Winner of Preservation Maryland’s coveted “Phoenix Award,” the restoration of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum (circa 1876) was years in the making.
Under the direction of Southway Builders and Waldon Studio Architects, our Wagner team installed a completely new low-slope roof system, rebuilt the flat seam metal turret roofs, and restored the decorative metal cornice that defines its Victorian Romanesque style.
Prior to the restoration, nearly all that remained of the building’s historic structure was the brick shell of the exterior walls, which had to be stabilized before construction began.
From Preservation Maryland’s “Best of Maryland” Awards Press Release:
The nation’s oldest standing Jewish Orphanage, a stately 1876 Romanesque Structure in Baltimore City, was once slated for demolition and suffered decades of abandonment, but thanks to the hard work of community advocates and preservation professionals, the building has been reimagined into a much-needed health care center operated by the Baltimore Health Department and Behavioral Health System Baltimore. The combination of a signature vacant building and the desperate need for medical options created a powerful opportunity for reuse of the Asylum. For achieving this awe-inspiring rehabilitation and for providing a place for Marylanders to perhaps remake themselves, this year’s Phoenix Award to Coppin Heights Community Development Corporation, Baltimore Heritage, Inc., and Waldon Studio Architects.
