From the 1920’s until the 1960’s, Pennsylvania Avenue was a prominent center of culture and entertainment in Baltimore City. The Royal Theatre on Pennsylvania Avenue was well known and Billie Holiday was a regular performer.
The original Billie Holiday plaza was dedicated in 1985. Since then, the statue had suffered decay, while high walls adjacent to the sidewalk created safety issues.
I was a member of the design team at Mahan Rykiel Associates, the landscape architecture firm responsible for the plaza’s re-design. Conceptual plans were submitted and approved by the community and drawings were prepared to guide the construction of the plaza.
Conceptual plan for the plaza