BNHA Saint Stanislaus Kostka Church

A Baltimore City Landmark, this former church was established in 1880 as Fell’s Point’s first religious and cultural center for the Polonia, people of Polish origin who live outside of Poland. Though newly arrived and forced with African Americans to take the lowest-paying jobs on land and sea, the Polonia donated generously to construct and furnish their church.

An American maritime labor history landmark, this site was the headquarters for hundreds of striking longshoreman (International Longshoremen’s Association or ILA) who joined thousands along both coasts and the Gulf to protest low wages and poor working conditions during the Winter Strike of 1936. Saint Stanislaus’ Beethoven Hall, which once stood on Aliceanna Street and is now demolished, was also strike headquarters for the International Seamen’s Union. The ILA finally voted to join the Seamen’s strike, an unprecedented act of unification. This eventually led to the creation of the National Maritime Union, which represented the interests not only of dockworkers but also of sailors, deckhands, cooks, stewards, oilers, and boiler room attendants.

Site summary courtesy of the Preservation Society of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point