Category: Tours

Behind the Scenes Tour of Homewood House Restoration

Homewood House Portico Restoration 2012

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.

Tour Details

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!

Check out the Homewood House with Explore Baltimore Heritage!

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.

Baltimore by Bike! Explore Monuments and West Baltimore Parks this spring

Photograph by Patrick McMahon, November 5, 2011

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.

The Monuments of Baltimore

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.

Explore West Baltimore Parks

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!

Explore West Baltimore Squares with a Photo Walk & Tour on May 27

Union Square Park, 2011 Baltimore Heritage Awards Celebration Join Baltimore Heritage and the Baltimore Sun for our first photo walk and tour at the Sowebohemian Festival on Sunday, May 27! The utterly unique Sowebo Arts & Music Festival is a can’t miss neighborhood event in Hollins Market with music, dancing, great food, artwork, antiques and more. Of course, the festival alone offers a feast of photo opportunities for any photographer but it is also a great excuse for us to go out and explore the historic parks and neighborhoods of southwest Baltimore.

West Baltimore Squares Photo Walk & Tour

Sunday, May 27, 3:00 to 4:30pm
Meet at the west end of Hollins Market (South Carrollton Avenue and Hollins Street)
RSVP online today! Free.
Free street parking available in the surrounding area. Off-street parking available at the UM BioPark Garage (West Baltimore and Poppleton Streets). Transit – Take the free Charm City Circulator Orange Route to the Hollins Market stop at Arlington Street.

H.L. Mencken in his garden, July 28, 1955. Courtesy the Maryland Historical Society, B737(5)D.

Bring along your camera for a quick afternoon walk to see a few of West Baltimore unique parks and landmarks. Starting from the handsome brick Hollins Market, designed by Baltimore City Hall architect George Frederick, we’ll explore the Italianate rowhouses around Union Square and stop in at H.L. Mencken’s backyard. From Union Square, we’ll cross Baltimore street (one of the oldest commercial main streets in the city), check out historic Franklin Square, and take a look inside the grand Gothic Revival sanctuary at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church. We’ll be joined by a Baltimore Sun photographer who’ll offer professional advice on getting the most out of your photos.

The Friends of West Baltimore Squares will also be raffling off a few chances to enter Baltimore City Parks Photo Competition for free! Even if you don’t win, you can enter the competition for $20 for adults and $10 for under 18.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the McDonogh School

Image courtesy the McDonogh School.

Join us for a tour of the 139-year-old McDonogh School.  We will be venturing into Baltimore County to see a campus that has its roots in Baltimore City and was originally intended to be located there.  The school’s archivist, Ms. MaryLu Greenwood, and Vice Principal, Mr. Larry Johnston, will lead us on a tour of the school and its classical architecture and share the story of how this one time farm school for indigent “boys of good character” became the venerable private co-ed school it is today.

Tour Details
8600 McDonogh Road, Owings Mills, MD 21117
Thursday, May 10, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
$15 members | $25 non-members (wine & cheese will be served)

RSVP for the tour today!

Image courtesy Wikipedia.

John McDonogh, a Baltimore-born merchant and philanthropist, was born in 1779 and died in 1850, bequeathing half of his estate to the City of Baltimore to educate children. However, since the public school system already existed in Baltimore, the mayor and city council used the funds to endow a “school farm” for poor boys of good character. Mr. McDonogh had envisioned such a school in his handwritten will dated 1838. In 1872, a tract of 835 acres—essentially the same land that comprises the campus today—was purchased for $85,000 for the school’s establishment.  McDonogh School was founded on November 21, 1873 with the arrival of twenty-one poor boys from Baltimore City. From the beginning, the boys followed a semi-military system, which provided leadership opportunities and ensured order.  Major milestones in McDonogh’s history signaled change. The first paying students arrived in 1922 and day students in 1927. The semi-military program was dropped in 1971, and the first female students enrolled in 1975.  Today, McDonogh is a non-denominational, college preparatory, co-educational day and boarding school. The school calls many accomplished athletes alumni.  They include tennis-pro and sports commentator Pam Shriver, Orioles pitcher Brian Erbe, and equestrian Olympic gold medalist Bruce Davidson.

Behind the Scenes Tour: Animal House

Many of us have seen the 1978 movie “Animal House.”  Have you wondered what happened to the chapter house after the mischievous frat boys graduated?  Homeowners Ron Tanner and Jill Eicher can pick-up where the story leaves off.  They call Charles Village’s version of the infamous Animal House home.  Please join us for a tour of this beautifully restored house and hear Mr. Tanner and Ms. Eicher offer tips on managing large projects, including how to stay together even when your house is torn apart.

Tour Details

2746 St. Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
Tuesday, April 3rd | 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm
$15 members | $25 non-members (please join!)

RSVP for the tour today!

Ron Tanner and Jill Eicher have spent 12 years renovating an 1897 Queen Anne rowhouse that was condemned property when they bought it.  A notorious fraternity had all but destroyed the 4,500 square foot Charles Village house. The run-down rowhouse even found itself as the perfect setting for a horror film starring then unknown actresses Dana Delaney and Keri Russell.  Undaunted, Mr. Tanner and Ms. Eicher took on a whole-house restoration, beginning with emptying out multiple roll-off dumpsters of trash.  They found themselves learning how to re-plaster walls, finish floors, restore windows, and much more.  Their work was featured in This Old House magazine in 2008, in Baltimore Magazine in 2012 in an article called “Trashed to Treasured,” and just a few months ago by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.  Mr. Tanner, a writer by trade, created a blog about their adventures.  The blog was very popular and led to the recently published book, From Animal House to Our House: a Love Story, a must-read for anybody who has struggled through a home renovation project.  Mr. Tanner is a wonderful storyteller and the evening is sure to be entertaining as well as informative.