The ornamental stone eagle is gone. So are the carved faces on either side of the entrance, the stone basket-weave detailing under the pediment and numerous other architectural flourishes.

Stripped-down as they are, the grand north and south-facing facades of the red-brick Hendler Creamery Building are still standing. But not for long.

Demolition has begun on the 134-year-old Baltimore landmark – deemed structurally sound in 2007, but later sold to a politically-connected developer, who removed the roof and exposed the interior to the elements.

The upscale $75 million rebuild promised by developer Kevin Johnson never got started.

Instead, citing massive structural deterioration and safety issues, the Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP) approved demolition of the building at 1100 East Baltimore Street, despite opposition by advocates who said the showpiece still could be saved.

• Plugged-in contractor gets city building with no money down (5/23/13)

The Helping Up Mission, which has acquired the building from Johnson, is being permitted to remove the architectural elements as well as artifacts related to its past as a cable-car powerhouse, Yiddish theater and trailblazing ice cream factory.

According to the authorization by CHAP, Helping Up should make “every reasonable effort” to salvage the following building components:

• Ornamental eagle stone from peak of roof.
• Ornamental face stone pieces.
• Brick window arches and rounded center pier (two).
• Approximately 4,000 standard 8″ pieces of brick.
• Historic floor tiles and a windowpane.
• A wooden panel with handwritten inscription circa 1890s.
• Leaded glass window (broken and would require repair).
• Manhole cover atop a round underground coal room.

Daniel Stoltzfus, Helping Up Mission CEO, says all the items have been safely protected and preserved, most of them intact.

“They’re shrinkwrapped and are being stored,” he told The Brew. “And the bricks – we actually saved more of them than we promised – have been palletized and set aside.”

“The Velvet Kind”

Floor tiles near the entrance that say “The Velvet Kind,” the Hendler company’s tagline for its extra-smooth ice cream, were not totally salvageable, according to Stoltzfus.

“Still, we’ll try to save what we can, and we’ll save the entire landing. There’s an arch above that door that will be saved as well,” he continued, noting that a local company, Elite Restoration, has been engaged to guide the process.

At some point, the salvaged items will likely be incorporated into “some sort of memorial or commemoration or courtyard wall,” Stoltzfus said.

“As we told CHAP, we fully intend to save everything we said we would save, and honor the history of the building and its significance to the community.”

Strategic Purchase

In recent weeks, a crew from West Virginia-based A-Zone Environmental Services has been gutting the building, located in the city’s Jonestown neighborhood.

There was no activity on the site over the weekend, but three large yellow excavators were visible from the Fayette Street side of the demolition site. Nearby was their work product: piles of twisted metal and crumbled masonry and bricks.

• For critics decrying the state of historic preservation in Baltimore, Hendler Creamery is Exhibit A (4/10/23)

Faith-based Helping Up, located across Baltimore Street from the former creamery, focuses on “recovery for addiction and homelessness,” according to its website.

Stoltzfus said once the building is leveled the site will remain as an open green parcel for the approximately 600 adults and children who access its facilities and programs on Baltimore Street.

“Our plan is to use it for a critical outdoor recreational space for our communities to gather, to walk around, run on running trails, do outdoor athletics or gardening,” he said.

“It won’t be a public park per se, but we may make it available for certain community events in Jonestown.”

Asked about future plans on the prime parcel, Stoltzfus said there are none at this time, “but it’s obviously a strategic property, being right across the street from our main campus, so we’re trying to keep the value for our future.”

There was no response to questions sent to Johnson’s Commercial Group, which does not appear to have ever been fined for building violations at the site and continues to win many city housing contracts. An affiliated entity, Hendler Creamery Development LLC, is still listed on city and state databases as the owner of record.

Johnson Signed the Permit

Testifying last year on behalf of demolition before CHAP, Helping Up officials said the organization’s purchase of the property was contingent on getting permission to knock the building down.

According to a representative of the demolition company reached by The Brew, the entity hiring them changed from Helping Up Mission to House of Freedom, Inc.

A nonprofit created in 2002 by longtime Helping Up CEO Bob Gehman, House of Freedom was listed as a recipient of federal New Markets Tax Credits for the high-rise facility for women that Helping Up opened up nearby on Baltimore Street in early 2022.

“Our original contract was with Helping Up and then it kind of changed for some reason to House of Freedom. They’re now technically the client even though it’s the same group,” Bethany Slaughter, environmental coordinator for A-Zone Environmental Services, explained.

Slaughter wasn’t clear on the reason for the switch, but she did recall who authorized it.

“I had to get Kevin Johnson’s signature for the permit because the original permit had Helping Up on it,” Slaughter said.

Stoltzfus said Johnson was initially listed on the demolition application because the sale was contingent on CHAP approval. House of Freedom was then entered as the applicant because it officially now owns the Hendler property.

When will crews tear down the thick brick walls that have loomed over the rubble-strewn property for years?

According to Slaughter, that could happen as soon as this week. Stoltzfus, however, had a much different prediction: Not until the fall.