For Sale: My Favourite Baltimore Building

My favourite building in Baltimore is on the market. It has no bedrooms and one sketchy bathroom, no kitchen, but a great fireplace and a wood-burning stove.

This building, which has been home to Housewerks Salvage for the past dozen or so years, started its life as a gas pumping station in the late 1800’s. More than 100 years later, the building is still solid as a rock, and you can still see the arched vaults where the pipes for the gas came through.

The classic architecture of this building has always enchanted me. I still remember the first time I saw this building, probably in 2000 or so. We were looking for a space for another architectural salvage business that I helped found. We knew the area where we wanted to locate, so I took myself down to see what was there. I came around a corner and saw this building and almost crashed my car. I took pictures, and immediatly went to have them developed (!).

Buildings of this period were so beautifully built – whether they were industrial buildings or gracious homes. You can still see the remains of the tracery in the plaster walls.

The woodwork is still intact and just enhances the classic elegance of the space.

Before it became Housewerks, the building was used as a photography studio, and in its new life, I am sure it will be equally interesting. I’ve spent countless hours in this building at parties and wedding receptions, poking through the dusty wares and fascinating objects, and just hanging out in front of the roaring fire on a cold morning, catching up with the owners, both of whom are good friends.

While I am sad to see the building being sold, I know that the next iteration of it will be amazing, and the two owners will go on to new and exiting ventures. Here is the listing for the building.

Photos from MLIS Listing.

Heading Out…

My former housemate is getting married in England, so I am heading over for a couple of weeks. I’ve got a lot planned for the trip, which only really jelled this past week.

I am starting in London for a couple of days, staying at a great AirBnB where I stayed a few years ago. I know a lot of people would rather stay in a hotel, but since I’ve had great luck with AirBnB over the past few years, and I love meeting new people, this is what I like to do. A few years ago, I booked a stay on a canal barge in Regents Canal. It was marvelous!

The house I am staying in for the wedding is an old stone house with a thatched roof! The groom is an artist and the bride is an organic farmer, so the wedding is on an organic farm under a tent, so cross your fingers for warm and dry weather!

After the wedding, I head off on a road trip for a few days. As I said, the itinerary only settled itself over the past few days, when I found out that a good friend has relocated from London to Nottingham, where my father was born.

I eventually work my way back to the Cotswolds where my cousins live, and spend a couple of days with them. So excited to see them and relax for a bit. I have asked my cousin to find some great places to see. I’ve spent some time in the Cotswolds, so know there’s a lot to be found!

Finally, I end up back in London for a few days. I was lucky enough to score a great place in my favourite area of London: Chelsea. Sadly, the Chelsea Flower Show will be over by the time I get there, but there is a lot in the vicinity, including some great shopping!

I love the King’s Road and all it has to offer, and I am sure I will be heading to Sloane Square as well. Be sure to keep an eye on my Instagram feed and see what I am posting.

See you in a few weeks!

First Trip to Pittsburgh… Loved It!

A few months ago, I was asked to present at a conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and I was delighted to accept for several reasons. Primarily, it was an honour to be selected at this conference which attracts physicians from all over the world, and secondly, I’d never been to Pittsburgh. One of my closest friends is from there, so she offered to join me for the several day trip, and show me her town. It’s about a four-hour drive from Baltimore, and we knew we’d need a car, so we drove out there on Sunday afternoon.

The meeting was held at the University of Pittsburgh, so that was our first stop. One of the first buildings I spotted was the massive (40 story) Cathedral of Learning, which is still used as classroom space and has a massive half-acre, four story Gothic study hall. Of course, we made plans to visit.

We parked next to the Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall, just around the corner from the Cathedral. Buildings like these never fail to leave me in complete awe of those who built them! The detail and craftsmanship is incredible, and you just don’t find this anymore.

As we walked to dinner, I had a chance to look at some of the city’s more contemporary buildings, like the PPG Glass Palace, Gateway Health and others.

We took a spin across the river after dinner to look at the city from the heights on the other side. You can see where the three rivers come together in the first picture, and we stayed right by the brightly-lit building.

After my presentation the next morning, we headed over to the Cathedral of Learning and their International Rooms, a series of rooms donated by various nations and completely outfitted in national architecture and design. Each room was designed to reflect the nation before 1800 which is when the University of Pittsburgh was founded, and all are strictly non-political.

It’s magical! Although all of the Tudor-style doors are marked with the name of the room, you’re given a master key to all of the rooms, and when you open the doors, you are delighted by what’s behind them! The ceilings, doors, windows, fireplaces, and other details all reflect the room’s home country. Let’s take a look.

Ceilings, which range from almost plain to incredibly elaborate!

Doors, which all were about three inches thick, and Tudor-style on the outside.

Windows in so many various styles!

Other details

These images will give you an idea of the scale of the building!

Look where the finger is pointing to see the scale of a man against a massive door!

After we left Pittsburgh, we took a road which ran vaguely parallel to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. I had heard about the Flight 93 Memorial and was curious to see it. I really had no idea of the terrain where the plane went down on 9/11, and thought it would be nice to pay my respects. It was absolutely gut-wrenching.

The crash site is at the top of a “mountain” which had been strip-mined, and so is pretty desolate. You can see for miles from the top, and the wind is constantly blowing. The memorial itself is very stark, with 20-foot high concrete walls, impressed with tree-bark and it’s more than two miles off the road.

A local stone path follows the progression of both the day and the plane, with incriptions when each plane hit, and leading visitors to the overlook where the crash site is located.

At the end, an inscribed glass panel tells of the difference a day made: A common field one day. A field of honor forever. 

Inside the visitors center, media from the morning of 9/11 played, with clips from the late Peter Jennings and from Katie Couric. There were also the voicemails from people on the plane to their loved ones, but, in all honesty, I couldn’t bear to listen to them.

One of the artifacts that really made an impact on me was the mangled and twisted cutlery from the plane, which had hit the ground at more than 500 miles per hour.

Although it was a quick trip, I really liked Pittsburth a lot and hope to go back before too long!