Maryland Humanities Council Literary Walking Tours of Mt. Vernon Return April 18
The Maryland Humanities Council’s (MHC) popular Literary Mount Vernon Walking Tours return April 18th and will continue on the third Saturday of each month until October.
Tour goers who take this fun and educational walk will follow in the footsteps of Baltimore’s literary luminaries, discovering the elegant brownstone mansions and majestic cultural institutions built by Baltimore’s successful 19th century merchants, industrialists, and philanthropists.
Walkers will also enjoy a brief look at some rare books in the George Peabody Library Collection, presented by curator Paul Espinosa and receive a 10% off coupon to the Owl Bar at the Historic Belvedere Hotel to use at a later date.
Developed in 2007, the tour highlights the scholars, struggling artists, authors, newspapermen, and social reformers who lived and wrote in the neighborhood and how this confluence of talent offered rich opportunities for discussion, debate, and innovative literary techniques during a time period filled with cultural and social change. MHC offers its Literary Mt. Vernon walking tour at other Mt. Vernon events and upon request.
The tour connects the voices of these individuals to the graceful architecture of the beautiful Mount Vernon Cultural District. Literary figures highlighted span from Baltimore favorites such as Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Menken, to celebrities like F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, Emily Post, and Tupac Shakur. Reformers are represented as well, including Upton Sinclair, who often exposed social inequities, and Gertrude Stein and Edna St. Vincent Millay, who, through their work challenged traditional views of American women—and the art form itself. Information, and an online map, can also be found at www.mdhc.org.
Tours are offered at 11am on the following dates (third Saturday of the month):
- April 18
- May 16
- June 20
- July 18
- August 15
- September 19
- October 17
Tickets cost just $10 per person. To reserve a spot for a tour, visit www.2015MtVernonLitWalk.eventbrite.com. Reservations can also be made Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm by calling Jessica Baldwin at (410) 685-3715. Groups of 10 or more can arrange for a tour on a mutually agreeable date by calling (410) 685-3715 or emailing jbaldwin@mdhc.org at the cost of $10 per person.
The walking tour starts in front of the Enoch Pratt Free Library (400 Cathedral Street) in Baltimore, takes approximately two hours, and covers the majority of the Mt. Vernon neighborhood. Tours will be canceled if there is inclement weather. Tour-goers will receive confirmations and notices via email confirming the status of their tour 48 hours in advance.