History is free, and it belongs to all of us, whether we want it or not. But historical attractions like to charge admission. Here’s an abridged list of some time-laden Baltimore locations that cost less than $10.
1. Fort McHenry in Locust Point (It is its own address. Seriously.) is the big one. This star-shaped fortress may be the most patriotic hunk of land in the country. While under British guard on the Patapsco, Francis Scott Key wrote a song about the flag flying over McHenry. You might have heard it at an Orioles game. Admission is $7. Through summer, the visitor center will be open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
2. The Edgar Allan Poe House in West Baltimore (203 Amity Street) is where Poe lived with his aunt and her family in his early twenties, until 1935 (when he married his teenage cousin and moved to Richmond). Among the stories he is believed to have written in this house is the stunning “MS. Found in a Bottle.” When Borges visited Baltimore, he insisted on seeing the Poe House, and he was blind. Admission is a small donation, and through November, the house is open Wednesday through Saturday, noon to 3:30 p.m.
Photo of Westminster Presbyterian Church Cemetery by flickr user NatalieMaynor.
3. Westminster Presbyterian Church Cemetery Downtown (519 W. Fayette Street) is the site of Poe’s grave, but is also a beautiful eighteenth-century graveyard. As Mr. P. once said, “Man is now only more active—not more happy—nor more wise, than he was 6,000 years ago.” Admission is free to the curious and respectful every day from 8:00 a.m. to dusk.
Photo of Evergreen Museum and Library by flickr user sazbean.
4. Evergreen Museum and Library in Roland Park (4545 N. Charles Street) was originally a mansion built in 1857 by Baltimore’s Broadbent family and later occupied for generations by the Garrett family, of the B&O Railroad. With forty-eight rooms and resplendent grounds, Evergreen is itself a staggering monument to American achievement (and consumption), but the converted space also houses an impressive art collection, including a rare books library with original Shakespeare folios, a theatre with set designs by Léon Bakst, and drawings by Degas and Picasso. Admission is only $6, and if you click here, you can knock that down to $5. Hours are 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Where do you go to see things that aren’t happening anymore?
Posted in: Downtown, Locust Point, Things To Do This Weekend3 Comments
Borges visited Baltimore?!
He visited in 1983. John T. Irwin, a professor in the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins, tells the story in his book, “The Mystery to a Solution: Poe, Borges, and the Analytic Detective Story.” Pretty cool, right?
Very cool. Didn’t see your response until just now. I think Borges would have found a lot to write about had he stayed for a good while…