The Past is the Future

“Pennsylvania Avenue was once the beating heart of Baltimore’s African-American community. It was the city’s premier cultural and entertainment district, featuring famed nightclubs, bars, and restaurants. At a time when black performers were not allowed in white venues, the Royal Theatre showcased an astonishing array of brilliant and now-legendary talents: Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Mahalia Jackson, James Brown and many others. Forged within the cruel crucible of segregation, the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor was a vibrant place of commerce, community and culture. Plus, the adjacent neighborhoods were home to many of Baltimore’s greatest figures, such as Thurgood Marshall, Cab Calloway, Billie Holliday and Kweisi Mfume.”

The Royal Theater & Community Heritage Center

The Royal Theater is a source of tremendous neighborhood pride and the subject of much regional nostalgia. Our plan is to reconstruct it precisely to its original form.

In 2005 The Royal Theater & Community Heritage Corporation (TRTCHC) was founded by James Hamlin, Alice Cole, Adrian Johnson and 9 other member. Its purpose was and has been to address the negative perceptions and realities of Historic West Baltimore and Pennsylvania Avenue, part of the 7th Congressional District. We realized that if we are going to change and enhance Baltimore’s future, we need to address the root cause of its problems. Our focus has been to create a positive environment, economic opportunities, and to change the negative outlook of our future leaders. We are dedicated to creating a model for urban revitalization for cities across the country that will create jobs, an environment that will bring together multi-generational populations that will instill pride and dignity in our community; attract tourist globally and reduce poverty and crime in Baltimore.

Our goal is to build The Royal Theater & Community Heritage Center. This holistic development project consists of a new Royal Theater, Jazz Center, retail shops and restaurants. As part of the project, we are investing in an outdoor recreational space that our senior citizens and youth can enjoy together. This new recreational space, including a clubhouse, will become a safe place for our youth, and something of which they can be proud. This project allows us to take advantage of Baltimore’s third largest $5.7 billion-dollar tourist industry while creating jobs and careers in our community.

The Center will be located on Pennsylvania Avenue corridor, only 8 minutes from Baltimore’s famous Inner Harbor and conveniently located near Interstate 95 and Interstate 83, just minutes from Penn Station. It will also neighbor the Maryland Transit Administration subway system and bus routes. Residents of Maryland and tourists from Washington DC, Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York will have convenient access to a treasure trove of American heritage and entertainment.

A RFP had been awarded to The Bell Group and Doracon to develop a combination residential/commercial project in the 2600 block of Pennsylvania Avenue (the Penn North section of “The Avenue”).