Five Minute Histories: Camark Cats
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ก.ค. 2024
- What’s with all of those climbing ceramic cats on the sides of buildings in Baltimore? Join us today as we unravel the mystery of the Camark cats in our city! Thanks for watching and see you next week.
This is our series called "Five Minute Histories." We record short videos about different historic places all over Baltimore and post them on our Facebook page, TH-cam channel, and website. For more information or to become a member of Baltimore Heritage, check out: baltimoreheritage.org/support/
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Do they have a camark cat map for Baltimore City so anyone can go and find the cats? People did something similar with the city's salt boxes last winter and then with the giant cicadas sculptures over the summer.
Taking my 82 year old Mom on a climbing cat tour this weekend. Her grandmother had 2 on the roof of her Cape Cod style home northeast of Philadelphia in the 70's.😊 Thanks for the inspiration and locations everyone!
This sounds so fun!
These climbing Camark Cats were on many of the suburban homes in my Randallstown neighborhood when I was a kid back in the 60's/70's.
I had one on my first house on N. Belle Grove Rd. in Catonsville. Ironically enough, that house was built in 1949!
Funny, just one of those things you’ve seen so many times you don’t even notice it. Used to always enjoy seeing them as a kid. Northeast Baltimore has a ton of them especially up in the brick homes built in the 1950s all around Northern Parkway and hamilton ave in between Harford Road and belair rd.
My sentiments EXACTLY! I lived on that side of town as well. Seen them all the time and never thought about them twice! 🐈🐈🐈
Thank you so much for doing this video. I recently bought an old one in Tennessee and love learning the history.
Are those colored ones behind you modern copies? I’ve never seen them in color before.
As a baltimore potter I’ve been really tempted to make a modern version where they are vampire kitties or something whimsical and funny!
I would definitely buy one for myself and everyone i know lol
Whimsical kitty needs to be.
Maybe Pink Flamingo kittens. I'm guessing they will cost more than $2.99.
Add me to the list!
When I lived in nearby Glen Burnie there was a motel known as the Doll Motel on Crain Highway that had one or two of those climbing cats on the brick walls. They were still there when I last visited about five or six years ago. I now live closer to DC so I don’t get up to Glen Burnie too often.
That's awesome!
Ive been wondering about these for 20 years! Thanks for this video.
I love the climbing cats :)
Thank you for this great video! We had three cats on our house when I was young, and Mom put them on the new house when we moved. I never knew much about them, so grateful for the video.
For as long as I could remember, we lived across a creek from someone who had one of these on their window shutter. I loved that thing, mainly because I love cats. We moved out in 1996, but whenever we were in the old neighborhood, we'd go by the house to see the ceramic kitty. Unfortunately, the family that lived there must have moved out at some point, because once, we went by the old neighborhood, and we didn't see the cat up there. Glad to find out what they were.
Great segment, I've been wondering about this too...along with the large (metal?) stars on houses. Any insight on those?
The larger stars are likely from a tradition among German settlers especially in Pennsylvania, often associated with barns and other buildings in the Amish and Mennonite communities. On older brick buildings the stars may be attached to a rod running the length of the building that keeps the walls from bowing out. There may be other explanations but I think these are the most common in this area.
I think they are a possibly modern Amish thing.
Sometimes large bolts or cables are run through row houses to reinforce the brick. The stars are the decorative anchor plates.
Thank you for all the great information you shared about Camark cats, I love kitschy, fun things from the past!
Incandescent glazes are called luster glazes.
Great article but FYI Tuerks was not a department store, it was fine gifts. I worked there long after it was elegant, but rather shabby. And no cats
A neighbour of ours had one or two on their house in PA. Havnt seen the house in almost 2 decades, so no idea if it’s still there. I saved away n collected a few off eBay a few years back. They will go on a walk in me apartment with the rain lamp n trains
Love the history of the Camark cats but wish you had recorded some place where there wasn't so much background noise.
We agree! We are still learning how to film outdoors. Thanks for watching!
Very interesting! I'm sorry that I never got to see any of these when I used to live near Baltimore. 😞
I have one on my house in Woodberry. How long its been there I don't know, it was there when I moved in. But I've felt no need to remove it.
We have one here in New Brunswick, Canada that had been in Savannah, GA since at least the 1970s! Would love to acquire more!!!
Love to see the geographic spread of these cats!
I began to notice them in Ellicott City during the early 60s.
I feel like there could be something missing from this story. Mine is from Japan and not Arkansas. I know Mr Hopkins mentions Europe and the destruction of a pottery works there during WW2. But with popularity in the late 40s and a Japanese origin, there could be something else here.
Admittedly, it could be the Camark item was so popular that someone began copying them in Japan.
I always wondered how they stayed up there.
Got one on the front of my house.
it wasn't mentioned how those cats were attached to the house
Weren’t there also cast metal cats which were popular?
But how do you secure them to the house?
I was wondering the same thing.
Me too.
They have slip holes for screws.
@@incunablum The cats are "hung" using the "holes" In the bottom of each paw. I marked the spot and used nails instead of screws (hey, you know most women take the easiest way to do stuff!) My cat belonged to my Aunt Mary. Kitty is proudly on my back deck.
Generally the cats are an indication that someone of Italian descent lived in that house.
Never heard this, but as it turns out I am of Italian descent!
I think the camera angle is too low. You could either do a split screen with you on one side and the cats on the other, or just sit on top a step ladder with the camera on another step ladder. Also, the audio sounds like its over modulated and distorted. Sounds like you were using the on board camera microphone rather that the lavalier mic you are wearing.
Did you really need to stand out on a busy NOISY street for the *entire* length of the video? A few minutes to show the building you're standing in front of is fine, but after that . . . great info, though; I've always wondered about these cats, which I saw mostly in eastern Baltimore County.