Ellicott City: Renewing Vows

Just walk around the historic district in the early morning and you will fall in love, if you haven't already! Rather than focus on a business on Main Street, I decided to show you the streetscape in a limited way--a Main Street view in the early morning--then some broadbrush strokes as I walked up Church Road by the Courthouse and beyond. First things first: This "profile" photograph of the familiar face of the historic district is straight up, looking at the pink clouds, the confusion of wires, and the historic architectural details. I said out loud, "Yes, this is it!" This is home and why I love it.











Then, down to earth again--Main Street with its varied building materials and forms, a faint glimpse of the current shops, a street lamp, and no cars! They will come, especially since today is another special "shopping" Sunday for Ellicott City.


Nonetheless, I reserve my feature space for a renewal of vows...as I walked around, saying periodically, "This is why I am here!" It has far more to do with the sense of place in time and the scale of things, their maintenance and preservation, than with what I can buy here. Don't get me wrong: I do buy here and support local businesses, especially the restaurants and galleries...and artists who work here and around here because they have chosen to be here as well. I lament closures and applaud positive change.












Can you tell? I am off Main Street now
and have walked up the hill to the residential
areas on and near Church Road.
It's too bad there is no audio, because
early in the morning, the chatter of birds
in the trees and on the wires is hypnotic.











Add to the birdsong, the profusion of flowers before Summer actually hits
on the 21st...oranges and purples...the hydrangeas and cornflowers personal
favorites. These are wildflowers, so if you pick them, their "shelf life" is limited.
Better to look and register the feeling in your head--and heart. It all
disappears so quickly.









Up Church Road above the Circuit Court House--
if you should continue your walk--
this sign will greet you. Look to the left of the sign up the
hill and The Patspsco Female Institute,
which is now used for Shakespeare Plays,
Halloween events, weddings, and parties.
I was too late the in the morning to see the deer eating grass on the steep hill.

Actually, my original thought was to take you up
the hill to show you some great preservation
projects in the residential neighborhood, but a summer
tennis match is about to start, so I will leave you here
to enjoy the rest of this beautiful morning.





Kay Weeks, content and photographs
June 13, 2010
Be sure to visit Jeremy Kipp Clark's
comprehensive web site on Ellicott City
Historic District...& beyond.

http://www.ellicottcity.net/