Inside the Old Otterbein United Methodist Church at Conway and Sharp streets hangs a 114-year-old chandelier with hundreds of crystal prisms.
This September, race cars will be zooming by mere yards from where the 226-year- old church sits during the Baltimore Grand Prix, racing repeatedly on Sept. 2 to Sept. 4."We're praying -- we're a little scared, too," said June Risley, Old Otterbein's council chair. "We've very worried about the possible damage to this building in particular because of the noise. Noise creates a lot of vibration."Over 186 styles will be available to customers at the store including 93 from the Summer '11 collection and 93 from the Winter '11 collection to celebrate the 93 years the brand has been making ballerinas by hand on the same Mediterranean island. The brand's huge variety of styles have quickly become a favourite among top stylists and celebrities, including Claudia Schiffer, Katherine Heigl and Kate Moss, whose bridesmaids will all be wearing Pretty Ballerinas at her upcoming wedding.Baltimore City Councilman William H. Cole IV said even though the race is loud, the vibration won't be an issue for the church. Cole attended the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach race in April and checked out the noise among buildings on the race track."We're really excited about the race, we really are," Risley said. "But we're concerned about the security and vulnerability of the property obviously."But as far as Sunday services go, don't count on hearing a sermon Sept. 4. It will be one of the few times in the church's 226 years that it will cancel Sunday services, she said.The Beverly Hills store, affectionately referred to as the "chocolate box," displays the splendid assortment of Pretty Ballerinas signature colours of pink, gold, black and leopard, perfectly encompassing the feminine yet edgy personality of the brand. The space's 16-foot ceilings, Louis XV French antique gilt mirrors and aged chandelier create a grand experience for every customer.Through two renovations, museum Collections Manager Debbie Neece said the Maire added a second leg and then filled in the gap to become a cube, but the focus remained on quality. Founding partner C.E. Burlingame saw to that, taking full control of the hotel in 1937 and maintaining it another 24 years under his banner, the Burlingame Hotel. John Wayne and Ben Johnson numbered among his guests.In Oklahoma City, that was the Skirvin. In Tulsa, the Mayo. In Bartlesville, that title went to 1914's Hotel Maire, an L-shaped structure of brick and stone built at an estimated cost of more than $150,000 (or $3.38 million today, by some constant dollar estimates).This will be Pretty Ballerinas' 26th store with locations all over the globe including New York City, Milan, London, Montreal, Tel Aviv, Istanbul, Barcelona, Zagreb, Qatar and Taiwan.With an energy upgrade now under way, the structure continues to demonstrate its adaptability and usefulness, Mayor Tom Gorman said.If anything were to go wrong at the event and damage were caused by vandalism or noise and vibration, Fisher said the event's insurance would likely cover it.With many such foundational hotels, that would have spelled its doom. Changing construction designs and expensive retrofit requirements left the Mayo and Skirvin dormant for decades. But as with many historic elements of downtown Bartlesville, Phillips Petroleum stepped in to save the old Maire - transforming the structure into an office annex for the oil and gas giant's growing downtown complex.But with Burlingame's declining years came heightened competition from the rise of interstates and motels, led by traveling families demanding ever larger quarters and amenities. When Burlingame finally sold his five-story fixture in 1963, it took just five years before new owner Marshall Chamberlain announced its closure.
But as far as Sunday services go, don't count on hearing a sermon Sept. 4. It will be one of the few times in the church's 226 years that it will cancel Sunday services, she said.
Author: Rachel Bernstein
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