Author: Eli

Eli Pousson started as a Field Officer at Baltimore Heritage in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation in October 2009. Prior to moving to Baltimore, Eli worked for the DC Office of Historic Preservation and completed graduate work in anthropology and historic preservation at the University of Maryland College Park. Eli continues to work with the Lakeland Community Heritage Project and other heritage organizations in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

See the city through H.L. Mencken’s eyes with Baltimore by Bike on November 11

Our last Baltimore by Bike ride of the year offers a chance to see the city through the eyes of Baltimore’s own H.L. Mencken – one of the most influential American writers of the 20th century. H.L. Mencken grew up and spent most of his life in a handsome brick rowhouse on Union Square but he never hesitated to explore the city he loved (and loved to skewer) as he walked, reported, and even rode a bike through Baltimore neighborhoods from Mount Vernon to Bolton Hill and beyond.

Mencken’s Baltimore by Bike

Sunday, November 11, 9:30am to 12:00pm
Meet at Union Square Park, Hollins Street and South Stricker Street
RSVP online today! $15 per person.

Photo courtesy the The Smart Set.

Join us for a easy fall ride through H.L. Mencken’s Baltimore. The eldest son of August Mencken, a successful local cigar manufacturer, Mencken grew from roaming the alleys and vacant lots with gangs of West Baltimore boys to become one of the youngest reporters at the Baltimore Herald, launching a career in journalism and writing that endured for nearly 50 years.

We’ll ride along the streets that Mencken knew best as we discover the site of Little Joe’s Bike Shop where Mencken learned to ride a bicycle in the 1890s, imagine the fine meals Mencken enjoyed with friends at Marconi’s on Cathedral Street, stop by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s home in Bolton Hill and stop by the Poe House, just around the corner from Mencken’s birthplace on Lexington Street. Our tour ends with a chance to tour the H.L. Mencken House and enjoy light refreshments.

This tour is presented in partnership with the Friends of the H.L. Mencken House and proceeds help to support their ongoing efforts to restore and re-open the H.L. Mencken House. Learn more about events around West Baltimore neighborhoods from the Friends of West Baltimore Squares.

Photo walk & tour of Jewish Landmarks on the West Side this Saturday!

Baltimore residents of all backgrounds remember the bustling shops of Howard and Lexington Streets but a handful of Jewish-owned businesses – Hutzler’s, Hecht’s, and Read’s Drug Store just to name a few – stand out in stories and memories from the history of downtown’s west side. Bring your camera and join Baltimore Heritage for a free photo walk and tour exploring the history of Jewish entrepreneurs and workers – making clothes, selling furniture, and more – who made Howard and Lexington a place to remember.

West Side Photo Walk & Tour

October 27, 2012, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
RSVP today or sign up on Facebook! Free thanks to Free Fall Baltimore.
Meet at the east entrance to Lexington Market – Eutaw and Lexington Streets

This tour is presented in partnership with the Jewish Museum of Maryland for the Jewish Landmarks Photo Competition. Special thanks to The Baltimore Sun for featuring our tour on the Darkroom blog.

We deeply appreciate the support of our donors who make Free Fall Baltimore possible.  Special thanks goes to Susquehanna Bank, The Abell Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, with additional support provided by American Trading and Production Corporation, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, and the Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation.

Old Hamilton Library listed on the National Register of Historic Places

On September 25, the Old Hamilton Library was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Designed by Baltimore architect Theodore W. Pietsch, the historic branch library was built thanks to the organized efforts of the Woman’s Club of Hamilton and the Hamilton Improvement Association along with support from Pittsburgh industrialist Andrew Carnegie.

Baltimore Heritage submitted the nomination to the Maryland Historical Trust in February with support from both the owner and the Hamilton-Lauraville Main Street. We hope this designation and the financial incentives of city, state and federal historic tax credits can help our partners find a new use for this neighborhood landmark and restore it to its long-time role as an asset to northeast Baltimore communities.

Ride along with Baltimore by Bike this fall for War of 1812 and more

Join us this fall for three more fun Baltimore by Bike tours – a War of 1812 ride this Saturday to celebrate Defender’s Day with local scholar Kate Drabinski, a tour of West Baltimore murals with Baltimore Heritage board member Dr. Ralph Brown, and a free tour of Jewish Landmarks in northwest Baltimore (part of our new Baltimore Jewish Landmarks Photo Competition). Most of our rides are comfortable for everyone from teens to retirees and offer a great way to explore Baltimore’s historic neighborhoods.

War of 1812 by Bike

Saturday, September 8, 3:30 pm to 6:00 pm Rescheduled due to predicted thunderstorms! New date: Saturday, September 22, 9:30 am to 12:00 pm
RSVP today! $10 per person.
Meet at Riverside Park, Riverside Avenue and East Randall Street. Note – the starting location has been moved from Fort McHenry to Riverside Park.

This year we are taking our Defender’s Day celebrations beyond Fort McHenry with an afternoon bike tour around the harbor exploring the lives and landmarks that witnessed how the War of 1812 came home to Baltimore 200 years ago.

West Baltimore Murals by Bike

Sunday, September 16, 9:00 am
RSVP today! $10 per person.
Meet at the intersection of Frederick Avenue and the Gwynns Falls Bike Trail on the north side of Frederick Avenue – at 2800 Frederick Avenue.

With over a dozen murals decorating walls and bridges, West Baltimore comes alive in this tour that explores a rich part of our city that many rarely visit. Please join us to learn about some seminal events of the 19th century that occurred in West Baltimore and changed the course of world history.

Baltimore by Bike: Jewish Landmarks in Northwest Baltimore

Sunday, October 14, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Meeting location at Beth Am Synagogue, 2501 Eutaw Place, Baltimore, MD.
RSVP Today! Free thanks to Free Fall Baltimore.

In the decades after the Civil War, Baltimore’s economy boomed, countless immigrants arrived from around the world and many – including the city’s growing Jewish community – moved northwest into the rapidly expanding Baltimore suburbs around what is now Bolton Hill. We’re taking a two-hour bike tour past historic synagogues and other Jewish landmarks from from Eutaw Place to Park Heights – all free thanks to Free Fall Baltimore.