Virginia Baker

Virginia S. Baker (1921 – July 29, 1998) was an American civil servant and employee of the Department of Recreation and Parks in Baltimore City, Maryland, U.S. She was known by a number of nicknames, such as Queenie, Queen of Fun, Baltimore's First Lady of Fun, "queen of the hill", and "Baltimore's oldest kid". In 1984, the recreation center in Patterson Park was named the Virginia S. Baker Recreation Center to honor Baker's years of service to the center and to the children of Baltimore. Baker started her career as a volunteer playground monitor at the old Patterson Park recreation center and was hired to work for the Department of Recreation and Parks right after graduating from Eastern High School in 1939. She held a variety of job titles in her 53 years of civil service. She was best known for the many events and programs she initiated as director of the "Adventures in Fun" office, an office in City Hall created specifically for Baker by former Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer. In an address to the Senate, U.S. Senator from Maryland and Baltimore-native Barbara Mikulski made a special tribute to Baker following her death in 1998. Baker died at age 76 due to complications from pneumonia.