An $11 million plan to renovate the historic Read’s Drug Store on Howard Street has fallen through – in part because of questions about safety and the pace of redevelopment on the west side of downtown.

Spotlighters Theatre, the developer selected by the city, disclosed this week that it has decided not to move ahead with its proposed conversion of the vacant drug store at 123 N. Howard Street to a new performing center.

The building was the site of a 1955 sit-in by Morgan State students protesting that African Americans weren’t served at the lunch counter. The sit-in prompted the Read’s chain to modify its policies and begin serving African Americans at all of its locations.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE