Baltimore: A History, Block by Block

Since 2011, I have been working on a project titled Baltimore: A History, Block by Block. It is an extension of my graduate thesis at MICA, where I photographed every building on Old Town Mall (formerly Gay Street) in East Baltimore, researched the history behind the neighborhood, how it declined, and what is being planned for its future. Currently there are ten main streets in Baltimore that I am photographing. Using a 4x5 view camera and Fujichrome Velvia slide film, I photograph these streets, building by building, block by block. So far I’ve documented over 100 city blocks with over 500 images. I will also be researching the history of individual buildings and blocks as well as overall neighborhood history and finding historic images of what these places used to be. The long-term goal is to publish a series of books along with several exhibitions, ideally in the neighborhoods I’ve been photographing. My goal is to also create a comprehensive, open source digital archive where all of the photographs and research can be accessible and available to the public for free for the future generation.  Through this project I aim to leave the audience not only with a sense of the condition of our city, but also a feeling of urgency to see that it is preserved and improved, and that the rich history behind the architecture and the community is not lost, but rather embraced.