Ten large-scale road signs featuring silhouettes of Catonsville neighbors pointing toward historic sites will be unveiled on Saturday, Oct. 10, from 1 to 4 p.m. as part of a walking tour along Winters Lane and Frederick Road. Baltimore County Arts Guild will kick off the reveal with a special ceremony at The Clubhouse, 10 Timothy Lane.
Signs of People is a permanent public art project designed by Spanish artists Eva Salmerón and Ciro Márquez and constructed by local fabricator Kyle Miller.
Highly visible to both drivers and pedestrians, the signs portray local people with special stories to tell, such as former firefighter Mike Eagle, who called the Fire Station House his second home, or Phyllis King, whose family and church were a prominent presence in the Winters Lane community. The public can meet the featured residents on the walking tour.
Each 12-foot bright yellow sign includes two sidewalk-level plates: one with a photograph of the resident, quotes from their story, historic text and a photo of the site, and the other with a map of related sites.
As Márquez puts it: “The signs work first as a draw, and they also create a network of several routes linking places that are historically related to one another.”
The point to 10 places along Frederick Road and Winters Lane: the Remus Adams Blacksmith Shop; the Old Catonsville High School; the Albert Smith House, home to Catonsville’s first newspaper; Heidelbach Grocer and Butcher; the Fire Station House; and the Catonsville Health Center, a women’s public health advocacy organization and clinic. They also include Greenwood Electric Park, a social center for Catonsville’s historic Black community; the Winters Lane neighborhood; Salem Lutheran Evangelical Church; and the Post Office, where the sign features Victor Gustav Bloede, inventor of postage stamp glue.
The artists selected the residents portrayed on the signs from a pool of 43 nominees put forward by the community.
Salmerón said in a statement, “The most beautiful moments for me have been seeing some of the neighbors cry as they told me their stories. Imagine having your own road sign in your town, sharing something personal about a place you’re connected to in some way.”
Signs of People builds on years of community planning in Catonsville, Baltimore County’s first designated arts and entertainment district, including an engagement process that reached 249 community members.
In explaining his creative approach, Márquez said, “I combined elements from different photographs, trying to refine a gesture, an attitude, a profile that characterizes the person.”
Details: catonsvilleartsdistrict.org/signsofpeople
Road signs featuring silhouettes of local residents pointing to historical sites will be unveiled in a walking tour on Oct. 10 along Winters Lane and Frederick Road in Catonsville. Photo: Baltimore County Arts Guild