Thursday, February 22, 2024

Have you heard of Baltimore Salt Boxes?

As someone who enjoys history and especially about quirky or unusual things, I loved finding out about Baltimore "Salt Boxes." Although I lived in Maryland for decades (up until recently), I never knew about these helpful gems until my friend Cynthia shared this 7 minute video from Baltimore Heritage. This was REALLY cool and artists started painting on them... Watch and learn. You will see a number of artistic salt boxes near the video's end.  You'll also learn more history from the Baltimore Dept of Transportation in today's blog! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBTY5w3120o

ABOUT BALTIMORE SALT BOXES -Baltimore Salt Boxes are wooden boxes with hinged covers distributed annually to supplement the city's snow removal and road salting operations. They are a service of Baltimore's Department of Transportation, and we distribute the boxes around the city in the late fall in anticipation of winter weather.

During storms, primary roads like main streets, including emergency routes to hospitals, police stations, and schools are prioritized, and areas are plowed in order by zone.

Popular to decorate, the Baltimore salt boxes are meant for steep hills or areas too narrow for salt trucks to reach during a snow event. They are filled with road salt and sand for residents to spread as needed to assist with traction and prevent or melt icy patches on city streets.

Baltimore City Salt Box Map 2024 

To Locate A Salt Box Near You: Zoom to view an address in your neighborhood or request a Salt Box using the 311 App. Click here for the app on the Play Store, click here for the app on the Apple Store.

HISTORY 

 Historians at the Baltimore Historical Society say the first reference to the ubiquitous Salt Box in the Baltimore Sun archives is from 1969.

Besides the practical use, the humble Salt Box has fans for many reasons, as demonstrated by an eponymous social media presence on Instagram, established in 2018. In 2020, awareness of the salt boxes was significantly increased when local artist Juliet Ames noticed that salt boxes remained unseasonably present due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She decided to spruce up a local box by adding decorative elements, thus creating street art. 

READ MORE OF THE HISTORY HERE: https://transportation.baltimorecity.gov/salt-boxes

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Who I am

I'm a simple guy who enjoys the simple things in life, especially our dogs. I volunteer for dog rescues, enjoy exercising, blogging, politics, helping friends and neighbors, participating in ghost investigations, coffee, weather, superheroes, comic books, mystery novels, traveling, 70s and 80s music, classic country music,writing books on ghosts and spirits, cooking simply and keeping in shape. You'll find tidbits of all of these things on this blog and more. EMAIL me at Rgutro@gmail.com - Rob

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