Though more easily noticed by pedestrians than motorists, there is a relic that offers no tangible clue as to it's intention.  Located on the East curb of the 1300 Block of North Calvert Street lies this stone.  Topped with a brace of copper, and carved in a cross between a post and an obelisk, it carries no inscription, yet it survives as if a monument of no intention.  Is it simply an elaborate post of hitching of horses, or did it possibly denote an old city boundary or property line.  It's imposing enough to be noticed, yet hidden enough to be forgotten.  Any clues on this interesting relic?


I received a few responses from this since 2002, and the overwhelming consensus seems to feel that this is a rather elaborate example of a horse hitching post.  One certainly wonders if other similar posts may exist in forgotten areas.  Tremendous thanks to all who replied.

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Since the 1950's, Baltimoreans have been accustomed to hearing a familiar sound every Monday just about 1:00pm, the weekly test of the City's Air Raid and Emergency Warning System.  These sirens have often been affectionately termed "the 1:00 Whistle."  The curious among us have often wondered just where the sounds originate from.  In my travels, I've come across a few odd pieces of Hardware that may just hold the answer.  Since like most, I'm on the job on Mondays at 1:00, I'm not able to definitively tell whether these are indeed the sirens (though with the ambience of sound waves, it would be hard to tell anyway)  Here then, are some photos of possible Air Raid sirens.  Can you tell me, whichizzit (if not none or all of them)?!? I think I have the answer on this, but I thought it'd be a neat feature.

This box and amplifier are easily visible standing on the Southwest corner of St. Paul and Franklin Streets.
Hanging from a post on Fairhaven Avenue just South of Church Street in Curtis Bay lies this apparatus.	Visible from Cold Spring Lane just West of the Jones Falls Expressway.  A similar setup is visible in the distance.

On June 5th, 2002, I got the answer to confirm my suspicions, courtesy of Wendell S. Hall, Junior, who writes....

Whichizzit? They're all warning sirens.  The ones with the rotating heads are examples of the Federal Signal "Thunderbolt", most commonly used by Civil Defense.  The little hassock - fan looking sirens are Federal Model 2s, 3s, 5s and the like, used both by Civil Defense (one was on the roof of Ridgely Junior High School, immediately adjacent to my 1 PM English class' window) and by local fire departments.  Check out http://www.airraidsirens.com/ for more on the sirens themselves.

As a footnote, it had been reported that the Warning System was to be replaced with a silent electronic system around 1998.  However, every Monday, the siren still rings in some parts of town in 2004.  In fact, it was placed in use when to warn citizens immediately following the derailment and fire in the Howard Street Tunnel in July of 2001.  Perhaps it's strange to find comfort and sentimentality in a piece of Cold War Hysteria hardware, but that's just what the old "1:00 Whiste" does!

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Dated 1860, it stands on the West Side of Falls Road just inside the gates of the Village of Cross Keys.  It appears to be a spring house from one of the nearby estates that once dotted the area, but it's not well documented.  Of course, the question posed is......"WHATIZZIT?!?"

 

Shortly after posting this, the answers began coming in.  Though guesses were hazzarded that it was a springhouse (my own thought), a guard house or a toll gate, it turns out that this is a Valve Station which held valves for water being pumped between Lake Roland and the Druid Hill Reservoir. Despite it's utilitarian purpose, it has remarkable charachter, and strangely looks at home amidst it's modern Cross Keys surroundings.  Many thanks to Michael Emig and Dan Lawrence for their correct answers, and to all who took the time to answer.