Movement Against Destruction

(MAD documents, University of Baltimore Archives)


In the late 1960's and early 1970's SCAR was one of many groups formed to stop roadway expansion. SCAR had a Baltimore counterpart in their road fight. A road that connected I-70 to I-95 was planned for west Baltimore. A group called Movement Against Destruction (MAD) was formed to stop this road. MAD and SCAR shared information to create synergy in their collective struggle.

The SCAR collection at the University of Baltimore contains sections of MAD documents that were used to model anti-road arguments. The collection contains a letter from MAD president William Durkin to Governor Marvin Mandel, which articulates the arguments against a road through West Baltimore. Durkin discusses alternative options for transportation exapansion, including the addition of light rail track throughout the city. SCAR used similar arguments to create an effective argument against a citywide problem.

Fells Point Fun Festival

(Fells Point Fun Festival flyer, UB Archives)


My research this week led me to the Fells Point Fun Festival, a locally popular event in Fells Point. The festival was started in 1967 with the intent of exhibiting the finer qualities of the area. The SCAR coalition was trying to battle back at a wave of negative sentiment regarding the appearance of Fells Point. The SCAR collection is replete with references to poor sanitation and widespread vagrancy in the areas saturated by bars. In effect, Fells Point was slowly moving toward classification as an inner city slum.

The Society for the Preservation of Fells Point created the Fun Festival to bring businesses and people together in the community. They posted advertisements in their newsletter, The Packet, to attract vendors and festival-goers. The August 2008 issue of The Packet described the Fun Festival as the "inauguration of the urban preservation movement in Baltimore." The festival was one of many ways that the community fought back against the tide of urbanization in an historic area.

Origins and Mission of SCAR

(SCAR mission statement, UB Archives)

My examination of SCAR logically begins with a statement of their cause. I discovered a SCAR mission statement while pouring through the primary documents in the SCAR collection at the University of Baltimore Archives. This mission statement, dated March 9, 1971, indicated that SCAR was formed in 1968 to stop the expansion of the 3-A Highway system into Fells Point and the surrounding areas. The highway system was described as a source of "blight, destruction and distress" to the Fell's Point area. This poignant commentary is represented throughout the entire mission statement.

The SCAR mission statement does not wholly dismiss the idea of a road through Southeast Baltimore. In fact, the statement indicates that SCAR initially advocated certain versions of the highway based on meetings with the Urban Design Concepts group. This organization, headed by Louis Sauer and Associates, created the plans for the 3-A highway system in Southeast Baltimore. Their task was to work with the community to create a less destructive roadway. However, the mission statement indicated that the design team was not forthcoming through numerous parts of the process.


The residents of Southeast Baltimore felt deceived throughout much of the highway battle. They were initially supportive of a non-intrusive road that would help improve the City as a whole. However, their support for City initiatives waivered with the misleading statements by the design team. Thus, the mission of SCAR shifted from a group willing to work with highway supporters, to a group that opposed any proposed highway through Southeast Baltimore.

Preliminary Explanation of SCAR

The late 1960's and early 1970's created an outgrowth of controversy in cities across America. Some of the controversy surrounded the increase in Federal funding grants for transportation. Cities were essentially given large amounts of funding and an opportunity to be creative. Numerous cities proposed sprawling freeways to ease congestion and promote accessibility to business centers. Baltimore used this funding as an opportunity to create connections between major freeways. The proposals would have connected I-95 to I-70 and I-83 South to I-95. The I-95/I-83 South connection was a major source of contention. This road would have cut through historic areas in southeast Baltimore. Thus, the Southeast Council Against the Road was created to stop the construction of this road.

The Southeast Council Against the Road (SCAR) represented numerous, existing community groups, that had a vested interest in the homes and businesses in the community. SCAR included the Society for the Preservation of Fell's Point as well as smaller church and civic groups. SCAR defended the community by promoting the viability of their neighborhoods and businesses. Their approach demonstrated how a major freeway would destroy a thriving community and a historic landmark. The city of Baltimore battled back by emphasizing the positive economic impacts of the freeway. Both SCAR and the city of Baltimore used a variety of methods to argue their case. Throughout the semester I will examine these methods in detail. The passage of time has allowed me to see the result of SCAR's efforts. Therefore, I will highlight the important aspects of these methods to understand how they succeeded when many other urban groups failed.