By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
Residents of the Southwest Baltimore community of Allendale finally have their new and improved rec center after nearly three years of closure.
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon M. Scott (D), city officials and community leaders gathered for the official reopening and ribbon cutting of the Mary E. Rodman Rec Center on Nov. 21. The $1.8 million renovation was funded through city bonds and Maryland’s Program Open Space, which provides financial assistance to local subdivisions for developing recreational land.
“It’s a celebration of partnership, persistence and a shared belief in what high quality recreation can do for a neighborhood,” said Reginald Moore, director of Baltimore City Department of Recreation and Parks. “Recreation centers are essential to community infrastructure, just as important as schools, libraries and parks. They support wellness, keep young people engaged with positive activities and give families a place to gather.”
The push to reopen the center was led by Anita Cathcart, president of the Allendale Community Association.
“I want to thank everyone who saw this project as important as I have,” said Cathcart. “It is vital that we support each other, support our children.”
Her passion and persistence in seeing this project to completion reflects Allendale’s strong sense of community, which is 83.4 percent Black, according to the Black Neighborhood Indicators Alliance. That pride in the community was central to both the center’s original design and its renovation.
“When this rec center opened in 1974, it was celebrated for its unique design by Louis Fry Jr., a prominent Black architect. We’ve kept that history through these upgrades,” said Scott. “It has a brand new fitness center, a community kitchen, a large flexible space with movable furniture, increased ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility and a new entrance designed to keep the cold air out.”
The renovation also includes an expanded playground and a new basketball court, said Moore.
Scott highlighted that reopening the center is part of his larger Rec Rollout initiative, which aims to invest in Baltimore neighborhoods and youth through building new playgrounds, parks, athletic courts, pools and recreational centers.
“Every part of our city deserves that kind of investment,” he said.
Principal Greta Goodwin of Mary E. Rodman Elementary School, which is adjacent to the rec center, praised the project as a meaningful investment in the youth of Allendale and Edmonson Village.
“It’s so wonderful to know that our children in this community have a place to go…a place that is nice, welcoming, warm, fun and a place where they can be received and known,” said “It’s so important for children to know that we are here for them, that we support them.”
“It is the children that determine the health and the future of a community,” added Goodwin. “As we support all people in our community, we always open arms for our kids, their future, their well-being and the pride that they have in the places that surround them.”