Evergreen-Red Cross Institute for the Blind photograph collection

The Red Cross Institute for the Blind was organized in 1917 at the request of the Surgeon General of the Army to cooperate with General Hospital No. 7 and the Federal Board for Vocational Education. The Institute was founded by Col. Bordley, and was directed by Lawrence W. Wallace (born 1881) from 1919-1921. In 1922 the facility was was transferred from the Red Cross to the U.S. Veterans Bureau, and was then called Evergreen Vocational Training School.

In operation during and after World War I for the rehabilitation of soldiers, sailors, and marines who became vision-impaired during military service, the Institute was located on Cold Spring Lane between Charles Street and York Road in north Baltimore. Part of the facility had been the Kernwood estate owned the Wilson family in the 19th century, and another part was the house known as Evergreen Jr. and surrounding property, which Mrs. T. Harrison Garrett loaned to the government at this time. The Institute used existing estate houses and buildings, and constructed additional buildings for the school's activities, including classrooms, recreational facilities, and barracks.

At the Red Cross Institute for the Blind, men were trained in general and work skills adapted to their visual impairment: typewriting, braille reading, various work skills such as dictaphone, book binding, machining, vulcanizing, poultry and dairy farming, salesmanship, and massage. There were also recreational activities: music, dancing, basket-making, swimming, and bowling. The Institute received visits from dignitaries including Queen Elizabeth of Belgium and Helen Keller, as well as military figures General Pershing and Captain Delveaux, Director of the Belgian Institute for Blind Soldiers.

The school closed in around 1925, and the Evergreen property was returned to Mrs. Garrett's heir, John W. Garrett. Many of the Institute's buildings were razed, and others would be used by Loyola College, which began developing their campus in the early 1920s.