Seton Hill – April 28, 10 a.m. to noon
The Narrow Streets of 19th Century Baltimore
With seven city blocks of miraculously intact 19th century Baltimore, Seton Hill is one of the city’s earliest and best preserved downtown neighborhoods. It is also home to St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel, recognized as the first significant gothic revival church in America and designed by architect Maximillian Godefroy, as well as the Mother Seton House, an early gable roofed building linked to Elizabeth Ann Seton, America’s first canonized saint. At the center of the neighborhood lies St. Mary’s Park, former site of the old St. Mary’s Seminary, which was founded by Sulpician Priests in 1791. Join Mico Milanovic, Seton Hill resident and neighborhood association board member, for a walk through the Chapel, Mother Seton House, and narrow streets of this charming neighborhood.
Meet at the John E. Howard statue in Howard’s Park, located at the corner of North Eutaw Street and Center Street, next to the Center Street Light Rail stop. Park on the street or take the Light Rail.
Irish Shrine – May 5, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (NOTE 10:30 start time)
Railroads, Irish Immigrants, and 200 Years of History
The Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Museum at Lemmon Street celebrates the immense Irish presence in Southwest Baltimore in the 1840s. The Shrine is five small rowhouses that once housed railroad workers at the nearby B&O Railroad, and sits as part of a historic area that includes the B&O Roundhouse, Hollins Market, and Saint Peter the Apostle Church. Join Tom Ward, a founding member of the Shrine and a walking encyclopedia of Baltimore history, for a tour of the Shrine and surrounding southwest Baltimore neighborhood.
Meet in the parking lot of the B&O Railroad Museum, 901 West Pratt Street.
Tuscany Canterbury – May 12, 10 a.m. to noon
Architecture, Architecture, Architecture
A mix of architectural styles seems only to unify Tuscany Canterbury, a neighborhood that was built largely between WWI and WWII. Tudor Revival, Italian Renaissance, and even Spanish Eclectic bring together this fantastically preserved and thriving community. Join architect Ralph Kurtz on a walk through Baltimore’s most densely populated and perhaps architecturally diverse historic neighborhood.
Meet at the corner of 39th Street and Canterbury Road (just west of Charles Street). Park on the street.
Oakenshawe – May 19, 10 a.m. to noon
English Garden Terrace and the Street Car Suburb
337 historic buildings unite to make up the Oakenshawe historic district that was developed between 1890 and the 1920s. This wonderful collection of “daylight” rowhouses, an innovation that allowed light into the whole interior of the house, is part of a community designed in the English Garden Terrace style. The tour will begin with the late Victorian period houses of North Charles Village and will discuss the changes in building materials and concepts that led to the return to the Colonial Revival style as exemplified by Oakenshawe. The Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University and the adjacent evolution of Guilford and the Episcopal Cathedral will also be examined. Join Matthew Mosca, local resident and nationally known historic paint analyst, for a stroll through this classic early 20th Century neighborhood.
Meet at the North West corner of St. Paul Street and 29th Street. Park on the street