Polish Home Hall
Built around 1905 in the vernacular Beaux Arts style, the Polish Home Hall originally functioned as a town hall and home to the volunteer fire company of Curtis Bay. In 1919, when Baltimore City annexed the area from Anne Arundel County, the Wise brothers took over the building to sew sailcloth for the shipping industries emerging in the area. In 1925, the United Polish Societies of Curtis Bay purchased the building and returned it to use as a community space. Polish American children attended school and learned both English and Polish in the space, which was a few block from St. Anthanasius Catholic Church. The hall was also used for social functions, such as dances. Local residents, Casmir and Catherine Benicewicz, served as caretakers of the Polish Home Hall until the 1980s when it became too much for the pair to handle. They passed responsibility on to another Polish organization but the building soon began to suffer from neglect. The Polish Home Hall was no longer used for community events and became dilapidated.
In the early 2000s, the Baybrook Coalition, a non-profit community development corporation, sought to revive the hall as a community space. Carol Eshelman, director of the Coalition from 2002 until 2010, researched the deed of the dilapidated building and tracked down Catherine Benicewicz. A beautiful friendship and impressive rehabilitation endeavor began with Benicewicz deeding the building to the Coalition. The rehab was funded by a bond issue spearheaded by House Representative Brian McHale and State Senator George W. Della Jr. and supplemented by funds from the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation in addition to donations from local citizens and businesses. Donald Kann served as the architect for the renovation. "The Hammers," local craftsmen volunteers, completed much of the work on the building. The Polish Home Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2007 when it reopened.
Polish Home Hall ~ Source: Mapping Baybrook
Polish Home Hall: Early photograph of the Polish Home Hall labeled "Firemans Hall, Curtis Bay, MD". ~ Source: Mapping Baybrook
4416 Fairhaven Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21226
"Polish Home Hall," Explore Baltimore Heritage, accessed January 16, 2021, https://explore.baltimoreheritage.org/items/show/476.
Published on Mar 3, 2015. Last updated on Nov 27, 2018.