Join us for an upcoming heritage tour! We ride bikes, climb scaffolding, and walk up and down hilly streets on our tours of Baltimore’s historic buildings and neighborhoods all across the city. Have a question? Look through our FAQ page. Check out our calendar of events below!
Dragon Clocks, Antique Musical Machines and More: An Awe-Inspring Visit to the “Clock House”
Known widely throughout Baltimore as “The Clock House,” Mr. Durward Center’s 2100 St. Paul Street Victorian home is a Mecca for lovers of early mechanical devices. By profession, Mr. Center is a restoration expert for antique tower-clocks and organs and has worked on projects across the country and as close to home as Penn Station in Baltimore. He is even the craftsman behind the restoration of the 1898 Welte “concert orchestration” that sat in the entrance to Oakley Court, the manor house outside London that was made famous in Dracula movies and perhaps infamous in The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
For his St. Paul Street house, Mr. Center has installed three clock dials on the outside (including the dragon clock) and has an almost endless collection inside. A music room contains early mechanical musical devices that he has restored. Please join us and our host, Mr. Durward Center, as we learn about (and literally hear) the fascinating marriage between a historic Baltimore rowhouse and a world-class collection of early mechanical devices.