Blackstone Memorial Auditorium Theater for Humanity

Presented by: Graciela Blackstone April 2012

Why this Project?

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds 2

• Vital Educational Center • Desirable Community Gathering

Space • Key Economic Development

Engine • Critical African American

Historical Site Preservation

Vital historical location to provide a facility with a size and location convenient for all nonprofit, civic, and private organizations to raise admirable funds to help Maryland citizens in need.

Community Supporters • Edward R. Riley, Maryland Senator • Cathleen M. Vitale, Maryland Delegate • John R. Leopold, County Executive, Anne Arundel County,

Maryland

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Historical Preservation

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds 4

We are transforming a 140+ year- old family farm, the last

African American owned farm in Anne Arundel County,

to a historical location for public use .

Amphitheater Plans Advance

• Museum • Amphitheater • Walking Trails • Education Center • Hall Brown House • Archeological Dig Opportunities

– Historic Maryland life beginning early 1600’s

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds 5

About Graciela Blackstone

• 5th Generation Farmer on the borderline of Crownsville and Annapolis, Maryland

• Family lived, worked, and eventually owned the land since 1659

• U.S. Army Veteran • Father: MSGT James Blackstone Sr.

– Chief of Mechanical Engineers – Tuskegee University Flight Instructor

for the Red Tails in 1941

Graciela Blackstone, who’s leading plans to build the Amphitheater for Humanity on her family farm in Crownsville, kneels on the property. Her family has had links to the land since the 1600s.

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds 6

Amphitheater Features

• 24,000 sq. ft. steel frame structure • Proscenium seating, thrust stage, sound and lighting control

room; seating for 750 to 1,000 people • Equipment storage for scenery and props • Lobby area expanded into gathering space

– Community multi-purpose space • Warming kitchen for catering • Administrative offices • Open space, greenery and buffers • Parking

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds 7

Contact Information

Graciela Blackstone Blackstone & Associates, LLC

1820 Hall Brown Road Annapolis, Maryland 21401

gra102358@yahoo.com 301-633-7697

From cultivating the ground, to cultivating minds