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.
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.
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.
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.
After months of exploring new neighborhoods and preservation issues — from redevelopment on the West Side at Alewife to discussing the future of heritage on Wikipedia at the Midtown Yacht Club — we’ve arrived at our last Happy Hour for the year at Amour Baltimore in the Hollins Market neighborhood. This month’s Young Preservationist Happy Hour is co-hosted by the Baltimore Red Line Community Liaisons and it’s a great opportunity to visit a fun corner of southwest Baltimore while learning about the future of transportation and revitalization in Baltimore.
Thursday, December 8, 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Amour Baltimore, 1116 Hollins Street (near Hollins Market)
RSVP today!
Come out and enjoy an evening of jazz music and tasty drink specials at Amour Restaurant, formerly known as Cockey’s Tavern, on Hollins Street! You can meet the Red Line Liaisons, get the latest updates on the Red Line project and have any questions about the Red Line answered. If this is your first Baltimore Heritage event, we’ll give you a free membership with discounts on tours and a subscription to our quarterly newsletter. Please RSVP for a chance to win free Behind the Scenes tour tickets on December 8!
Diminutive but nationally significant, Baltimore’s Irish Shrine at Lemmon Street offers a rare glimpse of immigrant home life in America in the middle of the 19th century. Please join us for a tour of the Shrine, two restored 1848 alley houses in the Hollins Market neighborhood, with our hosts from the Shrine and its affiliate, the Railroad Historic District Corporation.
Tour Information
Dates: Wednesday, June 23, 2010 / Thursday, June 24, 2010
Time: 5:30 to 6:00 PM wine and cheese reception
6:00 to 7:00 PM tour
Place: 900 Lemmon Street – one block north of the B&O Railroad Museum
Parking is available along nearby streets
Cost: $15 (includes wine and cheese reception)
Registration: Click Here to Register
Read more
This week in the Baltimore Building of the Week series from Dr. John Breihan features the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Museum on Lemmon Street and the Babe Ruth Birthplace on Emory Street.
The popularity of the Greek Revival in Baltimore was not limited to churches and schools; it also produced a new design for the city’s ubiquitous rowhouses. Greek Revival rowhouses dispensed with the dormer window of the older federal style. Instead, the top half-story was lit by a square “attic” window beneath a less steeply gabled roof. From grand examples in Mount Vernon to humble 2 ½ story houses in Fells Point and Federal Hill, Greek Revival rowhouses dominated from 1830 or so until 1860. Two examples saved from demolition and open to view are the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Museum on Lemmon Street and the Babe Ruth Birthplace on Emory Street.
