The Ghost Rivers project is complete, and by way of celebration, the public is invited to a free outdoor screening of water-themed vintage 16mm films in Wyman Park Dell on Aug. 1 from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m.
Bob Wagner and Teresa Duggan (hosts of Bob & Teresa’s 16mm Movie Night) are diving deep into the depths of their vintage film collection and Enoch Pratt Free Library’s film archive to share an evening of water-themed movies, including “Jones Falls: The Stream that Shaped a City.” This is a rare 1983 documentary film of Baltimore history.
Before the film begins, attendees are invited to explore the first two Ghost River sites (1 and 2) which are located in the Dell.
The Ghost Rivers installation is a 1.5-mile long public art installation by Bruce Willen mapping a lost stream buried below the streets of Baltimore. Visitors can follow the installation on a self-guided walking tour to visualize the path of Sumwalt Run, which is now enveloped in a concrete tunnel underground.
Offering a visual representation of Sumwalt Run, the installation consists of blue thermoplastic lines representing the stream that runs underground beneath the Remington and Charles Village neighborhoods. Encasing these streams in concrete and isolating them from sunlight and a natural ecosystem has consequences.
Willen told Baltimore Fishbowl in November 2023, “If you think about a stream valley, a stream not in a concrete tunnel, it’s this complex ecosystem.”
“In addition to providing homes to plants, animals, and insects, the rain filters down through these plants,” Willen continued. “The streams suck up hundreds or thousands of gallons of water…. When it gets down to the stream, the stream has its own filtering mechanisms with the marsh grasses and the rocks of the stream.”
While Sumwalt Run is not a good candidate for a practice called “daylighting” — uncovering a buried waterway — there are other covered waterways in Baltimore and Maryland that are. The Ghost Rivers project brings consciousness and education about a neighborhood’s history and environment.
The Ghost Rivers installation begins with site 1 on Charles Street at Wyman Park Dell and ends with site 12 on Falls Road near the Jones Falls.
The Ghost Rivers Movie Night in the Dell takes place Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024 from 8 p.m. – 10 p.m., with a rain date of Thursday, Aug. 8. The address is 3000 N. Charles St., Baltimore, MD.
For more information and registration, click this link.
