Towson preservationists call it quits: Group was formed in 1977 to save historic buildings

(Baltimore Sun) Thirty-three years ago, a group of volunteers gathered at a 19th-century stone church not far from Baltimore's expanding suburban shopping hub, in the shadow of new office buildings, to form an organization they called Historic Towson Inc. It represented an earnest effort to spare the seat of Baltimore County government a future as Any Suburb, U.S.A. After decades of running largely on faith, advocating historical preservation while angering many property owners, group members now plan to call it quits. Continued

Image: 431-433 E. Pennsylvania Avenue is an example of a ca. 1930s two-story duplex. Although it postdates most of the houses within the East Towson Historic District, its siting, shingled exterior, front porch, and plain trim are typical of vernacular form and materials of the older residences within this African-American community. The simplified cornice with dentils is an unusual stylistic survival given the building's mid-20th century construction date. (Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Library of Congress)