Baltimore’ s fight against injustice extended to battles on its own streets against corruption and inequality. In 1835, enraged citizens took to Baltimore’ s streets to protest fraudulent practices by the Bank of Maryland that left thousands of working-class depositors penniless. Decades later, in 1877, Baltimore became a focal point of the Great Railroad Strike( pictured below), as workers protested wage cuts and dangerous working conditions imposed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
H. L. MENCKEN WAS KNOWN FOR HIS SATIRICAL COMMENTARY ON AMERICAN LIFE.
A defiant and“ dripping wet” city, Baltimore rejected the 18th Amendment that prohibited alcohol in the United States in 1920. Local restaurants continued to stealthily sell beer by using symbols such as red crabs to signal when it was on tap. The Belvedere Hotel’ s Owl Bar had two ornamental owls perched outside that, when blinking, let patrons know it was safe to drink. The bar, which still exists today along with one of the original owls, has been a popular watering hole for several famous figures, including the“ Sage of Baltimore” H. L. Mencken.
Mencken spent Prohibition brewing beer at his home on Hollins Street, which is now a museum devoted to his life and work as a Baltimore Sun newspaper reporter and author. Baltimore’ s rebellious spirit, exemplified by Mencken, continued to manifest throughout the 20th century as a silenced population finally made its voice heard.
THE OWL BAR
CARLY FULLER
34 BALTIMORE. ORG