Branches of Baltimore History

Druid Hill Park (Map) has an array of historic structures within its boundaries.  Built just before the Civil War, the enormous public estate features monuments, installations and buildings from a time before ours…

George A. Frederick’s Moorish Tower stands at the southeast edge of Druid Hill Lake.  After designing City Hall, Frederick worked as an architect for the Baltimore Park Commission from 1863-1895.  The Turkish style observatory and Chinese Station (now removed) were two of his creations in the park.

Another George Frederick design is the Palm House (or Howard Peters Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens) located at McCulloh and Gwynn Falls Parkway, near the zoo entrance.  Built in 1889, the Victorian style building is the last of Baltimore’s greenhouses still standing.  Carroll Park, Patterson Park and Clifton Park all had similar buildings at one time, each eventually falling victim to decay and demolition.  The Druid Hill Conservatory was restored in 2004, the process linking the five structures that make up the complex.  The facility is open to the public with two dollar donations appreciated.  The John Cook Memorial Sundial rests in a garden on the main building’s east side.

The headquarters for Baltimore’s Department of Recreation and Parks is housed in the restored Druid Hill bathhouse.  The building was segregated until 1956, and later abandoned when the city’s public bath system was closed a few years later.  After a $2.6 million renovation in 1994, the white marble structure was opened as the Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, Jr. Building.

The Mansion House sits on a hill over-looking a vast open set of fields.  Built in the early 19th century the building was the former residence of Nicholas Rogers.  Son of the Scotsman Lloyd Nicholas Rogers, Nicholas sold the mansion and estate to the city of Baltimore around 1860.  The English style residence and corresponding country landscape was preserved when the city began designing and constructing the park.  John H. B. Latrobe made alterations to the mansion during the park’s early development.  The building now contains the main office of the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.

Completed in 1871, Druid Hill Lake is one of the largest man-made lakes in the country.  It was a result of the first American earth dam construction, a milestone in our civil engineering history.  The lake is surrounded by a well-paved track and is lined with various statues and interesting architecture.