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"Old
Baltimore - The Block in 1920" by Paul McGehee. The 400 block of East
Baltimore Street in Baltimore, Maryland is known simply as "The Block".
The local equivalent of Times Square in NYC, The Block actually spanned
eight blocks along East Baltimore Street, starting at Calvert Street.
In its early days, The Block was the city's theatre district,
resplendent with the electric lights of movie theatres, vaudeville
stages and burlesque houses illuminating the night sky. The Gayety
Theatre, known to locals as the 'keystone' of The Block, was a high-end
burlesque stage back in the teens and twenties, and by the 1940s was
featuring showbiz luminaries like Jackie Gleason, Phil Silvers, and
Abbott & Costello. Alongside the comedians were the well-received
acts of professional ecdysiasts such as the stage legends Blaze Starr,
Gypsy Rose Lee and Sally Rand...who over the years perfected an act
where she danced with feathers and bubbles! East Baltimore Street's
movie houses and burlesque stages of the 20's turned to racier fare
after World War II, earning new layers of notoriety for The Block. As
years went on, The Block persevered and is currently undergoing
somewhat of a cultural revival. It has always been one of the most
colorful areas of Charm City, yesterday and today.
"Old Baltimore - The Block in 1920" is faithfully
reproduced from Paul's
original color pencil and acrylic paint artwork as an archival quality
print issued in a strictly limited edition of only 2,000 pieces each
hand-signed by the artist.
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