Mount Vernon: Exploring Baltimore’s Neighborhoods
Text by Donna M. Owens, For The Baltimore Sun
When Matthew Muir arrived in Baltimore to attend college, the native New Yorker lived in a few neighborhoods while seeking a community that best suited his taste for urban living.
He landed in Mount Vernon three years ago, and it felt like home.
- Baltimore’s Washington Monument is seen at twilight in the Mount Vernon on Nov. 4, 2016. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore’s Washington Monument is seen at twilight in the Mount Vernon on Nov. 4, 2016. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
- The Peabody Institute in Mount Vernon is pictured on July 16, 1965. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Shoppers bargained at the Flower Mart on Mount Vernon Square on May 12, 1960. (Photo by Ralph Robinson)
- Mount Vernon Medical Building is pictured on Dec. 23, 1965. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Members of the two Baltimore monthly meetings of the Religious Society of Friends Quakers hold a peace vigil at Charles and Centre streets to protest deployment of aircraft carriers in Vietnam war on March 21, 1972. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Traffic in Mount Vernon. is pictured during the Baltimore Transit Co. strike on January 22, 1952. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Washington Monument on in November 1940. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church on April 19, 1949. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church on Dec. 26, 1971. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon on Nov. 12, 1944. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A view of Mount Vernon by Baltimore Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine.
- A view of Mount Vernon Club on Sept. 28, 1930. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place, No. 12 East, on Aug. 7, 1960. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Baltimore firefighters work on a multiple-alarm dwelling fire on Charles Street in Mount Vernon in Baltimore on December 7, 2010. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
- Dr. Tracey Gersch, Chief Program Officer of Chase Brexton Health Services, stands outside of the Monumental Life Building in Mount Vernon. Chase Brexton Health Services announced its purchase of the Monumental Life Building, which occupies 193,000 square feet of space at Charles and Chase Streets in Mount Vernon. (Joe Soriero/Sun Photographer)
- Mount Vernon Place celebrates the 39th annual lighting of the Washington Monument on Dec. 2, 2010. (Gabe Dinsmoor/Baltimore Sun)
- Firefighters continue to work a five-alarm fire in Mount Vernon that heavily damaged two buildings facing Mount Vernon Place on Dec. 7, 2010. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
- Red Emma’s on St. Paul St. is pictured on Sept. 30, 2008. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
- Members of the Teelin School of Irish Dance from Columbia participate in the St. Patrick’s Day parade that began at Mount Vernon Square near the base of the Washington Monument, then proceeded south along Charles Street and east on Pratt Street. March 16, 2014. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- The bar at Brewers Art in Mount Vernon is pictured on Nov. 1, 2012. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
- Agnes Roussos of Baltimore walks up Charles Street from work toward her Calvert Street home beneath the rain from the leading edge of Tropical Storm Isidora, which dampens the site for the Baltimore Book Fair at Mount Vernon on Sept. 26, 2002. (Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron)
- Dr. Lance Humphries, left, chairman of the Mt. Vernon Place Conservancy, looks at a wall inside the Washington Monument with Fred Eisenbrandt, right, a historic building restoration contractor. Signatures dating from the 1800s were found on walls inside the base of the Washington Monument. The signatures and drawings could have been done by the original workers at the site. Feb. 7, 2014 (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
- Workers from Lewis Contractors take down the scaffolding around Baltimore’s Washington Monument. Mount Vernon Place Conservancy has been working on a complete restoration of the monument that started last January. The scaffolding is scheduled to be down by Halloween with the entire project finishing up by May for the 200th Celebration. (Cassidy Johnson/Baltimore Sun)
- The dining room at the 13th Floor at The Belvedere is pictured on Nov. 2, 2012. (Special to the Sun / Colby Ware)
- Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake poses for pictures with Miss Leons, Saable Jordan, of Baltimore, before marching in the Baltimore Gay Pride parade at Mount Vernon on June 15, 2013. (Photo by: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- LGBTQ supporters march in the Baltimore Gay Pride parade on Charles street at Mount Vernon on June 15, 2013. (Photo by: Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- The set-up crew for “House of Cards” sets up in Mt. Vernon on July 16, 2012. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- Jordi Miker is pictured at The Local Oyster in Mount Vernon Marketplace at 520 Park Ave. on Nov. 9, 2015. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- Mount Vernon Marketplace at 520 Park Ave. has several types of food offerings. Pictured on Nov. 9, 2015. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- Carrying a rainbow flag, Eric Martin of Mount Vernon follows Ron Christian of Las Vegas, with the All Grace Church. Martin was following Christian around as Christian used a bullhorn to protest during the Baltimore Pride 2016 activities on July 23, 2016. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Members of Cosmos Crew march in the Baltimore Pride Parade. The Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Baltimore hosted Baltimore Pride 2016 in celebration of the LGBTQ community on July 23, 2016. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Zorana Grdjic of Fells Point makes a purchase at Baltimore’s FlowerMart 2012 at Mount Vernon, at the base of the Washington Monument on Charles Street on May 4, 2012. (Karl Merton Ferron / Baltimore Sun Staff)
- The Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church and the Peabody Institute are seen from the corner of Charles and Centre streets in Mount Vernon. George Peabody founded the music conservatory in 1857, and it is now part of the Johns Hopkins University. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
- In 1938, cars are seen parked along Charles Street from Centre Street in Mount Vernon. The Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, seen in the background, dates to 1872 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. (Aubrey Bodine, Baltimore Sun, 1938)
- Judi Curl, 62, takes a selfie with John Hadfield, the 10ft tall man, at FlowerMart in Mount Vernon on September 12, 2015. (Kaitlin Newman/Baltimore Sun)
- Despite the rain, many people attended FlowerMart in Mount Vernon on September 12, 2015. (Kaitlin Newman/Baltimore Sun)
- A man chooses flowers at FlowerMart in Mount Vernon on September 12, 2015. (Kaitlin Newman/Baltimore Sun)
- After more than four decades as an anchor in Baltimore’s gay community and the Mount Vernon business district, The Hippo will close this fall to be converted into a CVS Pharmacy. (Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun)
- The Park Plaza building on the corner of Charles and Madison in Mount Vernon, which had a major fire in Dec. 2010, has been renovated. (Kim Hairston / The Baltimore Sun)
- This is Steve Kelly’s urban garden on his fire escape, where he grows veggies and herbs in pots in Mount Vernon. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- The head of the Mid-town Belvedere Association, Jason Curtis, patrols the Mount Vernon neighborhood in front of the Belvedere Hotel. (Gene Sweeney Jr. / Sun Photographer)
- Cyclists participate in Bike Party Halloween Brew-ha-ha starting in Mount Vernon and ending in Hampden in 2012. (Photo by Jerry Jackson/Baltimore Sun staff)
- Trinacria Italian Cafe at Centre and Park is one of the businesses that were damaged in the April 2015 riots. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
- Allen C. Abend, author of “Baltimore’s Forgotten Women,” is pictured outside Hotel Brexton. His book is about 19th century artists who lived in Mount Vernon. Three of them lived in the Brexton. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)
- This is a view on September 15, 2016 of part of the site at 20 E. Franklin Street, which Osprey Property Companies is developing into 40 apartments. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/Baltimore Sun)
- The former William Painter Mansion is now being renovated into the Ivy Hotel, Mount Vernon’s newest luxury hotel. Dec. 13, 2013. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- The 39th annual lighting of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Square on Dec. 2, 2010, from the Peabody Court Hotel. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
- The 39th annual lighting of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Square on Dec. 2, 2010, from the Peabody Court Hotel. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
- Historian Lance Humphries, chairman of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy restoration committee is pictured in the lowest level of the monument on Oct. 14, 2013. It shows much of the water damage to the structure. The Washington Monument will turn 200 years old in 2015, and in advance of its birthday, the obelisk will undergo $5 million in renovations. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
- The view from the top of the monument looking down on Oct. 14, 2013. Historian Lance Humphries, chairman of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy restoration committee is pictured at the monument. The Washington Monument will turn 200 years old in 2015, and in advance of its birthday, the obelisk will undergo $5 million in renovations. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
- The view from the top of the monument looking down on Oct. 14, 2013. Historian Lance Humphries, chairman of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy restoration committee is pictured at the monument. The Washington Monument will turn 200 years old in 2015, and in advance of its birthday, the obelisk will undergo $5 million in renovations. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
- Historian Lance Humphries, chairman of the Mount Vernon Place Conservancy restoration committee is pictured at the monument on Oct. 14, 2013. The Washington Monument will turn 200 years old in 2015, and in advance of its birthday, the obelisk will undergo $5 million in renovations. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
- The George Peabody Library is part of the Sheridan Libraries Special Collections of Johns Hopkins University. It is housed in the world-renowned Peabody Institute of Music facilities, located in Mount Vernon. (Baltimore Sun Staff photo by Robert K. Hamilton)
- Work continues on the Hackerman House at 1 W. Mount Vernon Place on Nov. 15, 2016. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- Students from Marriotts Ridge H.S. enjoying lunch outside in Mount Vernon while on a class trip to Baltimore in March 2012. (Lloyd Fox / Baltimore Sun)
- An Armistice Day parade marches smartly by the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Place on November 11, 1918, marking the end of the “war to end all wars.” (Photographer unknown/Baltimore Sun file)
- Water rushes over a brick wall at the Mount Vernon Marketplace from a broken water main near the intersection of Madison Street and Guilford Avenue on Nov. 12, 2012. (Robert K. Hamilton/Baltimore Sun)
- The John Eager Howard monument at Washington Place in Mount Vernon sits atop a bed of crumpled snow after Saturday’s blizzard on Jan. 27, 2016. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun Staff)
- Hundreds of people participate in a snowball war at the base of Baltimore’s Washington Monument in Mount Vernon on the first day since a powerful nor’easter snowstorm hammered the east coast on Jan. 24, 2016. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
- Hundreds of people participate in a snowball war at the base of Baltimore’s Washington Monument in Mount Vernon on Jan. 24, 2016. (Karl Merton Ferron/Baltimore Sun)
- Entrance to Dooby’s on North Charles Street, a Mount Vernon cafe serving specialty coffee drinks and breakfast, lunch and small plates for dinner with wine and craft beers, is pictured on Dec. 26, 2013. (Amy Davis / Baltimore Sun)
- Cara Ogren of Mount Vernon takes advantage of the day, relaxing while reading a book at Mount Vernon Square on April 18, 2004. (Baltimore Sun/Karl Merton Ferron)
- Ryleigh’s Oyster Mount Vernon on 1225 Cathedral St. is pictured on Jan. 23, 2015. It is located across the street from the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. (Freelance Photo by Chiaki Kawajiri)
- Dougherty’s Pub in Mount Vernon is pictured on Nov. 6, 2012. (Alexis Jenkins for The Baltimore Sun)
- A view of 14 Mount Vernon. (Handout photo)
- Mount Vernon Place in 1925. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Jacobs, Henry Barton, Home. Mansion in Mount Vernon on Dec. 9, 1962. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- Jacobs, Henry Barton, Home. Mansion in Mount Vernon on May 19, 1980. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A view of 10 East Mount Vernon Place on Sept. 25, 1962. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Mews on Jan. 28, 1982. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Mews on Dec. 9, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon on Sept. 12, 1965. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place on April 22, 1981. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place on Oct. 15, 1931. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place on May 5, 1957. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place on Jan. 10, 1929. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon Place on April 11, 1969. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of Mount Vernon United Methodist Church on June 4, 1978. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A snowy Mount Vernon is pictured on Feb. 21, 1947. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon in 1974. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Mount Vernon pictured on Aug. 10, 1969. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- New street lamp on Mount Vernon Place in 1966. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon on Oct. 6, 1963. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A view of Mount Vernon on Sept. 6, 1936. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Scenes from Mount Vernon on Nov. 28, 1932. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- Scenes from Mount Vernon on Sept. 7, 1947. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- Scenes from Mount Vernon. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- View a silent, snowy Mount Vernon on December 23, 1956. (Photo by Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A view of Lafayette at Mount Vernon Place during a snow storm on March 26, 1950. (Photo by Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A view of the Washington Monument in Mount Vernon on Sept. 27, 1959. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- Sunshine and flowers — The two indispensable ingredients for the Flower Mart on May 14, 1953 drew an estimated 20,000 people to Mount Vernon place, where the Women’s Civic League held its annual fair. This view, looking north, shows crowd at noon peak. (Photo by George H. Cook)
- A view of the Peabody Institute, Johns Hopkins Music, in Mount Vernon on July 18, 1983. (Baltimore Sun photo)
Roland Park
» Border streets: Jones Falls, Northern Parkway, Roland Avenue, Wyndhurst Avenue, Stony Run, Oakdale Road, Schlenly Road, Cold Spring Lane
» Neighboring areas: North Roland Park/Poplar Hill, Wyndhurst, Loyola/Notre Dame, Evergreen, Keswick, Tuscany-Canterbury, Wyman Park, Hampden, Hoes Heights, Medfield, Cross Keys
» More neighborhoods
» Help us catalog the signs of Baltimore City’s neighborhoods
“Having grown up in New York, I’m used to walking out my door and seeing shops, a pizza place, a bar or a restaurant with Indian food — all in the same neighborhood,” said Muir, a business consultant.
“We have that here. It feels very genuine. And there’s such a variety of people. It’s incredibly diverse.”
He’s among the residents, who range from millennials to empty-nesters, who believe Mount Vernon embodies city living at its finest.
A National Historic Landmark district with a towering landmark of its own, Baltimore’s Washington Monument, the neighborhood melds a rich history with contemporary cultural, culinary, and arts/entertainment options.
There are varying boundary definitions for Mount Vernon , depending upon whom you ask.
The Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association cites the borders as Interstate 83 to the east and north, Howard Street to the west. and Mulberry Street to the south. The city’s Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation draws a slightly different boundary, putting the southern limit at Hamilton Street and the western at Eutaw Street. The Midtown Community Benefits District — a citizen-run neighborhood improvement group that represents Bolton Hill, Charles North, Madison Park and Mount Vernon-Belvedere —uses yet another boundary. Technically, Mount Vernon and Midtown-Belvedere are two separate areas, but they’re sometimes considered one neighborhood and simply referred to as Mount Vernon.
Perhaps what distinguishes Mount Vernon more than its ZIP codes (typically 21201 and 21202) and borders are its residential offerings, which run from Victorian-era rowhouses and carriage houses to condos and apartments tucked inside rowhouses or high-rises.
“Mount Vernon has fabulous architecture,” said Alyssia K. Essig, a real estate broker and president-elect of the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors. “You’ll find big old brownstones that some people think only exist in New York or Boston. There are historic details like huge ceilings and handcarved staircases. They’re here in one compact area.”
It’s not uncommon to find houses that date back a century or even two. Mount Vernon boasts myriad examples of period architecture: Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Romanesque, Chateau, Renaissance Revival, Beaux-Arts and Classical Revival.
Besides those styles, the neighborhood also has some midcentury modern and a few ultra-modern glass, steel and concrete high rises.
“Most buildings in Mount Vernon were built in the 19th century during Baltimore’s economic heyday. Our formal `period of significance’ ranges from the late 1700s to 1945,” said Steve Shen, a local homeowner and volunteer with the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association, where he chairs its Architectural Review Committee.
The cornerstone of the Washington Monument was laid in 1815 on rural land donated by the family of John Eager Howard, a Revolutionary hero.
Subsequently, the area near the monument was developed and occupied by some of the city’s wealthiest and most influential families.
The National Park Service notes: “Mount Vernon Place is one of the first examples in the United States of deliberate city planning to create a dramatic setting for an existing monument.”
Essig said the community has “an affordability factor” that stacks up well compared to other city neighborhoods. The median price for a home in the area last year was $199,000
“You can find an $80,000 condo or a single family home that costs $1.5 million. And everything in between,” she said.
The neighborhood’s ambience is a big draw, Essig said.
One can check out hip eateries such as Dooby’s for Korean-inspired fare or the newly restored restaurant, The Elephant, for Sunday brunch in an elegant setting.
Center Stage, the Walters Art Museum, the Maryland Historical Society, the Peabody Institute and the central Enoch Pratt Free Library are among the community’s longstanding cultural institutions.
There are coffee shops, ample bars, and clubs with live music and dancing.
To appeal to families, there’s a children’s park (801 North Calvert Street) and for pet lovers, a dog park (600 North Howard Street). The Charm City Circulator routes pass through, as do numerous MTA bus lines.
Annie Milli, marketing director for Live Baltimore, an independent nonprofit that promotes the benefits of city living, notes that Mount Vernon is “well known” among the city’s 200-plus neighborhoods.
It is so well known that when the group holds its “Buying into Baltimore” trolley tour May 13, it will bypass Mount Vernon — not as a slight, but to market other neighborhoods more aggressively.
“Our bus tours encourage participants to consider lesser-known, but equally outstanding parts of the city,” she said. Still, Milli said, Mount Vernon is one of several city neighborhoods that are helping the “continuing strength of Baltimore’s housing market.”
Essig agreed. In the city, “we do not have a lot of supply, we do have demand. In neighborhoods like Mount Vernon, when a seller walks into a house that’s been staged great and prepped for sale, if the price is right, they buy it.”
In 1964, the community became Baltimore’s first historic district. The neighborhood’s National Historic Landmark designation came in 1971.
While landmark status is typically awarded to a particularly important, singular structure such as the White House, in the case of Mount Vernon, it’s a four-block area that includes and surrounds the monument.
Despite all its history, however, Mount Vernon isn’t stuck in the past.
According to city permit records and other sources, there are currently construction projects at 500 Park Ave., 20 E. Franklin St., and 824 N. Calvert St. Combined, those projects will bring more than 200 new apartments to the neighborhood.
There have also been new-construction projects in recent years that include 1209 N. Charles St. (condos and retail), plus adaptive reuse projects such as 520 Park Ave. (warehouse to apartments) and 831 N. Calvert St., a former firehouse that was turned into a craft brewery and restaurant.
Moreover, Mount Vernon has welcomed new or renovated hotels in recent years. They include The Ivy, a luxury property on East Biddle Street; the Indigo Hotel on West Franklin Street; and the forthcoming Hotel Revival on Cathedral Street.
More projects are in the planning stages, but Shen stressed that it’s all carefully considered.
While there are no homeowner covenants, he said, all exterior work, including new construction, is governed by the city Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation’s guidelines. Various types of authorization are required by the city before building permits are issued. More recently (from 2011-2014), the association worked with the city to draft a 140-page Mount Vernon Master Plan, which outlined its vision for the next decade or two.
“We work very hard every day to help homeowners and developers maintain the highest design and preservation standards, which is often what first attracted them to the neighborhood in the first place,” he said.
Muir, the New York transplant, agreed.
“We have this great mix of history, green spaces and civic involvement,” said Muir, who is now the Mount Vernon-Belvedere Association’s vice president. Community events include tree plantings and cleanups. “And afterwards, you can do a bar crawl,” he said. “That’s my kind of perfect neighborhood.”
This is part of an ongoing series from The Baltimore Sun about the history, culture, and future of Baltimore’s neighborhoods. Have a suggestion for what neighborhood to explore next? Let us know.