Mount Vernon Baltimore
The Mount Vernon Baltimore Tour will take place on Saturday, April 25, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., rain or shine. This self-guided special event features access to exclusive properties that are open only on the day of the tour.
Can’t Find Your Tickets? Click Here
About the Mount Vernon Baltimore Tour
Discover Baltimore’s Mount Vernon, a neighborhood where history, art, and architecture come together. Centered around the nation’s first monument to George Washington, Mount Vernon was once home to Baltimore’s most influential families, including Peabody, Pratt, Hopkins, and the Walters, whose philanthropy shaped the city’s cultural landscape. This exclusive tour opens the doors to 12 properties, including nine private residences rarely accessible to the public, offering a glimpse into the Gilded Age through grand parlors, marble staircases, and exquisite craftsmanship. As the birthplace of Baltimore’s historic preservation movement, Mount Vernon continues to reflect the city’s creative and civic spirit with its walkable streets, museums, cafés, and vibrant cultural scene.
Looking to take a deeper dive?
Join us for engaging conversations with local experts in historic preservation, architecture, and community history. Drop in for short talks, ask questions, and gain a deeper understanding of the people, design, and craftsmanship that shaped these historic spaces.
Lunch Arrangements
You may choose to include a delicious box lunch with your Mount Vernon Baltimore Pilgrimage Tour, available only by prior reservation through the tour’s digital payment system.
Location: Mount Vernon Club, 8 West Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore, MD 21201
Luncheon Service Hours: You are welcome to dine at the Mount Vernon Club Courtyard or in the park across the street.
Order Deadline and Pick-Up Process: Advance luncheon orders must be made online by April 23 by 5 p.m.
Menu Selections
Choose from the following options at $24 per box lunch:
-
Roasted Lemon Tarragon Turkey Breast on Multigrain Artisan Bread with Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, and Mayonnaise. Served with Mixed Berries and House Made Cookies.
-
Mediterranean Salad with Mixed Chopped Greens, Cherry Tomato, Cucumber, Olives, Feta, Roasted Artichoke, Bell Pepper, Tahini Vinaigrette. Served with House Made Cookies. Vegetarian and Gluten Free
Each box lunch includes a side dish, dessert, bottled water, napkin and utensils.
After you place your order, you’ll receive a QR code confirmation via email, which will serve as your lunch ticket.
Featured Sites
To protect the privacy of participating homeowners, site addresses are not available online. Ticket holders will receive a digital copy of the 2026 Tour Book prior to the scheduled tour date.
Washington Monument
Rising proudly at the center of Mount Vernon Place, Baltimore’s Washington Monument is both a city landmark and a national treasure. Begun in 1815 and completed in 1829, it was the first monument in the United States dedicated to George Washington, predating the more famous obelisk in the nation’s capital. Designed by architect Robert Mills, who later created the District’s Washington Monument, the 178-foot marble column stands on a massive base, encircled by four beautifully designed and landscaped Parks and elegant 19th-century townhouses. Visitors who climb the Monument’s 227 winding steps are rewarded with sweeping views of the city skyline and harbor beyond. Atop the column, a 16-foot statue of Washington by Italian sculptor Enrico Causici depicts the nation’s first president resigning his military commission, a moment that symbolized the triumph of civic virtue over military power. Americans were proud to be a republic of citizens under the rule of law. Today, the monument remains the heart of Mount Vernon, anchoring Baltimore’s cultural district and embodying the city’s deep historical roots.
The Augustus James Albert House
This four-story Italianate brownstone was designed by architect Louis L. Long and constructed in 1859 for Augustus James Albert (1811-1886), a successful hardware merchant who was also City Sheriff. The mansion displays the rich ornamentation characteristic of the Italianate style: tall, narrow windows, intricate, deep stone cornices, and a graciously symmetrical façade. Shortly after he built 105 West Monument, Albert acquired 610 Cathedral Street and connected the two by means of rear-yard annexes. In 1867, the complex officially became the Mount Vernon Hotel, and until it closed, it was considered Baltimore's “most fashionable inn.” In 1890, Frank Albert, one of Augustus’ sons, bought the property and continued to operate the business until mid-1902. Waldo Newcomer (1867-1934), grain dealer, railroad financier, banker, and philanthropist, was the next owner. He closed the hotel, reconfiguring and redecorating it as a private home in Beaux Arts style, with rich wood paneling and Tiffany glass. The family's fortunes were much reduced following the 1929 Stock Market Crash. The property was sold after his death in 1934 to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Although the Tiffany dome was removed, the bishopric largely preserved the building, using it as administrative offices until 1991. Since 1995, it has been owned by The Agora Companies, which restored the historic interior and the brownstone façade in 1997 and again in 2022.
The William Tiffany House (The Mount Vernon Club)
The William Tiffany house is the oldest largely unaltered house on Mount Vernon Place. It was built from 1841 to 1842 for William Tiffany, a dry goods merchant, in Greek Revival style. Its dignified façade, constructed in finely dressed limestone and brick, reflects the classical ideals that influenced the young United States and Baltimore’s early 19th-century streetscape. Hallmarks of the style are evident in the strong symmetry of its design, the tall windows framed with heavy lintels, and the bold cornice that crowns the structure. Heavy Doric columns support the entrance portico, recalling the quiet authority of an ancient Greek temple. Interiors are adorned with high ceilings, plaster moldings, and marble mantels. The exterior stone and brickwork were originally painted in a tan beige, a color fashionable in the 1840s. Over the years, the mansion has been home to a judge, a senator, an industrialist, and a civic leader and philanthropist. It was acquired by the Mount Vernon Club, a ladies’ social club, in 1941, and an extensive renovation was completed. Today, the Mount Vernon Club is a thriving organization where tradition and the modern world meet.
The Graham-Hughes House
The Graham-Hughes House at 718 Washington Place, affectionately known as the “Wedding Cake House,” is one of Mount Vernon’s most distinctive treasures. Completed in 1888 for George Brown Graham (a great-grandson of the financial titan Alexander Brown) and his wife Sarah Poullain Graham, and designed by Baltimore architect George Archer, the house dazzles with its exuberant Chateauesque style. Clad in gleaming Beaver Dam marble, its layered façade, corner tower, and ornate carved friezes rise like tiers of an elaborate confection, inspiring the nickname that endures to this day. The grand portico, supported by florid Composite columns, leads into interiors designed for gracious living and entertaining: a 40-foot-long entrance hall, 17-foot ceilings, parlors extending into the turret, a dramatic skylit stair hall, and an elegant 34-foot dining room. Later home to the Grahams’ daughter, Isabella, and her husband Thomas Hughes, the residence remained in the Graham-Hughes family for nearly ninety years. Remarkably, the “Wedding Cake House” has been owned for the last forty years by only its second family.
Mount Vernon United Methodist Church
The Mount Vernon United Methodist Church at 2 East Mount Vernon Place is one of Baltimore’s most commanding Gothic Revival landmarks and perhaps the city's most photographed location. Completed in 1872, the church was designed by Thomas Dixon and Charles L. Carson, two of the city’s most prominent architects of the era. Its soaring spire, intricate stone tracery, and pointed-arch windows rise dramatically above Mount Vernon Place, complementing the nearby Washington Monument and anchoring the northeast corner of the district’s cultural heart. Constructed largely of local green serpentine stone with details in five other types of stone, the building is richly detailed with buttresses, pinnacles, and stained-glass windows that flood the sanctuary with color and light. The church rose on the site of the first house built on Mount Vernon Place, the Charles Howard mansion. Charles was one of the sons of John Eager Howard, the Revolutionary War hero who donated the original plot of land for the Washington Monument. A bronze plaque commemorates the site as the place where Francis Scott Key died in 1843 while visiting his daughter, married to Charles Howard. The church was acquired in July 2025 by a non-profit organization, UNITE Mount Vernon. UNITE has addressed immediate maintenance concerns and begun restoring selected historic finishes. A two-phase program includes restoration of the historic fabric and full upgrading of systems for new uses, as well as continued worship. The church, which had not been open to the public for a decade, participated in “Open Door Baltimore” on October 25, 2025. All proceeds from this year’s Mount Vernon tour will go to UNITE Mount Vernon for the renovation and restoration of the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church.
The Empire House
The Empire House was completed in 1874 as the private residence of William Pinkney Whyte, who, at that time, had just left office as the 35th Governor of Maryland to begin his first term in the U.S. Senate. This unique 40-foot-wide rowhouse was his home throughout his extensive political career. From the walnut staircase with double newel posts spiraling down to greet guests, to the unusual width of the house, which allows for generously sized parlors, this home was designed to entertain the elite. After Whyte died in 1908, the home first became a doctor’s private residence, then a prestigious medical practice in 1925. This period saw style and infrastructure updates; Victorian fireplace mantles became Edwardian, and the servants’ staircase became an elevator. However, great care was taken to preserve the house's original character and to make any changes as reversible as possible. In 1996, it was purchased by its current owners, who returned it to a single-family home configuration.
The Garrett-Jacobs Mansion (Engineers Society of Baltimore)
The Garrett-Jacobs Mansion at 11 West Mount Vernon Place is one of Baltimore’s most opulent Gilded Age residences and a masterpiece of American architecture. Reconfigured in stages between 1884 and 1906 and the ensuing decade, and combining three earlier townhouses into one, the finished mansion was the vision of Mary Frick Garrett Jacobs, wife and then widow of Baltimore & Ohio Railroad president Robert Garrett. She engaged two of the nation’s most celebrated architects: Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White for the first stage, and John Russell Pope to expand and transform the home over the course of 30 years. The result is a 40-room mansion featuring marble staircases, numerous Tiffany-stained-glass windows, a grand ballroom, and intricate woodwork, all testaments to refined craftsmanship. Its interiors once hosted Baltimore’s most glittering social events, while its exterior anchors the west side of Mount Vernon Place with a stately presence. Today, the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, a private club, remains a jewel of Baltimore’s architectural and cultural heritage. Please note this site is only available from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. due to a wedding.
The Theodore Marburg House
One of the most delicate of Mount Vernon’s Gilded Age mansions, the Marburg House was originally built in 1847 for George Tiffany (brother of William Tiffany, Site 5). It was sold to George Small in 1867. Small, a grain merchant, railroad director, and shipping magnate, lived here until he died in 1891, when the property was sold to Theodore Marburg. Scion of a thriving merchant family, Marburg devoted his life to public service, from support for the banning of phosphorus matches to the creation of the League of Nations. Widely consulted on foreign policy, he was appointed ambassador to Belgium in the period leading up to World War I. Within these walls, Marburg held discussions with President William Taft on the Covenant, or charter of the budding League of Nations. Marburg was also an early preservationist, supporting Maryland’s 1904 law that restricted building heights on Mount Vernon Place (see Site 6) and founding the Municipal Art Society. With the architect Josias Pennington, he transformed the Greek Revival house into a striking “petit hôtel” in full Beaux-Arts style, with an added fourth story and a mansard roof. French and local craftsmen enriched its interiors with rare woods, rich plasterwork, a mural depicting the founding of Maryland, and lighting inspired by Marie Antoinette’s palace at Versailles. Today, the Marburg House remains a majestic testament to Baltimore’s cultural and architectural heritage, a house where beauty and history converge. It is used as an office by The Agora Companies.
The Washington Apartments
The Washington Apartments, completed in 1906 at 700 North Washington Place, is a landmark example of the Beaux-Arts style. It also marks an important moment in the history of city planning. Built in limestone just months after the Great Baltimore Fire, it coincided with mounting concerns about tall buildings in Mount Vernon Place. The Maryland State Legislature had passed the country’s first “Anti-Skyscraper Bill” just two years before, limiting heights to 70 feet within one block of the Washington Monument. (For Theodore Marburg’s role, see listing for Site 4). Developer William F. Cochran pushed this limit to the inch—erecting a six-story, $300,000 apartment house measuring 69 feet, 8 inches. There were 28 luxurious units and 29 servant rooms. Cochran later sued to add an eighth floor. His attempt failed, and the court upheld one of the earliest zoning laws advocating historic preservation in the United States. Today, the Washington Apartments remain an enduring presence on Mount Vernon Place, blending architectural grandeur with a fascinating legal legacy.
The Joshua G. Harvey House
The Joshua G. Harvey House was built c. 1852 for Samuel Fenby, a flour and grain merchant. Until its transformation into a Gilded-Age mansion in the 1880s, the house passed through several prominent Baltimore merchant families and resembled its neighbor at 717 North Washington Place. Joshua G. Harvey, who bought and renovated the house from 1884 to 1885 for his family, was the founder and president of the Western National Bank, one of Baltimore’s first national banks. He likely worked with Baltimore architect Charles L. Carson, who had also designed the bank’s 1881 headquarters, still visible on Eutaw Street. (The firm of Dixon and Carson also designed neighboring Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, Site 9.) The renovation expanded and embellished the home into its present form, distinguished by a Renaissance-inspired exterior in ornate brownstone. Handsome woodwork, frescos, mosaics, tile, a central dome, and windows in art glass enliven the four-story interior. Harvey lived here until he died in 1906, leaving the property to his son, Francis Burns Harvey, who bequeathed it to the University of Maryland in 1931. In 1939, the property was purchased by Charles F. Geschickter, a physician at Johns Hopkins University. It was converted into a private clinic with an operating theatre and patient rooms, and then passed into the practice of Dr. Salvatore DeMarco. Dr. Charles Edwards purchased the building in 1967 and converted it into apartments. Recently sold, the property is once again under private ownership.
St. Ignatius Church
St. Ignatius Church at 740 North Calvert Street has stood since 1856 as one of Baltimore’s most distinguished Catholic landmarks. Designed in the Italianate style by architect Louis L. Long, the church is noted for its towering Ionic columns, heavy modillioned cornice, and a broken pediment. Inside, the design recalls the Church of the Gesù, the Jesuits’ mother church in Rome, blending late Renaissance and Baroque influences. Corinthian columns, multicolored plaster ornament, and stained-glass windows in 17 vibrant hues create a richly layered interior. The ceiling was painted by Wilhelm Lamprecht, a German artist, and depicts the Assumption of Mary. Behind the main altar, the painting of St. Ignatius’ mystical experience outside Rome at La Storta is by Constantino Brumidi, the artist who painted the dome of the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C. A major 1999 restoration by Murphy & Dittenhafer Architects revived the 19th-century palette, using subtle gradients to harmonize with the glass and draw the eye upward. The result is a sanctuary of beauty, history, and reverence.
The Winans’ Mansion
The Winans Mansion is a rare surviving urban residence designed entirely by Stanford White of McKim, Mead & White. One of Baltimore’s grandest 19th-century mansions, it was built between 1879 and 1882 for Ross R. Winans and his new bride, Neva Whistler, niece to the famous painter and Winans’ first cousin. Winans was not only a director of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad but had recently inherited a family fortune based on railroad technology and construction. The Winans enterprise spanned the Eastern Seaboard and was also headquartered in St. Petersburg, Russia. With its 46 rooms, the Romanesque and Renaissance Revival mansion epitomizes the opulence, eclecticism, and refined taste of the Aesthetic Movement. Made of red brick and Long Meadow brownstone, the exterior features towers, conical roofs, projecting gables, carved stone ornament, and decorative wrought iron. The interior is finished with “Persian blue” Tiffany tiles, Tiffany glass, carved wood and paneling, unique hardware and metalwork, and richly ornamental plaster. Note carved phrases on the second-floor newel posts: “As Silver is to Gold so is Wisdom to Virtue” and “This, the First be Good. “Winans “withdrew from society” after the death of his wife from spinal meningitis in 1902, the subsequent death of their youngest son the same year, and the death of his daughter in 1907. He had become estranged from his older son, who had married a dancer, and from his son-in-law, the Prince de Bearn, after an unsuccessful attempt to protect his grandchildren’s inheritance. Winans died in 1912. The house was leased to the Girls’ Latin School in 1914 and then was purchased for the William Cook Funeral Home in 1928, when the rear garden was paved for parking. It became doctors’ offices in 1969. The Agora Companies, which acquired the building in 1995, undertook an award-winning restoration.
Parking Information
The Agora Companies are extending the use of their surface lots, on a first come first serve basis, during tour hours. They can be found at:
-
1217 St Paul St
-
808 St Paul St
-
212 W Monument St
Other Nearby Garages & Surface Lots
Garages
-
601 North Calvert St Garage
-
Parking Management Inc. (PMI)
-
11 E. Franklin Garage
Surface Lots
-
520 North Charles Street
-
810 N. Charles St Parking
-
Walters Art Museum Lot
-
926 North Charles Street