Category Archives: Charles Village

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

Image courtesy Retrofit Baltimore

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 home-owners 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 resources on historic tax credits.

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: Animal House

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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 3^rd | 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.

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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Baltimore Building of the Week: Charles Village Porch-Front Rowhouses

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This week’s Baltimore Building of the Week returns to Charles Village to highlight the characteristic porch-front rowhouses,

Image courtesy Jack Breihan

The same sort of exuberant, uniquely American designs that appeared in the late 19th century reached a high point early in the 20th. The so-called Queen Anne Style had nothing to do with Britain’s last Stuart monarch, but instead mixed various architectural details into a happy pastiche. Here in Charles Village row houses boasted Flemish gables, Italianate brackets and arched windows, classical columns and pediments. Deep front porches offered some relief from the city’s heat as well as sociable contact with neighbors. Lately they have been acquiring vivid redecoration that highlights their architectural features.

2010 Award Winner: Miller’s Court

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Miller's Court before renovation, photo courtesy Tom Terranova

Miller's Court after renovations, photo courtesy Brigitte Manekin

Constructed in 1874, the former H. F. Miller and Son’s Tin Box and Can Manufacturing Company at 2601 N. Howard Street served as a manufacturing site for the American Can Company. Vacant for the past 20 years, this landmark building has experienced a renaissance as Miller’s Court–a mixed-use redevelopment offering affordable apartments for teachers and office space for nonprofit organizations that work with the city’s school system. To boot, the rehabilitation work combined the highest preservation standards with the gold standards for green and sustainable design. The end product is already breathing life into Howard Street and the surrounding community. The Adaptive Reuse and Compatible Design Award went to owner Seawall Development, architect Marks Thomas, and contractor Hamel Builders.

Baltimore Building of the Week: Homewood House

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This week’s featured Baltimore Building of the Week from Dr. John Breihan is Homewood House at 3400 North Charles Street on the campus of The Johns Hopkins University. The Homewood House Museum is currently hosting a four-part speaker series in association with their fourth annual student-curated focus show, On the Road: Travel and Transportation in Early Maryland. The first event in the series is David Shackelford, Chief Curator at the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, speaking tonight, February 18, 2010 at 4:30 PM.

Image courtesy of John Breihan

Even the wealthy Charles Carroll was shocked by the cost of his son’s country villa, Homewood, built early in the 19th century on a hillside north of town. A federal-style version of the standard five-part Georgian Palladian mansion house (see Mt. Clare), Homewood’s principal floor is tall, elegant, airy, and cool. Service rooms are tucked away in the basement or attic (there is a fine brick privy in back). The Johns Hopkins University acquired the surrounding estate and built a new campus there early in the 20th century. Homewood is open to the public as part of Johns Hopkins University Museums.