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.

Baltimore Building of the Week: 9 North Front Street

Staying in the historic Jonestown neighborhood for another week in our Baltimore Building of the Week series, Dr. John Breihan shares an exceptional example of the characteristic federal row house: 9 North Front Street. Read on then click here for an additional photo of 9 North Front Street from the interesting Monument City project.

Image courtesy Jack Breihan
Image courtesy Jack Breihan

The federal style of architecture was popular during Baltimore’s most vigorous period of growth, from the 1790s to the 1850s, when Baltimore vaulted into second place among American cities. The new residents were mostly housed in 1, 2, and 3½-story dormered brick row houses, less ornate than their Georgian predecessors. They are to be found all around the bustling harbor, from Fells Point through Little Italy and Jonestown to Federal Hill. A good example is 9 N. Front Street, the home of Baltimore’s second mayor, Thorowgood Smith, built in 1790. It was saved from deterioration by the Women’s Civic League during the 1970s. Other federal row houses preserved for public use include the Mother Seton House, the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, and the Edgar Allen Poe House.

Baltimore Building of the Week: Carroll Mansion

This week’s featured Baltimore Building of the Week from Dr. John Breihan is the Carroll Mansion built in 1811 at 800 East Lombard Street. If you enjoy this post be sure to support Carroll Museums, follow their blog, become a fan on Facebook,  or follow @CarrollMuseums on Twitter.

Image courtesy Jack Breihan

The years just before and after 1800 saw Baltimore’s greatest expansion. With it came a new style of architecture – called “Regency” in Great Britain and “Federal” here. Although still using Flemish bond brickwork and gabled roofs with dormer windows, the Federal style was lighter than Georgian, with moldings less deeply inscribed and gables less steep.  Shallow decorative panels adorned exterior walls, and entrances were often marked by elegantly slim columns. A leading example is the town mansion of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the young republic’s richest men.  When not residing in this house along the Jones Falls, Carroll lived at his country house, Doughoregan Manor in what is now Howard County. After Carroll’s death his house was put to a number of uses, causing increasing dilapidation until it was saved by the City of Baltimore.  It is now lovingly tended by the Carroll Museums, Inc.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Hotel Brexton – Updated

Since 1881, the Hotel Brexton has lorded over Tyson Street and Park Avenue in Mount Vernon and will do so again after a recent and thorough restoration.  Please join architect Donald Kann and members of the RWN redevelopment team on a tour of this wonderfully restored building on the eve of its reopening (literally: the hotel opens to the public the morning after our tour).

Tour Information – Updated

Update- The tour of the Hotel Brexton has been rescheduled for Wednesday, February 17.  Tour registrants should look for an e-mail with an update on whether they are set for the 5:30 PM or the 6:30 PM tour.

Date:     Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Time:     5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Place:    Brexton Hotel, 868 Park Avenue
Park on the Street
Cost:      $10

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Baltimore Building of the Week: Fells Point Wooden Houses

We are staying in Fell’s Point for the fourth entry in our Baltimore Building of the Week series with Dr. John Beihan to take a look at the eight remaining wooden houses on Aliceanna Street, South Ann Street, South Bond Street, South Register Street, and the pair below at 612-614 South Wolfe Street,

Image courtesy Jack Breihan, 2009

Few of Baltimore’s earliest buildings were as grand as Mt. Clare or the Captain Steele House. Most were tiny 1½-story wood clapboard houses with steep roof lines and small dormers. Apprehensive of fire, a  City ordinance of 1799 decreed that all  houses be constructed of brick. About a half-dozen pre-1799 wooden houses survive in Fells Point. This pair on Wolfe Street was once proposed as a museum, but currently it is endangered by inadequate maintenance and lack of a useful function.

For more on wooden houses in Fells Point, be sure to read Stacy Patterson’s article “Early Wooden Houses in Fell’s Point” or see a few of the homes in person following our interactive map.

Baltimore Building of the Week: Captain Steele House

The third entry in our Baltimore Building of the Week series by Dr. John Breihan is on the Captain John Steele House built ca 1788 at 931 Fell Street,

Image courtesy Jack Breihan, 2009

Baltimore’s growth came after the American Revolution. In comparison to Boston or Philadelphia, there are few buildings here in the Georgian style. A notable exception is the Captain Steele House in Fells Point, built just after the Revolution with the dormer windows and high-relief moldings characteristic of English Georgian architecture. It was lovingly restored and adapted for modern living by the Hepner family.

John Steele and his partner, Captain Thomas Lambdin, a resident of 802 S. Ann Street, operated a shipyard in Fells Point. The honorary title “Captain” was awarded to the shipbuilders, such as Lambdin and Steele, even if they did not command a ship.