The Grand Theatre, at 511 South Conkling Street, opened in 1914 when many of the roads in "Highland Town" were dirt or coblestone.  For many years the theatre housed live theatrical productions and Vaudeville acts.  It later converted to showing American and British films and movies.  Highlandtown residents would spend many hours at the Grand watching the great movies of the 1930's, 40's and 50's.

     The "Blob" (then playing at the Grand) was never considered a great movie but it was a financial success and introduced Steve McQueen in his first starring role.  The green/red, rolling substance from outer space, although it looked like jello, was very lethal - as it sucked up one victim after another.  This was a good "date movie" and to a naive, young audience -- quite scarey.  Girls were screaming, clinging to their boyfriends, who met the challenge with courage...and enthusiasm!  My date lived in the same neighborhood in northeast Baltimore where we had moved in the early 1950's.  We also attended the same church, Shrine of the Little Flower which was located on Belair Road.  "Mary" was very pretty, she had black hair, very fair skin and was of Irish descent.  I would later take Mary to my Senior Prom at Patterson.

     The "kiss" occurred, at a very unromantic moment, just about the time the "Blob" had grown to enormous proportions and was threatening the town diner where Steve McQueen was devising a plan of escape.  The kiss "attempt" was awkward and disappointing, very unlike the way Montgomery Clift kissed Elizabeth Taylor in the movie, "A Place in the Sun."  It was more like Groucho Marx kissing the society matron, Margaret Dumont or the child actress, "Baby Jane Hudson".  I am sure that Mary felt as I did but we never discussed that first kiss.  Before we took the #22 bus home we stopped at the Little Tavern (or White Tower) for several of those delicious little hamburgers (their slogan, "Buy em by the bag!"), cokes and then walked through "Snake Hill", circling around to Highland Avenue where we caught our bus home.

     One might say that Snake Hill, on the high land, at what is now Highland and Foster Avenues was the center of original Highland Town.  This is the present day site of Sacred Heart of Jesus Roman Catholic Church.  The church was founded in 1873.  My grandmother, Caroline Marie Schilpp (Newman) attended school there when the parish was heavily German - so much so that the nuns and priests spoke frequently in German to their students and parishioners.  The present church was built in 1908 on the site of Fort Marshall, constructed shortly after the War Between the States began.  The fort garrisoned "occupying" Union troops from several northern states including New York, Massachusetts and Indiana.  (A bit of Maryland History:  It is interesting to note that in the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln received less than 2.5% of the vote in the State of Maryland.  Maryland and especially Baltimore would be an embarrassment and threat to Abraham Lincoln throughout the war years.  Even his assassin would turn out to be a Marylander.)  Residents of Highland Town reacted with distain at the presence of "yankee soldiers" in their town -- with fortress cannons trained on various sections of Canton, Highland Town, Fells Point and Patterson Park.

     Highland Town was part of Baltimore County until January 1, 1919.  Despite opposition from Highland Town residents, Baltimore City annexed Highland Town --and to add insult to injury Baltimore City politicians then changed the name to "Highlandtown."  Those residents opposed to annexation by Baltimore City would soon refer to Baltimore (with veiled sneers) as "West Highland Town."

     Christopher Newman,  Class of 1961,     June 11, 2011