Thanks to everyone who joined us last month for our West Baltimore Squares Photowalk & Tour organized in partnership with the Baltimore Sun’s DarkRoom. Photographers, locals and first-time visitors to Sowebo all had the chance to photograph local landmarks from Hollins Market to Franklin Square with a stop at the H.L. Mencken House on Union Square – where Will Cocks caught this nice shot of Mencken’s cigar box. Find more featured images from the photowalk at the Baltimore Sun DarkRoom blog.
Are you among the many Baltimoreans who have passed Homewood House on the Johns Hopkins University campus and wondered what the construction is about? Wonder no more! Please plan to join us in learning what it takes to renovate a 211-year-old portico and then come inside for a close-up look at this historic and architectural gem. As for the portico, new discoveries during restoration underscore Homewood House’s superlative construction, and may explain why the house ended up costing four times the original $10,000 that Charles Carroll budgeted for it in 1801.
Wednesday, June 13, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (on JHU campus)
$15 members | $25 non-members (wine & cheese will be served)
RSVP for the tour today!
Homewood House is the former home of Charles Carroll, Jr., son of Maryland’s only Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence, Charles Carroll of Carrollton. In 1800, the elder Carroll offered his son and new bride, Harriett Chew, the funds to build a country retreat. The original plan was to renovate an existing farmhouse, but Carroll the younger had higher social aspirations and wanted a house to reflect it. With more than a little contention between father and son, Homewood House was completed in 1801 at a cost of $40,000, four times what Father Carroll had wished to spend. The exceedingly high cost, however, went into both great architecture and great craftsmanship.
The current restoration of the south portico has reinforced this, with new discoveries of vaulted arches under the stairs and other construction practices that have helped the building stand straight and true for over two centuries. For the tour, Ms. Catherine Rogers Arthur, Director and Curator of Homewood House Museum, and Mr. Travers Nelson, project manager, will take us through the steps involved in the restoration of the south portico and then into the house itself. Today’s current craftsmen undertaking the restoration work include G. Krug & Son, Baltimore ironmongery in business since 1810, for the original wrought iron railing, and SMG Architects as the lead architect. As an extra bonus, the tour will include Homewood House’s most recent acquisition: Charles Carroll of Carrollton’s architectural drawing desk. With several Atlantic crossings to Ireland and back, this Irish-made desk has quite the story to tell. Please join us for a tour of this preservation project in action and one of Baltimore’s historic treasures.
We were excited to partner with Greenpants and Luminous Interventions at the Transmodern Festival last week on a tour of Downtown’s West Side. Our walk featured building-sized light and video projections during the tour animated the stories of historic sites along Howard Street. Find more images of the projections from Luminous Interventions.
Illuminating Baltimore’s Hidden Histories With Occupy-Offshoot “Greenpants,” The Indypendent Reader, May 21, 2012
Beginning Memorial Day weekend, we are launching a brand-new series of Baltimore by Bike tours to highlight historic places in Baltimore. We are especially pleased that Dr. Ralph Brown, pediatrician, history lover, and founder of Monumental Bike Tours, has come out of tour retirement to lead many of our rolling sojourns this year. Our first tour – The Monuments of Baltimore – is this Sunday, May 27 for an affordable $10 or check out our free tour of West Baltimore Parks on National Trails Day, Saturday, June 2.
Sunday, May 27, 9:00 am to 12:00 pm
RSVP today! $10 per person.
Meet in front of the Lee-Jackson statute across the street from the main entrance to the Baltimore Museum of Art. The tour will return before noon.
What better way to get into the spirit of Memorial Day than by learning about Baltimore’s great historic monuments? Peddle between major and minor landmarks with a full dose of history along the way from Dr. Ralph Brown.
Saturday, June 2, 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
RSVP today! Free!
Meet at the Francis Scott Key Monument – Eutaw Place and Lanvale Street.
West Baltimore’s unique landscape of parks and gardens feature everything from a monument to Francis Scott Key to innovative bioswales for sustainable stormwater management. The best way to get to know these local treasures? Hop on your bike and join us for a free National Trails Day ride through West Baltimore parks! Together with our partner Bikemore (a new citywide bike advocacy group), we’ll take an easy two-hour ride visiting over 10 small parks and gardens across west and southwest Baltimore.
Find more upcoming bike tours, including East Baltimore Bakeries by Bike on Saturday June 16 and West Baltimore Murals by Bike on Sunday, September 16 on our new Baltimore by Bike page!
