Urbana's "Peter Pan"

Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist  J. M. Barrie. He is a free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up. Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical island of Neverland as the leader of the Lost Boys, interacting with fairies, pirates, mermaids and Indians, and occasionally ordinary children from the world outside Neverland.

Peter Pan has become a cultural icon symbolizing youthful innocence and escapism. In addition to two distinct works by Barrie, the character has been featured in a variety of media and merchandise, both adapting and expanding on Barrie's works.

Here in Frederick, longtime residents think of more than just a cartoon figure immortalized in a Disney film when they hear the name of Peter Pan. It also conjures up memories of one of the most unique, and ornate, restaurants ever to have operated in our fair county—the Peter Pan Inn. This magnificent eatery was located in Urbana, and served patrons for sixty years between 1926 and 1986.

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I was quite fortunate to have eaten there in my youth—a time when Urbana was a sleepy little crossroads, and nothing like it’s moniker of “Urbana” suggests. I recall a few meals in my childhood in the 1970’s. Two things from my memory seem very ironic to me now as they somewhat colorfully depict the innocence of childhood as personified by the character of Peter Pan. My brothers and I were regularly chastised by our parents for attempting to spin the “Lazy Susan embellished relish tray that adorned the table during the appetizer phase of the meal. Secondly, we also got into trouble by pumping the sewing machine pedal beneath the table. At least in one dining room, the restaurant used vintage sewing machine stations as dining tables, likely surplus from a turn of the century sewing factory. The large pedal (when pumped) almost seemed to make the table come alive… to the chagrin of my parents.

The Peter Pan Inn was like a step out of time and into Neverland, itself. It is hard to describe, but this was a strange state of eclecticism that comprised a gaudy merging of elements ranging from ancient civilization to the Victorian age to mid 20th century Miami Beach. There was tropical plant-life everywhere, and actual peacocks strutting about. Like the character of the same name, this restaurant seemed like a Disney-themed restaurant one could find in Orlando, Florida of today.

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The mastermind of this establishment is buried here in Mount Olivet. His grave marker is the complete opposite of his restaurant, being a plain, modest, low-lying rectangular marker. Perhaps this absence of ostentation in death is a result of his maternal ancestry, going back to the frugal Brunner family who gave us the Schifferstadt house, the oldest in the City of Frederick.

Speaking of maternal lines, it was actually Richard’s mother who can be credited with starting the Peter Pan Inn. Back in 1926, Grace (Brunner) Baumgardner, along with husband William, purchased an old property in Urbana. This was the former Dixon house, originally built by a gentleman named Thomas Dixon in 1855. Dixon’s wife, Lucy Ann Rine, was the daughter of John Rine, Sr. who ran the Dutch Rine Tavern at this location between 1800 up through his death in 1849. Prior to this, the former structure on this property was known as the Medtart Tavern which served travelers since the late 1700's.

Much like the nearby Landon House, the Dixon’s establishment was a regular stop-off and camping place for armies traversing the old Georgetown Pike that passed their door. The home was sold out of the family in the late 19th century and wound up in the hands of the Baumgardners at a cost of $10,000.

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Grace Baumgardner could accommodate 30 diners at a time in her eatery. She proudly served family-style dinners featuring such menu items as fried chicken, corn fritters and pickle relish. This restaurant, operated out of the Baumgardner’s home, was certainly a “farm to table” experience as the chickens and vegetables were raised in the family’s backyard.

“Hot-Cha”
Grace’s son, Richard Brunner Baumgardner, was born on April 19th, 1908. His childhood home was a boarding house located at 238 N. Market Street in Frederick. Richard's grandparents ran the house before turning the reigns over to their daughter (Grace) to manage. Meanwhile, Richard's father had a career as a junk dealer. Both parents professions would greatly aid Richard in the distant future.

1910 US Census

The cream colored building (2nd from right) was the childhood home of Richard Baumgardner, Today the first floor hosts Café Anglais

“Hot-Cha”
Richard Baumgardner attended Frederick High School.  After graduation from college, he joined his mother in operating the Peter Pan Inn. An aspiring musician and vocalist, Richard began making a name for himself and eventually aspired fame as a radio host and orchestra leader. He can be found singing on a song released in 1929 on Victor Records and entitled "Tain’t No Sin (To Dance Around In Your Bones).” (Click to listen)

This old ditty was a staple hit during the “fox trot” dance craze of the time, and is credited to the George Olsen Music Orchestra. Richard provides the “vocal refrain” under the moniker of Dick Gardner. He also somehow picked up the nickname of “Hot Cha” along the way.

Baumgardner was a vaudeville performer who would make appearances on Jack Benny’s radio shows in the early 1930’s. He is said to have sung on Mr. Benny’s very first program, and continued to be a regular on NBC radio shows throughout the decade. He performed with big bands in New York City and Washington DC, and also played saxophone and clarinet in pit bands of Broadway shows. As for that nickname, I learned that “Hot Cha” was the name of a wooden horse in a Parker Brothers board game of the 1920’s called “Derby Days.”

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Frederick News (Nov 4, 1926)

Frederick News (March 18, 1930)

(Fourth from right) Dick Gardner is pictured here (c. 1930) with Glenn Olsen's Musical Orchestra

Well, with his new-found success and moderate stardom, Dick Gardner would convince his mother to allow him to open up the aptly named “Hot Cha Club” at the Peter Pan Inn. This “art-deco” nightclub would entice additional clientele to travel “up the road” from the Nation’s capital. It also gave Dick an opportunity to conduct his orchestra from the confines of a specially constructed bandstand while Mom brought “dining serenity” with her own recipes. He regularly performed here and across the country with his orchestra and wife, New York actress Josephine Larkin.

Dick "Hot Cha" Gardner and Josephine Larkin at the Hot Cha Club in 1937 (photo courtesy of Constance J. Chesley)

Frederick News (May 11, 1935)

Baltimore Sun (Sept 8, 1935)

Richard’s father, William Baumgardner, died in 1937. He would now be called on to support his mother in the business endeavor, while slowly weaning himself from his music aspirations.

During World War II, Richard would serve in Diplomatic and Special Services branches of the US Army. He returned to music by playing in military bands.  After the war, he came back to his work as a restauranteur, but his responsibilities would soon be heightened with the death of his mother in 1947. Grace, like her late husband William, was buried in Mount Olivet’s Area A/Lot 42. This lot adjoins that of Grace’s parents George Henry Brunner (1842-1924) and Frances M. (Baker) and a few siblings.

Frederick News (Jan 31, 1944)

Frederick Post (Feb 12, 1947)

Author Terry Lynn Grimes wrote a wonderful piece on the Peter Pan Inn for her Local Voices series appearing in the Urbana Town Courier back in October, 2011. She describes, in vivid detail, the personal touches added by Richard, now in sole control of the family business:

“When Grace Baumgardner died, Richard took over the Peter Pan Inn, added several additions, and incorporated an elaborate and eclectic décor in an “Old World” style throughout the Inn. He adorned the entire site inside and out with cherubs and statues, high mirrors, and ornate antiques, all of which he personally collected while on travel. There were several dining rooms, including the Peacock and Garden rooms. In the Dolphin Lounge were pillars with dolphins at each end that resembled Orson Welles. Come to find out, they used to be in Orson Welles home in Hollywood; he had the dolphins faces designed to look like him.

Dolphin Dining Room

This was definitely the hot spot in its day; people came from far and wide to eat here. On the weekend, there was usually a two-hour wait to be seated. Folks didn’t seem to mind the wait so much because they could be entertained by sipping Planter’s Punch while strolling around the flower gardens among the peacocks, relaxing on the patio, or just taking in all the unique forms of art that could be found all throughout the Inn.”

Baumgardner had styled his makeover of his mom’s eatery after the famed Knott’s Berry Farm in California. In a later interview, when asked why he made his restaurant so gaudy and ornate, he exclaimed “I just can’t put up plain wall.”

As if the restaurant business isn't demanding enough, Richard decided to throw his hat in the political ring  by running  for state office in 1950. He would win election for a seat in Maryland's House of Delegates and served on the Maryland General Assembly.

Frederick News (Nov 4, 1950)

Frederick News (Nov 10, 1950)

A staggering stat that survives is that 3,100 people were served dinner on Mother’s Day of 1961. The restaurant was making $100,000/year….a great amount for the time, and location. I guess you could say that Richard Baumgardner played a major role in “urbanizing” Urbana—at least in a first incarnation of heightened growth—and keep in mind, this was 70 years ago!

The Kapok Tree Inn
Diners felt like they were visiting Florida, both literally and figuratively. Meanwhile, Mr. Baumgardner was progressive enough to bring Maryland to Florida through his mother’s home grown recipes from the Old Line state. In 1957, he (and business partner Jim Jones) built a sister-restaurant (to the Peter Pan) in Clearwater, Florida. Baumgardner was a Florida visionary pre-dating even Walt Disney, as his Kapok Tree Inn became an instant hit with locals and snowbirds alike. He utilized the same gaudy design in which he so proudly concocted in Urbana, employing artwork and antiques personally collected from his worldly travels.

Originally consisting of 200 seats, Richard’s new “Sunshine State” offering would eventually seat 1,600 and feed as many as 8,000/day. The operation would grow to house eight dining rooms, three cocktail lounges and two gift shops. The building exceeded 170,000 square feet, and the parking lot could hold 1,000 cars and buses.

Over the next 15 years, Richard would operate an additional restaurant in Clearwater called Baumgardner’s, while extending the Kapok Tree Inn brand to Madiera Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Davie, FL. He was soon bringing in over a million dollars a year. Richard Baumgardner would be joined by his sons Richard and William in running the Kapok Tree Inn Corporation, a company that became a publicly traded commodity in 1971. For the next few years, business continued to boom with Richard serving as Chairman of the Board. He continued to expand with a new Kapok Tree Inn opening in Davie, FL and plans for yet another location planned for Daytona Beach.

The Davie Kapok Tree Inn featured a wedding chapel and three outdoor gazebos that hosted several nuptial ceremonies throughout its time. Scenes from the movie Scarface (starring Al Pacino) were filmed on site here as well. A restaurant reviewer once wrote that the Davie Kapok Tree, with five dining rooms and seating for 1,300 was “really more of a happening than a restaurant.” Guests could dine in the Aviary Room, with gilded bird cages filled with stuffed birds; or they could sip cocktails in the Art Gallery Lounge surrounded by European-style paintings. Tapestries hung from the walls of the Rajah Boutique, a gift shop straight from Baghdad.

Tampa Tribune (Sept 20, 1961)

Tampa Times (Aug 16, 1963)

Richard Baumgardner would be joined by his sons Richard and William in running the Kapok Tree Inn Corporation, a company that became a publicly traded commodity in 1971. For the next few years, business continued to boom with Richard serving as Chairman of the Board. He continued to expand with a new Kapok Tree Inn opening in Davie, FL and plans for yet another location planned for Daytona Beach.

The Davie Kapok Tree Inn featured a wedding chapel and three outdoor gazebos that hosted several nuptial ceremonies throughout its time. Scenes from the movie Scarface (starring Al Pacino) were filmed on site here as well. A restaurant reviewer once wrote that the Davie Kapok Tree, with five dining rooms and seating for 1,300 was “really more of a happening than a restaurant.” Guests could dine in the Aviary Room, with gilded bird cages filled with stuffed birds; or they could sip cocktails in the Art Gallery Lounge surrounded by European-style paintings. Tapestries hung from the walls of the Rajah Boutique, a gift shop straight from Baghdad.

Richard Baumgardner lived life to its fullest. He was community-minded both in Maryland and Florida. He took up residence in Pinellas County, where, in 1973, he was named Restaurateur of the Year by the Pinellas County Restaurant Association. Richard was involved in several local civic and service organizations. On the homefront, he had married two more times after Josephine Larkin, second to Ethel Grace Lick, and third to June E. Miller who had previously worked as a waitress at his Kapok Tree Inn in Clearwater.

On October 16th, 1976, Richard was attending a meeting at his Fort Lauderdale Kapok Tree location. Here, he suffered a heart attack which would prove fatal. Baumgardner was only 68, and far younger at heart and in spirit. His mortal remains would be brought back home to Frederick County, and he was buried by his mother’s side nine days later in Mount Olivet.

Tampa Bay Times (Oct 17, 1976)

At the time of his death, The Kapok Tree Inn had been named as “One of the Top 100 Restaurants in America.” June Baumgardner took over as CEO in her late husband’s place. Sadly the restaurants of Richard Baumgardner became a casualty of corporate culture, litigation between family members, management changes and the economic slide of the nation in the late 1970’s. “Hot Cha” Baumgardner was not there in the form of Tinker Bell to help guide the amazing business model he had created, all having roots in Urbana, MD.

One can still visit the location of the original Kapok Tree Inn in Clearwater, as many of the decorative elements survive in the restaurant’s adaptive reuse as the Sam Ash Music Store. Richard’s name is still remembered in Clearwater 40+ years after his death, as his company had given 38 acres of land to the City of Clearwater in 1977 to build a performing arts center in “Hot Cha’s” memory. It is known as the Richard B. Baumgardner Center for the Performing Arts and annually welcomes some of the biggest and brightest stars in music, along with touring stage productions.

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Ruth Eckerd Hall at the Richard B. Baumgardner Center for the Performing Arts (Clearwater, FL)

Photo by Debra Lynch showing all that remains of the once mighty Peter Pan Inn

A few years after the original Peter Pan Inn closed its doors in 1986, a new business named The Cracked Claw appeared in 1989 at the location. This was a seafood restaurant owned by the Poole family. Four years into their ownership, the former site of Baumgardner’s Peter Pan Inn offered a tremendous “Hook,” so to speak. This was gambling—in the form of Off Track Betting which had recently been legalized in Maryland. This seafood eatery and Maryland’s first OTB parlor lasted until 2011.

My last time on the former Peter Pan premises was in 2005 for the occasion of my 20th High School reunion. Seeing former classmates and recounting stories from those golden school days of yesteryear certainly made me feel young again—I guess you could also blame it on the true magic of Peter Pan, the boy who never grew old. Thanks again for the youthful memories Mr. Baumgardner, I think it holds true for anyone remembering their experiences at one of your restaurants.

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