With a Civil-War era mansion and a brand new visitors center, Cylburn Arboretum is bustling with history and energy. Please join us and our hosts from the Cylburn Arboretum Association on a tour of the historic mansion, a stroll through the grounds to view some less visited historic sites, and a peek at the new visitors center. Oh yes, and a glass of wine on the mansion porch.
Tour Information
Note: We are having two identical tours on the same evening. Please sign up for only one.
Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Time: Tour 1 — 5:15 p.m. to 6:15, with reception to follow
Tour 2 — 6:00 p.m. reception, 6:30 to 7:30 tour
Place: Cylburn Arboretum, 4915 Greenspring Avenue (Baltimore, 21209)
Free parking is available at the arboretum
Cost: $15 (includes wine and cheese reception)
Cylburn began as the private estate of Jesse Tyson, president of the Baltimore Chrome Works Company and a successful businessman. Tyson began building the mansion in 1863 as a summer home for himself and his mother. He completed it in 1888 at age 61 and after marrying the 19 year old debutante, Edyth Johns. Tyson is said to have remarked at this time“”I have the fairest wife, the fastest horses, and the finest house in Maryland” and with its Italianate design, stone from Tyson’s own Bare Hills quarry (in Baltimore County), and interior of hardwood, grand fireplaces, and ornate plasterwork, he was at least correct about the quality of his house. After Ms. Johns’ death in 1942, Baltimore City purchased the estate for $42,300. In 1954, the property became the “Cylburn Wildflower Preserve and Garden Center,” and a group of volunteers designed trails and gardens for the park. The named officially changed to “Cylburn Arboretum” in 1984, and the property now covers over 200 acres of grounds with many historic sites. Please join us and our hosts from the Cylburn Arboretum Association on a tour of the mansion and other historic sites. We’ll meet at the arboretum’s new visitor’s center, the Vollmer Center, which was dedicated earlier this year to get a taste of the new along with a tour of the historic.
Space is limited on the tour. Confirmations will be sent by email, and payment will be due upon confirmation. For additional information and questions, call Baltimore Heritage at 410-332-9992.
This tour series is made possible in part by a generous contribution from the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and the Maryland State Arts Council. Thank you to our 50th Anniversary Year Sponsors!
I LIVED HERE FROM 1942 TO 1950 AS MY MOTHER TOOK CARE OF WAR ORPHANS IN CYLBURN,,23 TO BE EXACT, FROM NEWBORN TO AGE 5. THERE WERE THREE AGE GROUPS IN CYLBURN UP TO 18. THE CHILDREN WERE SENT TO WORK FARMS WHICH WERE HORRIBLE OR THEY WERE ADOPTED. I WAS ALMOST KIDNAPPED WHILE THERE ASA A PINK CADILLAC PULLED UP AND THEY THREW ME IN IT. MY NANNY SAW THIS AND CALLED FOR HELP. THEY WOULD NEVER HAVE FOUND ME. FOR MORE OF MY STORY EMAIL ME AT MARGORAYE@AOL.COM…..I HAVE TONS OF PICTURES.