Enoch Pratt Library’s special collections vault

Robert Hamilton 0 Comment Photo essays, The Baltimore Sun Barbara Haddock Taylor, Edgar Allan Poe, Enoch Pratt Free Library, H. L. Mencken

10 Photos

“My library,” said Enoch Pratt, “shall be for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color.” The Enoch Pratt Free Library central branch, at Cathedral and Franklin Streets, was built during the Great Depression and opened in 1933. Over the next few years, it will be completely renovated into a library for the 21st century. Except for one important item. On the library’s second floor, a fireproof steel vault, made by York Safe and Lock company of York PA, keeps many of the library’s treasures from its special collections safe and secure. The vault will be left as it is, although the items inside will be stored in a safe location during the renovations.

Westminster Hall: the spookiest place in Baltimore

Oct 24, 2014

Westminster Hall: the spookiest place in Baltimore

Amy Davis 0 Comment Maryland, Photo essays, The Baltimore Sun Edgar Allan Poe, Fayette Street, General John Stricker, graves, Halloween, tombstones, Westminster Burying Grounds and Catacombs, Westminster Hall

24 Photos

Fake foam tombstones, polyester-spun cobwebs, and elaborate “haunted” houses abound during the Halloween season, but if you want to see the real thing, head to Westminster Hall at 519 W. Fayette Street. An 18th century historic burial ground and catacombs, simultaneously macabre and serene, lies directly across North Greene Street from the looming glass tower of the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Edgar Allan Poe’s gravesite attracts the most attention, but many prominent civic and military leaders are buried here.