Moment in Oddity - El Ojo (Suggested by: Michael Rogers)
This Month in History - Bruce Mozert Photography (Suggested by: Jenny Lynn Raines)
In the month of October, on the 14th, in 2015, American photographer Bruce Mozert passed away. Mozert was most well known for his exceptional underwater photography. In 1938, Mozert was working on a photoshoot in Miami, Florida. While there, he heard about the filming of a Tarzan movie in Silver Springs near Ocala, Florida. Once Bruce arrived at Silver Springs and he encountered the crystal clear water, he decided to stay. Mozert became Silver Springs official photographer. Bruce stated of Silver Springs, "I saw that crystal clear water and that's how I got into my underwater work". His photographs were very unique. He didn't typically feature fish or other subjects normally found underwater. The majority of his photographs highlighted women underwater doing every day chores that would routinely be done on land. Tasks like cooking, reading newspapers, mowing lawns and even archery were featured. The photos are stunning and were used to advertise Silver Springs to tourists and film crews. Over the years his photographs were published in The Huffington Post, National Geographic, Life, Look and Smithsonian Magazine. His reproductions of his work can be purchased online through various sites. Even if you have no interest in purchasing any of his pictures, we highly recommend searching his photography to enjoy. Bruce Mozert passed away in his Ocala, Florida home at the age of 98.
Lord Baltimore Hotel
Viewing historic pictures from the Lord Baltimore Hotel conjures images of the Overlook Hotel and Jack Torrance standing for a photo with a large group of guests. It's heyday came during the glitz and glamour of the 20s and 30s. The hotel has stood for nearly 100 years and hosted several notable people. It also was the scene of several suicides after the Stock Market Crash. And for that reason, despite its historic charm, there are many ghosts hanging around the hotel. Join us for the history and hauntings of the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
Before the City of Baltimore was founded, the Susquehanna tribe was here at what is known as the Potomac Creek Complex. The merchant ship The Ark arrived at nearby St. Clement's Island with 140 colonists in 1634. More Europeans followed and settled north of the island and the city of Baltimore was founded in 1729. The city was named for Cecil Calvert, the 2nd Baron Baltimore and was laid out in 1730. Growth was slow as people were skeptical that the city's port would be an effective place of transport. A man named Dr. John Stevenson shipped his Flour over to Ireland successfully from Baltimore and once other merchants saw this, Baltimore exploded. Official incorporation came in 1796. The War of 1812 put Baltimore in the crosshairs of the British. In 1814, the Battle of Baltimore was fought and the British were unable to take Baltimore and they fled. The nation was inspired by the victory and so was Francis Scott Key, who watched the battle as a captive onboard a British warship. He was inspired to write a poem called "Defense of Fort M’Henry," which became our National Anthem. The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad was America’s first railroad and gave the city even more prominence. So many immigrants came through Baltimore's port that it was second only to New York City as a national port-of-entry.
Before the Lord Baltimore Hotel was on the site, there was another hotel named Hotel Caswell here. It had opened as a 250-room hotel in 1905. Harry Busick had come to Baltimore from the small town of Still Pond. He got a job as a clerk at the Carrollton Hotel and worked there for a year until it burned to the ground. Busick moved on to the University Hospital and he became very successful. He got a loan from a bank and leased the New Howard Hotel. Within two years, he was managing the Caswell Hotel. With the responsibilities of running tow hotels, Busick formed the Union Hotel Company and under that he decided to build a "super-hotel" in Baltimore. He bought the Caswell Hotel for $750,000 in 1919 and nine years later he had it razed. Now, he was going to build his dream hotel.
Busick hired the renowned architect William Lee Stoddart to design the hotel. Stoddard had designed several hotels up to this point, but the Lord Baltimore would be his finest achievement. Stoddart was famous enough in his time for his divorce from his wife to become a national scandal covered by the New York Times. In 1908, his wife Mary filed for divorce, citing extreme cruelty, and took the couples three children from New Jersey to Reno, Nevada. Stoddart counter-sued, accusing Mary of having an affair with an architect friend of his. The New York Times, in National Enquirer fashion, published three personal and intimate letters that Mary had written to Stoddart in which she begged for a divorce and fianacial help. Stoddart finally agreed to the divorce and sent money. The scandal didn't hurt him that much as his success with the Lord Baltimore Hotel and other grand hotels reveals.
The design features a Beaux-Arts style with elements of Italian and French Renaissance. This was the last high-rise building in Baltimore with classical ornamentation in the downtown area. The foundation of the hotel was in a U-shape with two steel and brick towers capped by an octagonal tower with a granite trim and flat roof that was at the rear or the bottom of the U. There was also a copper-covered mansard on that rear tower with carved stone dormers and large medallions depicting the head of a lion. The copper has now turned the hue of gray-green patina and it's just a very cool look. Rising to 289 feet, the hotel was the tallest building in all of Maryland at the time. The interior featured elements of Italian Renaissance and large squared piers with Corinthian capitals. A marble stairway led from the 5,300 square foot lobby to the main dining room that had mirrored transoms and large windows. The lobby was surrounded by a mezzanine and originally had Terrazo marble floors and rose Traventine marble walls. There was a banquet hall on the second floor that featured crystal chandeliers and room for over 1200 people. There were also meeting rooms on this level. Like many hotels of the time, the ground level featured stores.
The Lord Baltimore Hotel opened in the winter of 1928 with 700 rooms. Many in the city attended its opening gala, including Governor Albert Richie, Baltimore mayor William F. Broening and even some relatives of the royal Baltimore family. This was such a big affair that a local radio station broadcast the opening live. There was a two-story speakeasy hidden away in the hotel that was remodeled into a storage closet in 1933 after Prohibition was over. Harry Busick died shortly after the hotel opened when he drowned in 1930. A New York Times headline reads "Harry Busick of Baltimore Found Dead Near Ducking Blind." His sons Nelson, Howard and Morton took over managing the hotel and it flourished. Even though the Great Depression and World War II impacted the economy, the hotel managed to do well because of the superior service, design and amenities.
In the 1940s, the hotel underwent a re-decoration program. The Calvert Ballroom received a collection of historic murals done by Baltimore artists Mabel and John Georgi. One of the murals shows a view of Baltimore in the 19th century looking south from the Washington Monument and another shows street scenes of Baltimore during the 19th century. During the early years of the hotel, it was segregated as ordered by local ordinances, so no blacks were allowed inside. By 1958, the Busick brothers were done with those ordinances and they opened the hotel to everyone. And so that year, three baseball greats - Willie Mays, Hank Aaron and Frank Robinson - were able to stay at the Lord Baltimore when they played in the All-Star Game hosted by Baltimore. Ten years later, Martin Luther King, Jr. stayed while attending the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Dr. King was given the keys to the city by the mayor Tommy D’Alessandro III at the hotel. (That's Nancy Pelosi's brother.)
The Busick brothers decided to sell the hotel in 1960 to a New Yorker named Weissberg for $7.1 million. The Lord Baltimore went through several owners after that and it started to deteriorate. The Baltimore downtown had an economic downturn as well and business wasn't going well for the hotel. It struggled until a company named Federated Enterprises, Inc. bought it at auction in 1969 and began an extensive renovation. This was an inspired effort, but didn't work and the hotel closed in 1982. This was after the hotel had suffered three suspicious fires as well. In 1992, Universal Equities partnered with Radisson Hotels and they reopened the hotel as the Radisson Plaza Lord Baltimore. The building was renovated further and brought back to its former glory. Hilton bought the property in 1997. In 2013, the Rubell family bought the hotel and ended the relationship with Radisson so they could operate it independently. The family proceeded to invest millions into the building. Under their management, the Lord Baltimore has flourished and won numerous awards.
With over 20 documented cases of suicide by jumping from the roof of the hotel, it's no wonder rumors persist that the hotel is haunted. Suzanne C. Koogler DeVier writes the Baltimore Through My Eyes blog and she shares, "With elevator access to what is now the LB Skybar, an outdoor space on the 19th floor, jumpers would have found it very easy to make their way to the edge of the roof. After my grandfather began working there as the night auditor, per my grandmother, one of the jumpers actually landed on the hood of his brand new car, completely destroying it." The Lord Baltimore has ended up on many Top 10 haunted hotel lists and participated in the world's largest ghost hunt for several years.
A woman and a man are heard quarreling on the mezzanine when no one is visibly seen. The elevator seems to have a mind of its own at times and the 19th floor seems to be the most haunted. Guests claim to feel a presence in their rooms and some claim to be touched while near or on the elevator. The spirit of a little girl wearing a cream colored dress and black shoes with a red ball that the staff call Molly, has been seen in the ballroom and on the 19th floor. Guests have complained to the front desk about a young girl bouncing a ball keeping them awake. The story behind her is that her parents jumped from the roof of the hotel and took her with them. A ghostly couple seen dancing in the ballroom is said to be her parents, but some investigators disagree and say the couple definitely don't like being disturbed.
WJZ in Baltimore has a segment called "Where's Marty?" and last year for Halloween he was at the Lord Baltimore. They had several things happen that they couldn't explain. During the intro, a wall sconce started blinking for no apparent reason. A little red ball that was used as a trigger object, rolled all by itself. The camera guy who was named K2 - lol - told viewers that the battery in his camera completely died. WBAL TV11 reported from the hotel this year, 2024, in September for National Ghosthunting Day. They caught a figure on the SLS Camera. Reporter Tori Yorgey told viewers that a tripwire on the floor had been flickering for several minutes and a K2 she was holding kept pinging as well.
The hotel has this account from a former employee named Fran Carter, "In 1998, Fran was on the nineteenth floor of the building, preparing a small meeting room for future use. She was working at a table facing the wall with an open door to her left. She bent over the table for a few moments, absorbed in her work. Then she looked up and to her left at the doorway. A little girl wearing a long, cream-colored dress and black, shiny shoes ran by the open doorway, bouncing a red ball before her. Fran immediately ran outside, calling after her, 'Little girl, are you lost?' The hallway was completely empty. Fran, quite shaken at this point, turned around to go back to the meeting room when she saw two people walking down the hallway toward her. The first was an older gentleman dressed in formal attire. He was accompanied by a woman in a long ball gown. Fran asked them if they were looking for their granddaughter because she had just run by. She turned to point in the direction the child had passed. When she turned her head back toward the two people, they had just vanished right before her eyes. Fran was then so frightened that she called a security guard. He stayed there with her until she finished her work, and no more ghostly visitors appeared on the nineteenth floor that evening. A few years later a guest at the hotel told Fran that she believed that her room had a ghostly visitor. She was awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of a child crying. As she sat up in her bed, she saw a little girl crying and rocking herself back and forth while sitting in the window of her room. As the woman rose to go to the girl, she slowly faded away. The little girl was wearing a long, cream-colored dress with black shoes. One evening, a few years later, Fran was approached by a coworker who told her that three people were standing in the dark in the ballroom of the hotel. The hotel’s ballroom is a very large room, which can accommodate 1,250 people seated at banquet tables. Three arched ceiling length windows dominate the far wall of the room, the side of the room opposite the entrance doorway. When Fran entered the ballroom, she walked across the room in the direction of the windows. She noticed that there were indeed three people standing there in the darkened, moonlit room. One man stood before the far left window, another stood before the far right window, and a woman stood a few feet behind the men before the middle window. They were all looking upward through the windows. Fran noticed that he was wearing a dark, possibly blue, sport blazer with metallic buttons that gleamed in the darkness. He had an ascot tied around his throat and appeared quite the dapper gentleman, She thought that his clothing was odd, but at this point didn’t know that her visitors were out of the ordinary. She then asked them if they would like some light and walked by the man in the ascot to turn on the light switch, just a few feet from where we was standing. Light immediately flooded the room-and the three visitors were gone!”
Haunted hotels are the best places to rent a room and they sure are fun to investigate. Are people really seeing the ghost of a little girl at the hotel? Are there spirits hovering near the beds? Does the elevator really have a mind of its own? Is the Lord Baltimore Hotel haunted? That is for you to decide!
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