Baltimore Buildings

I have been so busy getting ready for my Pigtown Pop-Up as well as assembling slides for a lecture I am giving in October, and up-dating my iPhone Photography class, which is also in October. My October lecture is on Baltimore’s Hidden Treasures, those buildings that are off of the main roads, and which are not generally known.

I have had to do a lot of research on many of the buildings I’ve found in my travels, and that’s been very time consuming. But at the same time, it’s been fascinating to uncover the stories of the buildings.

St. Mary’s Church, the oldest Gothic Building in America.

St. Mary’s outgrew its downtown location and built this massive seminary building.Council Grove Pavilion at Druid Hill Park

The Mansion House at Druid Hill Park

The Green Building, just the most charming building.

Baltimore is just filled with amazing structures.

We actually have several octagon-shaped buildings.

The Hans Schuler School of Fine Arts.

John Russell Pope’s University Baptist Church

St. Michael’s Ukranian Church, built in the 1980’s.

The Vernon Water Plant. I love this building.

Moorish Tower overlooking the City.

This building, Furness House, has its twin in London.

The Warden’s House, circa 1850

As soon as the details are available, I will be posting them in the side bar.

#Instagram: Whirlwind Few Months!

It’s been a whirlwind few months, with work events, a trip back to England and all of the other things I try to fit into my weeks! I will have a fun announcement in a few days, so stay tuned for that, both here and on my Instagram.

Sadly, a lot of magnolia trees were badly damaged over the winter. Luckily, this one wasn’t!

My friend did the flowers for this spring wedding. Just stunning.

Friends with benefits! In this case, a huge hedge of lilacs, and permission to snip away!

We took a quick trip up to historic Odessa, Delaware, a completely charming village.

It’s always fun to spot your childhood home on someone else’s Instagram feed!

I was invited to a beautiful dinner at the Walters Art Museum.

Before it got too hot to eat outside!

There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a gin & tonic on a steamy afternoon.

Our hearts were completely broken by the newsroom murders in Annapolis.

This might be a hint.

This might be a hint, too.

Check back soon for a big announcement! I hope that you’ll be as excited about it as I am!

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.

#ThisIsBaltimore2018: When Will Spring Ever Arrive??

I was out running errands yesterday and it started snowing AGAIN. It’s the end of March! It’s supposed to be getting warm, and the flowers are supposed to be blooming. Instead, the temperatures are never going to get above the 60’s and there are still snow-showers forcast this week!

I am still out and about taking pictures during my Lunchtime Safaris, and exploring the city. I thought I’d share some recent pictures with you.

The Louisa May Alcott School, which someone referred to as accidental Wes Anderson.

I love the details on this old, and seemingly abandoned, stone house.

Another sad abandoned house, but the millwork is stunning.

This Stanford White-designed building is just around the corner from my office. Love it!

I love alleys and little side streets, one of which yielded this unexpected surprise.

The Octagon Building. Perched high on a hill overlooking the Jones Falls Valley. Circa 1855.

One of my new tea towel designs. I know SO many people who need this!

It’s so sad that buildings like this are no longer designed and built. The level of detail is amazing.

Buildings like this collegiate Gothic/Tudor revival gem would never be built now.

I love seeing the shadows of old advertisements on buildings. This is for Bull Durham tobacco.

I am headed into an intense next few months with lectures I am giving and attending, conferences I am hosting, classes I am teaching, trips I am taking and much more! I hope to try and keep posting about once a week, but do check my Instagram account for more updated pictures and to see what’s happening. As always, thank you so much for reading!

Once Upon A Midnight…

In Baltimore, we love our adopted son, Edgar Allan Poe, who lived here on and off, and died in Baltimore under mysterious circumstances. Originally, it was thought he died of alcoholism, but the annual Historic Clinico-patholigical Conference (which I attend!), strongly suggested that it was actually rabies, probably from the bite of a diseased rat, that killed Poe. Read about it here.

Although The Raven is Poe’s most well-known work, there are so many more that. The beautiful poem, Annabelle Lee. The truly scary Tell-Tale Heart. In 1877, one of my ancestors, Eugene Lemoine Didier (otherwise known as Euledie) wrote the first biography of Poe, and for several decades, the family owned a copy of Tamerlane, Poe’s first book of poetry, 50 copies of which were printed when he was 17 years old. (click image for link to the entire book)

The tiny house on Amity Street in Baltimore where Poe lived, still stands. In fact, I just took a picture of it the other day, and sadly realized that they’re building a massive apartment block directly across the street which will completely overshadow the house.

Poe was born on January 19, 1809 in Boston, and his birth is celebrated in Baltimore. For seven decades, a mysterious figure left a bottle of cognac and three roses as an homage to the writer’s birth. In 2010, the Toaster did not show up and a long tradition ended. As you visit Poe’s grave now, you frequently see roses and pennies laid on the stone as a remembrance.

I have several paintings of Poe’s house by my late cousin, Marie Tiffany, and love that she always painted a female figure or a small black cat into her pictures. I love knowing how little the house has changed over the centuries, and how visitors still come to pay their respects to Poe.

Oh, the Ravens are our football team and the mascots are Edgar and Allan.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Poe.