LGBTQ History in Maryland: National Register Brainstorming Session

Baltimore Heritage is working with a researcher, Susan Ferentinos, to take her documentation of LGBTQ history in Maryland and turn it into a National Register of Historic places nomination to put Maryland (and Baltimore) on the national map for LGBTQ heritage. 

We need your help! Please join us for a brainstorming session on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 at 5:30 pm to discuss LGBTQ heritage sites in Baltimore (and Maryland), priorities to focus on in the nomination, and how we might be able to publicize this new documentation. Should we have a celebration? A social media campaign? Or local landmarking? Please help us decide.

Join the Zoom meeting here:

https://bit.ly/4mLYRv1

 

New Series: Light City Tours!

Our Light City Tours are a series of evening walking and boat tours to see our city in a new light. Participants are encouraged to take advantage of Baltimore’s evening offerings, including theaters, artist open studios, and restaurants before or after each tour. Over the course of 2026, we will host evening tours in neighborhoods across the city, and on our harbor! Learn more and sign up for the first few tours below! And don’t forget to check out our calendar to see all of our upcoming tours and events.

Upcoming tours: 

April 24: The 1904 Fire

May 8: Light City on the Water

May 14: Bromo Arts District 

June 11: Little Italy 

 

 


This project has been funded in part by a grant from the Moe Family Fund for Statewide and Local Partners of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

 

Announcing Exciting Upcoming Tours and Talks This Spring

Gather with us this spring! We hope you’ll join us at one of our events, perhaps on our Inner Harbor boat tour on a water taxi, a Booth, Baltimore & Lincoln’s Assassination tour on the 161st anniversary of the murder, or at one of our talks at the historic Garrett-Jacobs Mansion.

We are always updating, so be sure to check out our calendar to see new additions!

–Johns Hopkins, Executive Director

Our 2026 Spring Lecture Series at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion

Join us for an exciting lecture series this spring at the historic Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, also known as the Engineers Club. One Sunday afternoon each month from March through May, join us for an in-depth talk by a subject matter expert all the while sitting in a gorgeous Gilded Age mansion. Learn more and sign up for each lecture below! And don’t forget to check out our calendar to see all of our upcoming tours and events.

–Johns Hopkins, Executive Director


Immigrants at Locust Point, 1904 (Image courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture)

Building Baltimore: A Talk on Immigration and Opportunity by Jack Burkert

March 1, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. $10-$15

For almost two million people, Baltimore was the destination that promised a new life, hope and opportunity. Beginning in earnest in the 18th century, accelerating through the 19th, immigrants provided the labor force necessary for Baltimore to become an industrial powerhouse. Early arrivals endured often tortuous Atlantic crossings under sail. Later steam powered ships sped the trip, but steerage accommodation offered little improvement to time spent at sea. Who were these people? Where were they from? Why did they abandon their homes? On March 1, join Baltimore historian Jack Burkert to explore immigration into Baltimore.

 

American Revolution and the Fate of the World: A Talk by Dr. Richard Bell

April 12, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. $10-$15

The American Revolution was not only the colonies’ triumphant liberation from the rule of an overbearing England; it was also a cataclysm that pulled in participants from around the globe and threw the entire world order into chaos. The “War of Independence” manifested itself as a sprawling struggle that upended the lives of millions of people on every continent and fundamentally transformed the way the world works, disrupting trade, restructuring penal systems, stirring famine, and creating the first global refugee crisis. On April 12, join acclaimed University of Maryland history professor and author Dr. Richard Bell as he upends much of what we thought we knew about the American Revolution.

 

The Making of America’s Greatest Classical Architect: A Talk by Charlie Duff

May 24, 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm. $10-$15

John Russell Pope designed the National Gallery, the National Archives, the Jefferson Memorial, and dozens of other buildings of national importance. He was arguably the greatest master of classical architecture in American history. So how did this New Yorker get his start in Baltimore? He wasn’t from here. He didn’t go to school here. But it was a Baltimorean who gave him his first independent commission, and it was Baltimoreans who gave him the chance to build his first museum. On May 24, join Baltimore historian and architecture buff Charlie Duff to investigate Pope’s work in Baltimore and his lasting impact on America.

2026 Baltimore By Boat Tours

In 2026, we are expanding our live-narrated Inner Harbor boat tours and offering them almost every Saturday from March through October!

We hope you will join us to discover America’s history on Baltimore’s water. America defeated the British here. Frederick Douglass escaped from here. And today we are pioneering watershed restoration here. The tour starts near the Harborplace pavilions and goes all the way out to Fort McHenry. Come see how Baltimore’s wonderful waterfront connects the past with the present and Baltimore to the rest of the world.

We hope to see you on board! Click below to access our Event Calendar and register for a boat tour: 

REGISTER HERE

Tour Information:

  • Price: $27.50 per ticket
  • Length: 90 minutes, 10:00 am to 11:30 am
  • Location: Harborplace Water Taxi Stop (water side of 201 E. Pratt St.)
  • Parking Options: Light rail, multiple garages, and street parking available