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The Maryland Curiosity Bureau

What’s The Controversy With The Roland Water Tower In Hoes Heights?

The Roland Water Tower in Baltimore's historic Hoes Heights neighborhood (Photo credit: Shan Wallace, The Baltimore Banner)
The Roland Water Tower in Baltimore's historic Hoes Heights neighborhood (Photo credit: Shan Wallace, The Baltimore Banner)

Have you seen that Rapunzel-looking brick tower next to the Hoes Heights neighborhood in North Baltimore? It just got restored, and everyone agrees it looks beautiful. That’s pretty much where the good feelings end. Now there’s a bitter argument over what’s going to happen to the little plot of land around the tower. Some folks want a park. Others want access roads. Baltimore Banner reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall joins the podcast to unpack how a seemingly innocent planning project has reaggravated some long-standing racial wounds in a historically Black neighborhood.

In this episode, we hear from:

Baltimore Banner reporter Jasmine Vaughn-Hall

Baltimore Brew reporter Fern Shen

Claire Agre of Unknown Studio

Hoes Heights Action Committee members Joanne Kent, Eleanor Matthews, Teri Logan, Hana Morford, and Kitsy Lee

Friends of the Roland Water Tower member Michael Falk

Baltimore City Council Members Odette Ramos and James Torrence

The Maryland Curiosity Bureau
Aaron creates and produces original radio programs and podcasts for WYPR. His current project is The Maryland Curiosity Bureau. Aaron's neighborhood documentary series, Out of the Blocks, earned the 2018 national Edward R Murrow Award. His past work includes the long-running weekly cultural program, The Signal, and the Smithsonian Folkways Recordings series, Tapestry of the Times. Aaron's stories have aired nationally on NPR's Morning Edition and All Things Considered.