Sep 8, 2016

The Federal Reserve Bank building at Lexington and Calvert streets became the Lenore apartments two years ago. Today, it blends historic architecture with modern design elements — and the unique interior has caught the attention of the House of Cards location scouts.

Did we mention there’s a secret tunnel?

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The guard’s tower at still watches over the lobby of the Lenore. “The Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore is equipped with tear-gas protection in addition to the sub-machine riot guns and other arms stacked ready for use in the watch tower of its lobby,” The Sun reported in 1940. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The Lenore apartments opened in 2014 in a building that once housed the Federal Reserve of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, at Lexington and Calvert streets. It contains 102 apartments in what was once mostly office buildings, says property manager Erick Lamb. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: One of the bank vaults beneath in the basement of the Lenore, once the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore. At the time of the bank’s opening in 1928, the vault was reported to be one of the strongest in the country. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: One of the bank vaults beneath in the basement of the Lenore, once the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore. At the time of the bank’s opening in 1928, the vault was reported to be one of the strongest in the country. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The vault contains what was once reportedly a holding cell for prisoners awaiting trial at the Courthouse, which was once connected to the building via tunnel. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: Safe deposit boxes inside the vault beneath the Federal Reserve bank in Baltimore, which today is the Lenore condos. The vault area is off-limit to residents and visitors, but The Sun got a special tour courtesy of head of management, Tony Sellers. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: A closeup of the gears of the vault beneath the old Federal Reserve bank in Baltimore, today the Lenore. At the time of the bank’s opening in 1928, the vault was reported to be one of the safest in the country. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: At the time of the bank’s opening in 1928, the vault was reported to be one of the safest in the country. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: Door to the vault in the old Federal Reserve bank building, today the Lenore apartments. Though the vault is heavy — Sellers estimates it easily weighs 50 tons, once unlocked, it can be pulled open and closed by a single person. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: This tunnel once connected the Federal Reserve bank to the Post Office and Courthouse across the street, ostensibly allowing more secure transport of money and prisoners between the two places. Though the tunnel is now blocked off at one end and in disuse, property manager Tony Sellers says it’s caught the eye of House of Cards location scouts, who may opt to shoot an upcoming episode here if the air — thick with mold and lead — isn’t too unhealthful. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: This tunnel once connected the Federal Reserve bank to the Post Office and Courthouse across the street, ostensibly allowing more secure transport of money and prisoners between the two places. Though the tunnel is now blocked off at one end and in disuse, head of maintenance Tony Sellers says it’s caught the eye of House of Cards location scouts, who may opt to shoot an upcoming episode here if the air — thick with mold and lead — isn’t too unhealthful. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: This area was once a fallout shelter in the basement of the Federal Bank, says

: A second vault inside the basement of the old Federal Reserve bank in Baltimore. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: A holding area for prisoners inside the basement of the old Federal Reserve bank in Baltimore, today the Lenore apartments. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: A narrow stairway connects the two vaults in the basement of the Federal Reserve bank in Baltimore, which today is the Lenore apartments. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: The old — today unused — brass elevators of the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: A wider shot of the second vault beneath the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore. The vault doesn’t have much use now that the building has been converted into condos. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: A tenth-floor boardroom has been converted into a classy common area at the Lenore apartments, once the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore. (Christina Tkacik/Baltimore Sun)

: This 1921 photo from The Sun’s archives shows the site of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Baltimore branch before the building was constructed. The property was originally owned by the Abell estate.

: A 1982 photo of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s branch in Baltimore, not long before the bank relocated to the Inner Harbor, and this building became home to Provident Bank. (William H. Mortimer/The Baltimore Sun)

: A 1974 photo shows a line investors waiting to purchase short-term Treasury bills. (Lloyd Pearson/Baltimore Sun)

: Workmen polishing the Federal Reserve Bank doors in 1963. (Malashuk/Baltimore Sun)

: “There’s $3,000,000 here,” read the caption to this 1967 photo. “This is only a part of the bundles of bills which daily move into and out of the Federal Reserve Bank branch as it supplies Maryland banks with the necessary cash to conduct business. Left to right–Julius H. Pryor, a guard; Edward Gluth and S.J. Sinnicchio.” (Gardina/Baltimore Sun)

: A 1959 photo shows a guard taking target practice in the basement of the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore. (Albert D. Cochran/Baltimore Sun)

: The counting room in the old Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore, seen in 1961. “Despite the speed with which they handle the huge numbers of bills, the girls can spot bogus ones instantly,” reads the caption. (Richard Stacks/Baltimore Sun)

: Guards at the Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore. The tower stands to this day, keeping watch over the lobby at the Lenore apartments. (Cochran/Baltimore Sun)

Say you’re building a bank in the 1920s. Not just any bank, a Federal Reserve Bank, the mother of banks, from where the money comes, to where the money goes, perhaps where it meets its end, and gets burned up when it becomes too worn out to use as legal tender. In the twenties, the age of the gangster bank robbers, the strongest vaults in the world are required, as well as a guard tower with a hole for his submachine gun. Given bandits’ fondness for attacking mail trucks carrying cash, it’s only practical to dig out an underground tunnel that connects to the Post Office across the street.

These are the considerations that went into the construction of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s branch in downtown Baltimore, located at the corner of Calvert and Lexington Streets. On the eve of the building’s opening in 1928, The Sun wrote that nearly $6 million in cash had been transferred from the bank’s old location at South and Redwood streets to the new one, under the watchful eye of heavily armed guards and Secret Service agents. Once inside the building, the bags of money were quickly stashed inside the vault, “said to be one of the strongest in the country.”

(But not all the money got stored. In 1968, The Sun reported that an average of $1 million in bills were burned up every weekday at the building, after it had been determined they were too worn out to be used anymore.)

In the 1980s, though, the Feds moved to a larger location near the Inner Harbor, and the opulent old building became home to the Provident Bank of Maryland. After that bank went under, the building was purchased by Baybridge Properties-Lexington LLC and transformed into its current incarnation, the upscale Lenore apartments.

A tour through the Lenore apartments today shows how this unique historic space has been transformed for modern use. An old boardroom on the tenth floor is now a classy common space. The guard’s lookout tower still looms over the opulent main lobby. But some things have stayed put: two behemoth vaults in the basement are abandoned, unused – their metals chipped off in areas by thieves over the years. A fallout shelter is home only to a large variety of black molds. And the tunnel that once led to the Post Office and Courthouse across the street has been blocked off at the end.

But there is one purpose for all this stuff: Hollywood.

Erik Lamb, property manager for the Lenore, reports that several scenes from the upcoming season of “House of Cards” have been filmed in various locations throughout the building. So stay tuned.

A previous version of this story referred to the Lenore apartments as condos. The Sun regrets the error.

Beneath the old Federal Reserve Bank in Baltimore, today the Lenore

Leave a Reply Cancel