shop, Hometown Girl, you can buy your own Marble Step Cleaning Kit. The kit includes a pumice stone, bag of Bon Ami powder cleanser, and instructions (although you can easily assemble your own at any well-stocked hardware store). After your purchase, you can get a few scrubbing tips from artist, Megan Hildebrandt. In an effort to connect people with the history of where they reside, Hildebrandt (dressed in typical 1940's housewife attire), spent months going door to door offering to scrub Baltimore resident's steps. Hildebrand documented her experience in photos, paintings, and a video which can be seen in an exhibit at the Creative Alliance (hurry, exhibit ends Feb. 21st). If you can't make the exhibit, you can take a peek at a few photos and video here.
Is this an old-fashioned ritual that should be preserved? Are there any other cities out there still practicing this tradition?
(Images: 1,3; A. Aubrey Bodine, 2; Kimberly Watson, 4-5; Digital Photography Documentation of Reenactment 2008 via Baker Artist Awards)
© 2009 Apartment Therapy
My friend's mom is scrubbing white marble steps in the opening scene of the original (and far superior) "Hairspray".
To add more class, a respectable Baltimore row house will have painted screens of pastoral scenes on the storm door.
view Lori's profile
It's one of those bygone things that really builds community in neighbourhoods - it needs to comeback we need way more of that stuff now.
Doorstep pride in another context: I was born in Glasgow and the tenements there have shared breezeways called "closes". Women used to chalk designs on the freshly scrubbed floor of their close; about 8 families shared a close and the women on each floor took turns.
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The tradition of scrubbing steps and sidewalks is still very much alive in our old South Philadelphia neighborhood, known as Passyunk Square. This was once a predominately Jewish and Italian neighborhood, and there are many proud traditions still, especially among the old timers who were born and raised here. On our street, any one of the self described "old timers" might come out in their housedresses to scrub their steps, sweep the walk and chat with the neighbors. As a newer addition, I love the sense of community pride that it inspires....If you see an 82 year old out sweeping and scrubbing, you inevitably feel like you ought to get out there too.
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Baltimore representing on AT. Hooray!
view frontiersperson's profile
Thanks for the article. I love my marble steps, though they do need a bit of TLC. This is movitivating me to get out and scrub.... That is when temperatures get a bit warmer.
I live right across from the Creative Alliance to, so will have to stop by and check out the exhibit too.
baltimorerowhouse.blogspot.com
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I've heard another reason why Baltimoreans take such pride in their marble stoops is becasue they were quarried from the same place (Cockeysville, MD's "Texas" quarry) as the marble used in the Washington Monument and the US Capitol building.
Another excellent Baltimore post! I especially love the first picture and how it kind of resembles an Escher print.
view Gregorio's profile
I wish someone would clean the marble steps to my building. One tenant's dog has had accidents that no one cleans up and at one point someone superglued little plastic army men on to the steps.
I'll tell you, well maintained marble steps are nice, except in the winter when they get icy!
view Cheryl K's profile
I don't know, there's something kind of weird to me about Hildebrandt (a non-Baltimorean) swooping in to "revive" a tradition like this... I haven't seen the exhibit, though, so maybe it's actually a more thoughtful project than it seems. But as it's described here, it reminds me of some of the problematic things about HonFest, -- I'm mostly with Hampdenite John Waters on that one.
Rachel
Urban Discoveries Baltimore blog
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John Waters is not now nor ever has been a Hampdenite.
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