Endowment/Conservancy

The City of Baltimore, Friends of Mount Vernon Place, and Mount Vernon Belvedere Association are all working together towards the creation of a Mount Vernon Place Conservancy Partnership Agreement. The benefits of the Conservancy include:

1. Mount Vernon Place is the historic heart of Baltimore City. With its wealth of cultural institutions, historic character, and pedestrian scale, the Mount Vernon neighborhood could once again become one of the most desirable places to live and visit in America. The squares of Mount Vernon Place can readily become one of Baltimore City's crown jewels and the catalyst for revitalizing the entire district.
2. The City Department of Recreation & Parks, Department of Transportation and other City agencies, Midtown Benefits District, Friends of Mount Vernon Place, and Mount Vernon Belvedere Association all make significant contributions to the parks' maintenance. Nonetheless, there is no organized management program or single entity that takes overall responsibility for its restoration and day-to-day functioning.
3. The squares require significant restoration and improvement in order to realize their potential as a major attraction for tourists and residents. The restored squares, the finest surviving landscaping plan developed by Carrere and Hastings, and the Washington Monument by Robert Mills, the country's first public monument to George Washington, can become world class attractions if a coordinated management plan is developed.
4. The creation of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy (to include the four squares and Washington Monument) will provide the management entity necessary to bring a new level of awareness, respect and care for this National Historic Landmark.
5. The Conversancy Partnership Agreement will represent a public/private partnership between the City of Baltimore and the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, a private nonprofit corporation. The public/private partnership will take the form of a lease agreement and include shared restoration and continuing maintenance responsibilities.
6. The Conservancy will undertake an authentic restoration of the four squares in the tradition of Carrere and Hastings. The restored squares will be a showplace of beauty and a lively venue for people, including the disabled, to gather and enjoy public events.