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Mount Washington Improvement Association Records

 Collection
Identifier: R0084-MWIA

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Scope and Contents

The Mount Washington Improvement Association Records document the work and history of the neighborhood Association between 1894-1996. This collection includes histories and articles of incorporation for the association, records of the Association’s organization and administration, and documentation of its work on various community issues. The collection also includes issues of the Association newsletter and information regarding zoning. Materials in the collection are mainly textual and include meeting minutes, correspondence, Baltimore City Council ordinances, newspaper clippings, reports, legal briefs, research files, budgets, membership files, and newsletters. Photographs are also present in the collection.

Dates

  • 1894-1996

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

To the extent that they own copyright, the donor has assigned the copyright of this collection to the University Foundation. However, copyright for some items in this collection are held by their respective creators.

Historical Note

The Mount Washington Improvement Association (MWIA) was founded in 1885. The neighborhood association represents a membership of Mount Washington neighborhood residents and is governed by a board of directors, and officers including: a president, vice president, second vice president, secretary, treasurer, and membership secretary. The Association also includes area captains representing physical areas within the neighborhood. Association committees, such as the Historic District Architecture Review Committee and others, work on various initiatives.

The MWIA has contributed to numerous neighborhood community issues such as zoning, road and traffic issues, projects for neighborhood parks and green spaces, recycling, parking, sanitation, snow removal, a neighborhood school and a swimming club, landscaping, and other issues. The association secured historical designation for areas of Mount Washington in the 1980s from Baltimore City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation, and the Mount Washington Mill Historic District in the neighborhood was first listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. The Mount Washington Improvement Association (MWIA) is still active.

Information for this historical note was gathered from the Mount Washington Improvement Association website [https://mwia.org/], articles from “The Baltimore Sun,” and the National Register of Historic Places.

Extent

6.00 Linear Feet (6 containers)

Abstract

The Mount Washington Improvement Association is a neighborhood association serving Mount Washington in Baltimore City. This collection documents the history and work of the association between 1894-1996.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged in the following 11 series:

  • Organizational Records
  • Board of Directors
  • Office of the President
  • Committees
  • Annual Meetings
  • Financial Records
  • Legal Issues
  • Zoning
  • Property Files
  • Community Issues
  • Newsletter

Custodial History

The collection was donated to the University of Baltimore by Peter Garver on June 29, 1996.

Title
Finding aid for the Mount Washington Improvement Association Records
Author
Finding aid created by Special Collections and Archives staff. Revised by Aiden Faust (2011). Revised by Laura Bell (March 2020).
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Baltimore Studies Archives Repository

Contact:
H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons, Room 104
1415 Maryland Avenue
Baltimore Maryland 21201 USA
410-837-4253