Originally the summer home of industrialist and abolitionist Elisha Tyson in the early 1800s, 732 Pacific Street is a classic Federal style house built with native granite two feet thick. Among many other accomplishments, Tyson helped finance the very profitable Falls Road Turnpike in 1805 and reportedly established safe houses for runaway slaves along the route. The building on Pacific Street was later owned by the Mount Vernon Mill Company and used as a superintendent’s house for the mill complex. Robyn Lyles and Mark Thistle (also a Baltimore Heritage board member) purchased the house in 2005 and finished renovations in 2009. The rehab project included archeology work by the University of Maryland, painstakingly saving windows including the original antique glass, and disassembling and reassembling the porch to save the original materials. 13,000 hours of work later, the finished product is a masterpiece of historic preservation.

The award goes to owners Robyn Lyles and Mark Thistle, SMG Architects, and contractor Traditional Builders. For more information check out this great feature in Urbanite Magazine with a slideshow on the house and a profile on Elisha Tyson. You can also enjoy a few photos from our recent Behind the Scenes Tour of Mount Vernon Mill No. 1, just around the corner from the Elisha Tyson House.