BALTIMORE — From the Belgian block streets, to the streetlamps right out of something Poe himself would write, look any direction in Fell's Point, and you'll see history.
Fresh off an October full of ghost stories, a once-fraying historic sign in historic Fell's Point is back to life.
The rehabilitation of the iconic 'Vote Against Prohibition' sign is thanks, in-part, to last month's Fell's Point Fun Festival, and the hard work of a local artist.
"What I did was known as, a respectful rehabilitation," explained Sam Redles, the artist commissioned to remediate the sign.
Both the art and the history intrigued Redles, who consulted old photographs to give the sign the look it once had. Work on the sign wrapped up last week.
"I'm honored to be able to do this sign," Redles added. It's something that's very unique to Maryland, its history with prohibition and the fact that we didn't really recognize it. The fact that it's still here is amazing."
Historical preservation in the neighborhood is helped in-part by the proceeds from the Fell's Point Fun Festival, which took place last month.
"This sign has been around forever," said Jeff Dewberry, the festival's chair. "It's a favorite within Fells Point, so we thought it was very very important in the last couple years to get it re-done, re-enabled for people to enjoy."
Dewberry told WMAR funds earned from the festival's wristbands and drinks went toward commissioning Redles to rehab the sign, and go toward projects which preserve history elsewhere in Fell's Point.
"It feels great. I am a big history buff, and I just love to be able to preserve that history and make sure that it's seen for generations to come," Dewberry added.
