Baltimore time capsule from 1815 opened, newspapers and bottles found
By John Clarke BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A 200-year-old hollowed-out cornerstone to Baltimore's Washington Monument was opened on Wednesday by officials who found bottles, newspapers and a dedication plaque. The 1815 cornerstone, a 1,100-pound (500-kg) block of granite with a marble lid, was discovered last week by contractors restoring the 180-foot-high (55-meter-high) marble-columned monument, a Baltimore landmark. The items were sealed in a dedication ceremony on July 4, 1815, and placed inside the memorial to Washington, the first U.S. president. "One of the things they're trying to show us was what was going on in their world and what was going on in the country at that time," said Lance Humphries, chairman of the restoration committee for Mount Vernon Place Conservancy. The opening revealed three sealed, hand-blown glass bottles of various sizes and newspapers. The papers were the Niles Weekly Register of July 1, 1815; the American & Commercial Daily Advertiser; the Federal Gazette & Baltimore Daily Advertiser dated July 3, 1815; and an unknown fourth newspaper. A copper plate or box was visible beneath the bottles and newspapers. Restorers discovered a dedication plaque engraved with the names of the stone cutters, Thomas Towson and William Steuart, and stone mason Sater Stevenson. The find was unveiled during a media event at the base of the monument, in a tent to protect the stone's contents. A historical record of the 1815 cornerstone ceremony said that the chamber had included a bottle with a "likeness" of Washington, and a copy of his farewell address written at the end of his second term. Paper conservator Elissa O'Loughlin of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, which is assisting in the project, said most of the newspapers were in remarkably good shape. The contents will be taken to the museum for safekeeping and conservation analysis. The monument has been closed to the public since 2010 after structural issues raised safety concerns. The conservation project is scheduled to be completed this spring. (Reporting by John Clarke; Editing by Ian Simpson and Eric Beech)
