In McKeldin Plaza, Brutalism may give way to the era of the Water Curtain.
According to Baltimore Business Journal, the latest plans for McKeldin Square call for a 120-ft. fountain,. flowing southeast from the corner of Pratt and Light streets to the harbor. The fountain would be a “water curtain,” allowing for lights and graphics to be projected onto it.
The Downtown Partnership of Baltimore wants the wall of water to replace the current brutalist fountain, which they say currently forms an opaque wall to drivers heading downtown. Critics have said the fountain is the last example of brutalism in Baltimore.
The project would also involve demolishing the “sky-walk” over Pratt St. To provide more reason to stay on the harbor side of Pratt St. once you cross the many lanes of traffic, plans also call for greenspace and an amphitheater.
What exactly are the existing forest and Niagara Falls of water blocking? shopping? offices? There has been no authentic public conversation about what people want there. This has been an opaque process pushed forward by Downtown Partnership, made more ironic considering the civil rights significance of the square for Baltimore.