Dan Antion

Thursday Doors – Random Baltimore Doors

This is the historic home of the Central Savings Bank.

During the last week of June, I spent a few days in Baltimore, Maryland. I didn’t have a lot of time to explore, but I did have to walk to and from meetings and meals, and I was fortunate to walk past some very interesting doors.

Many of the doors are the kind most door aficionados understand very well – they are interesting doors that stand on their own merit. We don’t need to know much about the building, the builder or what sits behind the door – we just know that we like the door. Other doors in the gallery have a little history associated with them, and I’ve tried to include that in the captions. You can click on a photo to start a slide show, in which the full captions are visible. One set of doors is attached to nobility, which, in the United States, is rare. These are the doors of The Lord Baltimore Hotel. According to the National Registry of Historic Places nomination form:

“The Lord Baltimore Hotel is a 22 story, 120 f X 150* building located at Charles Center in downtown Baltimore. This steel frame structure with a brick veneer and granite base is capped with an octagonal tower and French Renaissance style mansard roof. The base of the building features three large arched multi-paned windows which can be considered Georgian in style. The base is decorated with Indian Head and Lord Baltimore stone medallions. The U-shaped brick shaft which rises above the base is sparsely decorated except for Benedict stone trim on the upper and lower levels and large lion head stone ornaments at the 17th floor. The tower which caps the building features granite trim at the roof line and a copper covered mansard with carved stone dormers.”

In terms of Lord Baltimore, the royal, there were actually six of those rascals. The one that we’re interested in is Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore for whom the city, and presumably the hotel, were named.

  • Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (1579–1632)
  • Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore (1605–1675)
  • Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore (1637–1715)
  • Benedict Leonard Calvert, 4th Baron Baltimore (1679–1715)
  • Charles Calvert, 5th Baron Baltimore (1699–1751)
  • Frederick Calvert, 6th Baron Baltimore (1731–1771)

While he may not sport a royal lineage, Norm Frampton, the organizer for the Thursday Doors blogfest, is a gracious host and a fine photographer. Norm’s doors are always worth a look, and they line the entrance to the Thursday Doors Gallery. From Baltimore, you need to travel about 450 mi (725 km) northeast to Montreal. I can make those arrangements for you, simply click here. When you get to Montreal, look for the blue frog – click that little tadpole and he’ll take you into the gallery here you view the other doors and share yours with the world.

Unfortunately, the gallery is lacking a great picture of the Lord Baltimore Hotel. Neither my pics or the ones submitted with the NRHP nomination form are very good.

Every city needs a gourmet popcorn shop – that’s a fact. However, this is actually a baby shop – thanks Joey!
This building once served as a Masonic Temple. Build in 1866, it was partially destroyed by fire in the late 1890s and again in early 1900. The building was sold in 1998 and went through a number of name changes. Today, the building is a hotel and an events venue.
From entrance of the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
Front facade of the Lord Baltimore Hotel.
This is the Turkish restaurant where I enjoyed salad and stuffed grape leaves.
Entrance to Cazbar.
When the bartender at the B&O Restaurant informed me that they were not serving food, he recommended two alternatives. One was Maisy’s. I chose the other, but I liked the doors.
Old St. Paul’s Episcopal church.
I like the doors on this building, but I really like the angled windows on the 2nd floor.
This is the historic home of the Central Savings Bank. The building seems to be condos and the lobby is now Dave and Dad’s coffee shop.
The Daily Record, a statewide business and legal newspaper.
The Daily Record. I always like seeing little buildings in a downtown setting.
When the bartender at the B&O Restaurant informed me that they were not serving food, he recommended two alternatives. I decided to eat at Mick O’Shea’s it was quite good.
Ballroom of the Lord Baltimore from NRHP nomination form.
Interior photo of Lord Baltimore hotel from NRHP nomination form.
Lobby of the Lord Baltimore Hotel from NRHP nomination form.
Details of the tower atop the Lord Baltimore, from NRHP nomination form.
Lord Baltimore Hotel from NRHP nomination form.

79 comments

  1. Terrific doors, Dan! I think the old Bank building is my favorite. I love the colors. Even the color photos have an antique feel to them. I was in Maryland once but don’t think I went to Baltimore. I was near Annapolis and had flown i to DC. It’s so pretty there in the Autumn. Great doors as always. Enjoy your time off!

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  2. I too was struck by your shot of the Central Savings Bank, which harkens back to a time when we conducted our banking transactions with real bank tellers and not just with faceless ATMs. Nowadays bank buildings are pretty much the same as other commercial buildings, nondescript and lacking in character. One of the coolest things about your door postings is the reminder of the amazing diversity in what often looks like a cookie-cutter daily world.

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    • I did indeed, Judy. It was tough sitting amidst so much Ravens memorabilia, but good food, nice local beers and a friendly bartender.

      The city has a tired look, but it seems like a lot is happening. Maybe it’s on the long rebound like do many old industrial cities.

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  5. The Central Savings Bank building is my heart! I imagine the condos to be spacious with high ceilings. I hope they are–to be able to live in one of those…..walking distance to everything. My kind of place. Great doors, Dan.

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  6. I love the Central Savings Bank, the Lord Baltimore Hotel and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Beautiful structures from top to bottom. When I was growing up, banks, hotels and churches were the most elegant buildings around. The old photos inside the hotel show a time where formality and grace and elegance were every-day occurrences, and all done with great style and taste.
    🔹 Ginger 🔹

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    • I’m right with you. Walking into a hotel lobby today is a very bland, transactional experience. Walking into a bank…I can’t remember the last time I did that.

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    • I love corner doors. I’m so glad to see the old buildings being reused, even if for a new purpose. So much thought and effort when into them. “Progress” is a word that so often needs to be in quotes.

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  10. The church, the old newspaper office are my favorites in this series for their juxtaposition to the modern buildings surrounding them.

    The Baltimore Hotel looks grand! I love the red bricks with the natural stone, and their windows.

    The Cafe Poupon, is it really a popcorn shop? Poupon as its name seems odd to me, b/c it doesn’t mean popcorn. It’s just Popcorn even in French. 🤷‍♀️

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  15. I like the pillars on either side of the doors on the bank and The Grand. St. Paul’s and the hotel – I prefer the architectural detail and windows rather than the doors. So, for having almost the whole package, my favorite I think has to be the one with the angled windows, the door is great too.

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  16. I’ve only been to Baltimore once about six years ago and only for a day. We were at Camden Yards and then the harbor/waterfront area. This impressive old hotel makes me wish I had stayed to explore a little more. The savings bank building is my fave though because it has two of the features I enjoy the most: corner door and columns.
    Fun post Dan :-)

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  18. Man, that bank is stunning. Everything about it is attractive. I’m glad you caught a person there for scale, too. I wouldn’t have thought it was so big!
    Lord Baltimore deserves a great facade for his name’s sake, I suppose. It’s a grand place, as is that Old Paul’s church. Love them both.
    I always enjoy the old photos, too, and that hotel lobby shot is so moody — that’s a great old shot.
    Lots of great stuff today, Dan! :)

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    • Thanks! I like the bank the best of all. I’m so glad they have restored that building. I think it would be a fun place to live.

      I always like finding old photos in the NRHP nomination forms. They are often taken from vantage points that a tourist can’t get to.

      The sixth Lord Baltimore died without a male offspring, so the line ended with him.

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  19. I like all the photos, but my favorite ones are usually the ones with people – for some reason a single person just reflects the season, a mood, and adds something unique., Not always, but in some of the city shots they do – ya know?
    anyhow, enjoyed the random – and Baltimore has a nice history

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      • yes, you are right – has that alive feeling – and I can also agree that there might be times when we need 100% door-guess is depends on the post – and with a city highlight post a few folks add something.
        and it makes me wonder how “some” of the images with people will look 30 years from now.
        Like once in a while I see a picture from the 1970s and the pointy collars leap out…

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  21. Hi Dan – Baltimore has lots of history (relatively!) … so great to see all your doors – and having just been to Vancouver … see similarities in some of the buildings – though not as old as Baltimore … cheers Hilary

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  26. Great images. The Lord Baltimore Hotel looks great but I also liked the Episcopal Church image. There is so much of history that I would have missed out if I hadn’t been your friend. I don’t have the funds to travel the USA, but your posts provide a virtual tour which is good for me.

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    • You have reciprocated with a grand tour of India. A cultural exchange.

      These old brick and stone buildings are the hallmarks of some of the best years for cities like Baltimore. Most industrial cities fell in hard times in the 60s and 70s. Many are still trying to recover.

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      • I think my love for old buildings come from the fact that I have always lived in such structures. I mean the building where I was born and lived the initial 26 years of my life was around 100 years old. My school building was more than 100 years old and my college was around 150 plus years old. The only new building I live in is where I live now. Luckily South Bombay still has most of the heritage buildings, while some are in bad shape, I think around 65% of buildings are still in good shape.

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