Sacred Places
Marian House Courtyard
Four marble women watching over a cloistered courtyard.
WHERE
Baltimore, MD
SETTING
Neighborhood
PARTNER INSTITUTION
Marian House
Visit
Where it is
949 Gorsuch Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21218
What happens here
Residents, staff, and community members use the courtyard through all four seasons. It lends itself to building a snowman in winter, to the first blooms of spring, to basking in summer sun, and to the crisp autumn air.
HOW IT CAME TO BE
Patience, Honesty, Integrity, Trust.
01
The Need
Marian House is a holistic healing community for women and their children in need of housing and support services, offering a safe, sober, and loving environment that challenges women to respect and love themselves, confront emotional and socioeconomic barriers, and move toward stable and independent lives. Its mission is to nurture self-esteem and give women the tools to realize their full potential.
02
The Vision
The Outdoor Sculpture Garden came into being as an outgrowth of that work. The four monumental women designed by artist and sculptor Claire McArdle represent the transformation women go through at Marian House, and each is named for one of the four values the organization aims to instill: Patience, Honesty, Integrity, Trust.
03
The Transformation
Four six-and-a-half-foot female caryatids sculpted in marble are mounted on the front façade of the large brick building, overlooking a 1,650-square-foot cloistered courtyard at the centre of the U-shaped structure. The paved courtyard holds a gentle, gurgling fountain, green trees, shrubs, flowers, and several benches for sitting.
WHO TENDS IT
Phyllis Ham
Firesoul, Marian House Courtyard
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Rayne O'May
Firesoul, Marian House Courtyard
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HEAR FROM THE VISITORS
From the Little Yellow Journal
You are lucky
You are blessed
Your a living miracle
Your a living testimony
without fear, vow to share
Be BOLD
BE BRAVE
Easy Does it…
Keep ya head UP!
one day @ a time
Divine Intervention send chills down my spine
– Love Always, Jane Austin
