Category Archives: North Baltimore

Behind the Scenes Tour of Durward Center’s “Clock House”

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Back by popular demand, we are again offering a tour of one of Baltimore’s most special places: Mr. Durward Center’s “Clock House.” With a lifetime of training and devotion, Mr. Center has blended the best of a Victorian Baltimore rowhouse with ticking, whirring monuments to historical clocks and mechanical musical machines. He even has a clock on the front that is shaped like a dragon holding a bell in its mouth, which strikes the hours with its tail. If you missed this tour in 2009, please join us this time and be prepared to be charmed.

Tour Information

December 7 or December 8 (choose one only please)
5:30 to 6:00 pm wine and cheese reception, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. tour
2100 St. Paul Street, 21218
$15 for Baltimore Heritage Members and $25 for non members (please join today!)
We are holding two identical tours on separate dates in order to accommodate as many people as possible.  Please choose only one date. The tours are the same. Each tour is limited to 25 people.

RSVP for the tour today!

Known widely throughout Baltimore as “The Clock House,” Mr. Durward Center’s 2100 St. Paul Street Victorian home is a Mecca for lovers of early mechanical devices. By profession, Mr. Center is a restoration expert for antique tower-clocks and organs. He has worked on projects across the country, and as close to home as Penn Station in Baltimore. He is also the craftsman behind the restoration of the 1898 Welte “concert orchestration” that sat in the entrance to Oakley Court, the manor house outside of London which was made famous in Dracula movies (and perhaps infamous in The Rocky Horror Picture Show) For his St. Paul Street house, Mr. Center has installed three clock dials on the outside, including the dragon clock, and has an almost endless collection inside. A music room contains early mechanical musical devices which he has restored. One notable item is an antique organ with a custom-made wooden case by Baltimore woodwright Thomas Brown, whose shop was a stop on a previous Baltimore Behind the Scenes tour. Please join us and our host, Mr. Durward Center, as we learn (and literally hear) about the fascinating marriage between a historic Baltimore rowhouse and a world-class collection of early mechanical devices.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Secret Paths of Roland Park & Original Home of the Odyssey & Baltimore Lab Schools

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Image of Roland Park courtesy of the Urbanite.

Okay, maybe the footways in Roland Park aren’t that much of a secret, but they are somewhat hidden and are an important part of the neighborhood’s Olmsted design. Please plan to join us for our next Behind the Scenes Tour on Saturday, November 5th at 2:00 p.m. We will start with a short walking tour led by Judy Dobbs of the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landscapes, who will escort us along some of the Olmsted paths through Roland Park. We will end where we begin, at the house where the Odyssey and Baltimore Lab Schools got their start, 4906 Roland Avenue, for a tour by current owner Ms. Elissa Strati.

Secret Paths of Roland Park & Odyssey/Lab School House

Saturday, November 5, 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
$10/members, $15/non-members.
RSVP for the tour today!

We will start and end the tour at 4906 Roland Avenue. Parking is available on the street. We will go rain or shine.


The Roland Park Company developed Roland Park in the late 1800s. Incorporated into its plans was a series of 18 footpaths, designed to expedite foot traffic between sections of the neighborhood, especially those where the terrain made it difficult to build roads. Designed by the firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., the paths were part of a hierarchical system of roads in front of houses, service lanes in the rear, and footpaths that provided convenient ways to cross through the neighborhood in a natural setting. Each path is named with a distinctly country ring: Squirrel, Hilltop, Laurel, Tulip. Others are decidedly British: Audley End, Tintern, St. Margaret’s, Litchfield. In 1991, the paths were refurbished and cedar posts installed with handmade white oak replicas of the original breadboard signs to mark many of the trails.

The house at 4906 Roland Avenue that we will tour has had many lives. Originally built c. 1900 as a single-family home, it has spent much of its life as a place of learning. By 1946 it had become the Homeland Academy, followed in the 1970s by the School of Contemporary Education. In 1994, The Odyssey School opened its doors for the first time for children with language learning differences. In 2000, The Odyssey School moved to its current home in Stevensonville. The Baltimore Lab School, an off-shoot of the Washington DC Lab School, set down its first roots in this house on Roland Avenue until moving to the Old Goucher College building in Baltimore. In 2005, the house was purchased by Alfred and Elissa Strata, who had the arduous task of converting the long-time school back into a single-family home. Ms. Strata will share her tales of discovery and woe in bringing this beautiful turn-of-the-century home full circle to its original purpose.

Behind the Scenes Tour of the Tuscany-Canterbury Apartments

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Doorway, The LombardyWhere in Baltimore can you stroll the streets and feel you have visited England, France, Italy, and Spain within a few short blocks? Why in the north Baltimore neighborhood of Tuscany-Canterbury, of course. This historic neighborhood offers an eclectic mix of architecture that, somehow, seamlessly blends together very well. Our focus for the next tour will be on the larger architectural gems of the neighborhood, the apartment buildings. Please plan to join us for a short walking tour of the area’s unique apartment buildings followed by a rare opportunity to view the City from the penthouse of 100 W. University Parkway. David Curtin, a local realtor, has graciously offered us a tour of his penthouse apartment, and to share his magnificent view of the City.

Tuscany-Canterbury Apartment Buildings Tour

Wednesday, October 26, 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm
$15/members, $20/non-members. Wine & cheese will be served.
RSVP for the tour today!

We will start the walking tour portion of the tour in front of the Warrington at 3908 N. Charles Street. We will finish at 100 W. University Parkway for wine and cheese, entering on the University Parkway side. Parking is available on the street.

Tuscany-Canterbury in home to several elegant apartment buildings that harken back to a day when apartment dwelling was in vogue. Many units original floor plans rivaled the square footage of nearby single-family homes. We will start our walking tour at the Warrington, designed by the renowned Baltimore architecture firm of Wyatt and Nolting. Built in 1927, it was the first high-rise and was met with much opposition by the neighborhood. In stark contrast, just north of the Warrington is the modernistic Highfield House, designed by German architect Mies van der Rohe, and completed in 1964. It was the second of two buildings designed by Mies in Baltimore; One Charles Center was the first. Highfield House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2007. The Ambassador was built in 1930 by the Mullan Company, and designed by Washington, DC architect Louis Roulou. The lobby is elegantly appointed with Venetian glass and an elaborate ceiling. Along the way we will also get to see the oldest house in Tuscany-Canterbury as well as other single family homes. Our last stop will be at 100 West University, also a Wyatt and Nolting design, where our host David Curtin will share with us his magnificent view of the city from his penthouse garden apartment.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Gilman Hall at Johns Hopkins University

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Over 90 years after it first opened its doors to students, Gilman Hall at The Johns Hopkins University, received a careful restoration while keeping an eye on the needs of the modern day student. Mr. Travers C. Nelson, AIA, program manager of design and construction for JHU, will lead us on a tour of this impressive building.

Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University Campus

3400 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
Thursday, October 13, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
$15/members, $20/non-members. Wine & cheese will be served.
Parking is available at the San Martin or South Parking Garages. Street parking is also available on nearby Charles Street.
RSVP today!

Gilman Hall is 146,000 square feet of classrooms, study space and offices. But it is more than that: it is the intellectual and philosophical heart of the humanities at Johns Hopkins University. Gilman Hall opened in 1915, the first academic building on the Homewood campus, as a single structure with everything a young university student needed for world-class teaching and research. It reopened in 2010 after being closed for two years for renovations, and is now the home at Hopkins for learning in literature, languages, history, philosophy, art, film, and antiquities. “Connections are everything,” said Basil Gildersleeve (1791–1875), the eminent classicist who was the first professor of Greek hired at Johns Hopkins. “Scrap knowledge is the bane of scholars,” he wrote. “Not to see a thing in its connections is not to see it all.” The point of the restoration is to carry out Professor Gildersleeve’s belief.

The Hall’s design – from its seminar rooms to its atrium – is to encourage faculty members and students to collaborate and explore ideas wherever they lead, even (or especially) across disciplines. The renovation work included everything from the careful restoration of the copper roof of the cupola to the creation, out of an airshaft, of a dramatic atrium covered by a state-of-the-art skylight. Important historic elements have been restored, and essential new spaces and building services have been added. The building is expected to be awarded a LEED Silver certification for sustainability. Please join Mr. Nelson in a tour of the renovated space to learn about the history of the building and its renovation.

Behind the Scenes Tour of Wyman Park with the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes

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At the risk of stacking too much up back-to-back, we are taking advantage of an offer from the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes, which has graciously offered to lead us on a tour of historic Wyman Park. With Friends’ members Tom McGilloway and David Holden, we’ll explore this often-overlooked Baltimore park that has its roots in Baltimore’s Carroll family and the landscape architecture firm of Frederick Law Olmsted.

Wyman Park

Wyman Park & Art Museum Drives, 21218
Saturday, June 11 | 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
$10/members, $15/non-members
RSVP for the Wyman Park tour today!

Meet at the Jackson and Lee Monument at the intersection of Art Museum Drive and Wyman Park Drive at 1:45. We will circle back to the Jackson and Lee Monument after the Dell portion of the tour before heading along Wyman Park Drive/JHU Campus to the lower Stony Run. Visitors who wish to limit their walking could conclude the tour at this point.

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Behind the Scenes Tour of the Waverly Fire House, Engine #31

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Engine House #31

Our next Behind the Scenes Tour will be of the recently restored, 110 year-old Waverly Fire House. Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke will be on-hand to talk about her role in saving the historic structure. The Waverly Fire House was built in 1901 and continuously served the greater Waverly area until being closed in 2009 for repairs. Engine company #31 moved back into their renovating fire house in March of this year. Captain John Parker has invited Baltimore Heritage’s members to come and see how a 20th century fire house can serve its fire fighters and community well into this century.

Waverly Fire House

3123 Greenmount Avenue, 21218
Wednesday, June 1| 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM
RSVP for the tour today!
$10/members, $15/non-members
On-street parking is available.

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Behind the Scenes Tour of the Charles Village Solar House

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Our next Behind the Scenes Tour will be of the private home of Richard and Susan Walther in Charles Village. Their 1920′s rowhouse is a 21st century marvel of living green. From the solar panels on the roof to the reclaimed oak staircase it is must see of environmental conscience architecture and design at its best.

Tour Details

Solar House | 206 E. 32nd Street, 21218
Tuesday, May 10th OR Wednesday, May11th | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
Due to space limitations, we will be giving the tour on two days. Please only register for one.
RSVP for the tour today!

$15/members, $20/non-members
On-street parking is available.
Wine and cheese will be served.
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Behind the Scenes Tour of Miller’s Court

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Built at the turn of the 20th century, Miller’s Court began as the H.F. Miller and Son Tin Box and Can Manufacturing Plant. Today it is an excellent example of adaptive re-use as commercial and residential space. Much of the buildings original architectural elements remains, including massive wooden trusses, brick pilasters, and the original cupola. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2003. Our host will be Jon Constable of Seawall Development Company, the building’s owner and developer.

Tour Details

Miller’s Court | 2601 N. Howard St., 21218
Wednesday, April 27th | 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
$15/members, $20/non-members.
Wine and cheese will be served.
RSVP for the tour today!

Parking will be available in the Miller’s Court lot at the corner of 26th Street and Maryland Avenue. Street parking is also available. Please enter the building on the Howard Street side.

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Baltimore Building of the Week: Senator Theatre

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One of the most exciting stories for a historic building in the past year has been the unfortunate closure then welcome rebirth of The Senator Theatre. Read on for Dr. John Breihan’s second to last Baltimore Building of the Week and find more information on the ongoing renovations of this building at the Senator Renovation Blog.

The Senator Theatre

Image courtesy zizzybaloobah

Although it has reigned for decades as queen of Baltimore movie theaters, the Senator was built as a “neighborhood house,” offering only faint competition to the downtown picture palaces like the Hippodrome. It opened in 1939, with streamlined architecture reminiscent of a Chrysler Air-Flow or a Lockheed Vega, and a location in the midst of a neighborhood shopping district (which still contains some other art-deco standouts). For years, the Senator managed to get by despite the megacomplexes in suburban malls. In 2009, it was bailed out by the City of Baltimore and placed under new management. Any future alterations will have to conform to review by the City’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation. In an unusual move, CHAP designated the theater’s distinctive interiors (including decorated rest rooms) as city landmarks, as well as its exterior.

Baltimore Building of the Week: Roland Park Shopping Center

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This week’s featured Baltimore Building is the Roland Park Shopping Center. Read more about the history of the Roland Park neighborhood on the Roland Park website.

Image courtesy Jack Breihan

Around 1900 the curving streets and extensive landscaping of the “garden suburb” provided an attractive alternative to the stately rows and squares that had long housed Baltimore’s elites. Roland Park was by no means the first garden suburb, even in Baltimore (see Sudbrook Park), but it was the most fully realized, with its streetcar line, parkway entrance, country club, architectural (and racial) covenants, and innovative shopping center. Built in 1895, the half-timbered shopping center with its flamboyant Flemish gable, housed essential neighborhood shops below and doctors’ and dentists’ offices above. What was new is that all this was set back from the street – to give parking space for the automobiles that were soon to choke the old gridded city.

Under the leadership of Edward H. Bouton, the Roland Park Company not only built Guilford, Homeland, and Original Northwood for Baltimore’s upper middle class, but participated in plans for worker housing during the two world wars, planning more modest garden suburbs at Dundalk and Cherry Hill.