The Air Raid Siren

This mural welcomes motorists from the east and depicts a tranquil scene with a small airplane in the cloud laden sky carrying a banner to welcome all to Paradise. A restored 1950s air raid siren sits on the roof.

Air Raid Sirens

By Maureen Sweeney Smith 2015

When mural artist, Edward Williams, brought the air raid siren in Paradise to my attention a few years ago, I was shocked that I had lived in the area for over 60 years and never noticed it.  The siren sits atop the Thai Heaven Restaurant in the Paradise Junction Shopping Center located in the 6400 block of Frederick Road.  I decided to do a little research to figure out how old it was, why was it used and does it work?

From my brief research, it is likely the siren was installed in the early 1950s when concerns about the relationship between the USA and their allies and the USSR and their allies were at their height.  This era, known as the Cold War (1947-1991), was not an actual war but rather was a state of political and military tension after World War II.  Both parties had nuclear arms and the threat of a nuclear war was stoked with psychological warfare and propaganda.

For area school children in the 50s and 60s, this meant regular air raid drills in their classrooms.  Children were taught to listen for the siren and then duck and cover under their desks or to an interior wall of their school.  

The Paradise siren is likely a Federal model 3 or 5.  I was recently at Belvedere Market on York Road and saw another siren near the Senator Movie Theater.  Many more are sprinkled around Baltimore City, who officially abandoned the siren system in late 1999, opting for a radio-controlled system that did not need weekly testing.

In August,2015, Catonsville Rails To Trails asked for your memories of the air raid sirens.    Diane Towns Iacia states “If my memory serves me, we called it the 1 o’clock whistle! It went off every Monday at 1 p.m.  It was in line with all the Air Raid drills we were doing in school.”  Deborah Pruitt O’Doherty recalls “Everyone called it the 1 o’clock whistle.”  Mary Liberto Pless reports “It was a Civil Defense siren…it was a “just in case” weekly moment.”

Whatever your memories, I think everyone will agree that the painted air siren is one more reason to come to Paradise.  Edward Williams is the artist who creatively turns the siren into a landmark.  Thanks to Gil Moscatelli for paying the entire tab to have the mural painted.