Tag: North Baltimore

Weatherization, Retrofit Baltimore

Keep warm with weatherization and save money with historic tax credits in Mt. Washington

Your old house should not be cold this winter! Join Baltimore Heritage and Retrofit Baltimore for a free one-hour workshop to learn how to save money retrofitting your historic home for energy efficiency. If you are a home-owner in a historic district like Mount Washington, Roland Park, Guilford, or Hampden, you may be eligible for city and state historic tax credits for your next home repair or rehabilitation project. Many of the improvements that can help keep your home warm and lower your heating bills, including replacement HVAC systems, insulation, and wood window restoration, qualify for these tax credits.

Not sure if you are eligible? Take a look at our tax credits resource page for more information about the city and state tax credit programs then join us at Baltimore Clayworks in Mt. Washington on Thursday, November 29 for a quick introduction to how to weatherize your home while saving money with incentives for energy efficiency and historic tax credits. RSVP today!

Weatherization & Historic Tax Credits Workshop

Thursday, November 29, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Baltimore Clayworks – Mt. Washington, 5707 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21209

Questions? Contact Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or Evie Schwartz, Retrofit Baltimore at eschwartz@retrofitbaltimore.org.

Weatherization, Retrofit Baltimore

Learn how to save money with weatherization & historic tax credits on June 27

Baltimore Heritage and Retrofit Baltimore are offering a new joint workshop in Charles Village on upgrading your home’s energy efficiency while saving money with city and state historic tax credits. Working with Retrofit Baltimore on energy efficiency upgrades can improve your home’s comfort and reduce your energy bills by up to 40%, minimize your environmental impact and create jobs for underserved Baltimore residents. For homeowners in historic districts, like Charles Village, Homeland, Hampden and more, many of these improvements, including replacement HVAC systems, insulation, and wood window restoration, may also qualify for the city and state historic tax credit programs. Find out how to check if you are in a historic district with our overview of historic districts or learn more with our guide to historic tax credits. Don’t forget to take a look at our collection of resources for historic homeowners.

Join us at the Charles Village Benefits District offices on June 27 for a quick one-hour workshop that offers an introduction to weatherization, energy audits, incentives for energy efficiency, and historic tax credits. RSVP today!

Weatherization & Historic Tax Credits Workshop

Wednesday, June 27, 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Charles Village Community Benefits District Office
2434 Saint Paul Street, Baltimore, MD 21218

Questions? Contact Eli Pousson, Baltimore Heritage at pousson@baltimoreheritage.org or Evie Schwartz, Retrofit Baltimore at eschwartz@retrofitbaltimore.org.

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!

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.