Image courtesy Brian Miller, Full Circle Fine Art Services
Churches are the buildings that tend to stand out the most in a city—their features, their stained glass windows, the way they often tower over the buildings that surround them. However, you are something special, Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. You are unlike the rest. I remember the first time I saw you. I was a freshman in college trying to get acclimated to the area where I would be spending a majority of my time on the weekends. I had never been to this part of Baltimore before, and I had no idea what was in store for me. The Washington Monument was beautiful, but there you were, sitting quietly behind it, seemingly waiting for me to notice.
I had never seen a Church like you before. Your doors: a vivid, bright red color that I thought was so strange for a Church and yet so beautiful. The unique Maryland metabasalt fieldstone that wraps around your exterior, paying homage to the state you belong to. Every intricate detail on the outside was so fascinating to me, and I knew that whatever was waiting on the inside was even better. I did not see people approaching you at the time, and I knew that it was my chance to get to explore everything that you are in more detail.
At 144 years old you have never looked younger. I can tell that Thomas Dixon took his time with you, really wanting to create a beautiful masterpiece in this wonderful city, and he succeeded. You took the spot of the house in which one of history’s most significant figures, Francis Scott Key, passed away, and you do a magnificent job in preserving the place and making sure people know that this area is not just any usual area.
I am thankful for the day that I discovered you. I have yet to find anything that compares, and I truly hope I do not. Remember, you are something special. You’re close to me, and you’re something I can access so easily. I never rush past you without taking some time to notice everything about you. I hope you have 144 years ahead of you, and then some.
-Ashley Tippie
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