Baltimore Heritage

This special mid-week evening tour will include a light reception and question time after the tour! Join us for a tour inside Clifton Mansion, the unique Italianate country house that has overlooked Baltimore City for over 200 years! At one time the summer home of War of 1812 captain Henry Thompson and then philanthropist Johns Hopkins, the story of Clifton Estate is one about two prominent businessmen, enslaved & free Black people, and more. You’ll see the latest restorations made possible by the Friends of Clifton Mansion and Civic Works. You will also be invited into unrestored spaces that are brimming with stories to tell! And the tour wouldn’t be complete without climbing the tower and taking in one-of-a-kind views of Clifton Park and our surrounding city. We hope to see you there.

On September 30, join Baltimore Heritage and the Friends of Herring Run Park to experience this urban oasis like you never have before! The co-founders of the Herring Run Archaeology Project, Lisa Kraus and Jason Shellenhamer, will share with us discoveries from years of archaeological and historical exploration here. As we walk around the park, they will guide us through the new Herring Run Park Heritage Trail, which starts 11,000 years ago with the discovery of a pre-European contact Native American campsite, and goes all the way to 20th century Romani caravan bases. Herring Run Park was once the heart of the Eutaw Farm plantation and enslaved African Americans lived and worked on this land. We’ll learn about extraordinary people like Emeline Jones, who after emancipation, became a world-renowned chef in Washington, DC. Centuries later, Black Baltimoreans fought here for equal access to the park. You’ll be amazed by all of the history packed into this one park. We hope to see you on this fascinating tour!

On October 1, join us for a walking tour of the Feisty Females of Fells Point! Everyone knows that this neighborhood has a rich history, but do you know about the Caribbean immigrant, Mary Lange, who dared to teach children of color out of her home and rose to be the first Black mother-superior in American history? How about the single mom who helped stop the development of an interstate highway through these historic streets? Spoiler--it's not Barbara Mikulski, but of course we'll talk about her important work too. And we’ll stop by the former rowhouse of someone else you might know–Billie Holiday. We hope you’ll join us and tour guide Robin Minor to hear about these fierce women who helped forge Fells Point into the vibrant, distinctive neighborhood it is today.

For over 200 years, Lexington Market’s wooden sheds and concrete stalls have been a gathering place for Baltimoreans. And the market is still evolving! In October 2022, the new Lexington Market opened in a brand new building. On this tour we’ll first explore the surrounding neighborhood to discover how Baltimore emerged as a leading industrial and economic city in the 19th century. Immigration, slavery, commerce and major changes in transportation were all part of the mix here in Baltimore and the country as a whole. We’ll end at the new market to see its wonderful public art and, of course, its merchants (new and old). We hope you'll join Johns Hopkins, Executive Director of Baltimore Heritage, for this tour beginning at 10:30 am. And if you can make it, come early for the dedication of the new History Walk in the market plaza at 10 am! 

Join us for a walk around the Spring Grove Hospital Center campus to see this partially abandoned historic facility where, among other things, the first and longest government-run psychedelic drug research took place in the 1960s. Founded in 1797, it is the second oldest continuously operating psychiatric hospital in the country. On our tour led by Paul Lubell, we’ll see the remnants of the oldest building on campus and industrial structures from the 1930s, plus a barely noticeable cemetery. We’ll end the tour at the Spring Grove Alumni Museum to see artifacts and memorabilia from the institution’s over 200-year history. We hope you’ll join us on October 22!

On October 25, join us for a walk around the Maryland Public Television station in Owings Mills! We will learn all about MPT’s history and view displays of its achievements as Maryland’s only statewide broadcaster. You will get an inside look at current TV technology and visit all three of its studios, including the Irene and Edward H. Kaplan Studio. You can also view the station’s more intimate studios that you may recognize from live pledge events and programming such as State Circle. After the guided tour, the Senior Managing Director of Programming, Kate Pearson, will talk about MPT’s city-centric programs and answer our questions. We hope to see you on October 25!

Join us for a tour inside Clifton Mansion, the unique Italianate country house that has overlooked Baltimore City for over 200 years! At one time the summer home of War of 1812 captain Henry Thompson and then philanthropist Johns Hopkins, the story of Clifton Estate is one about two prominent businessmen, enslaved & free Black people, and more. You’ll see the latest restorations made possible by the Friends of Clifton Mansion and Civic Works. You will also be invited into unrestored spaces that are brimming with stories to tell! And the tour wouldn’t be complete without climbing the tower and taking in one-of-a-kind views of Clifton Park and our surrounding city. We hope to see you there.

Join Friends of Patterson Park Director, Jennifer Robinson and Baltimore Heritage Director, Johns Hopkins, to get an intro to the layers of history that lie beneath Baltimore's best back yard! Who is the Patterson in our name, what's the park's connection to Frederick Douglass, what helped the park's renaissance over the last 25 years, and why do we have cannons and an "observatory"? The park's history is fascinating and will add to your appreciation for this jewel of a public space.

Join us to explore the eerie catacombs underneath Baltimore’s First Presbyterian Church, now called Westminster Hall, and the graves that surround it, including the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. The burial ground predates the church, which was built on arches above the gravesites, so that the graveyard and its tombstones lie both underneath and around the building. We bet you will also recognize more than a few Baltimore street names as we walk among the patriots and civic leaders buried at Westminster including Calhoun, Hollins, Gilmore, and Bentalou. All told, the compact cemetery next to the University of Maryland School of Law is the final resting place for over 1,000 individuals. We can’t wait to see you “Where Baltimore’s History Rests in Peace!”