H. L. Mencken House facts for kids
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H. L. Mencken House
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U.S. Historic district
Contributing property |
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 Location in Baltimore
Location in Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1524 Hollins St., Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Built | 1883 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 83004384 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | July 28, 1983 |
| Designated NHL | July 28, 1983 |
The H. L. Mencken House was the home of a famous writer and journalist named Henry Louis Mencken. He worked for The Baltimore Sun newspaper. Mencken lived in this house in Baltimore from 1883 until he passed away in 1956. The house is an Italianate-style brick row house located at 1524 Hollins Street. It was named a National Historic Landmark in 1985. Mencken loved his home very much. He once wrote that it was "as much a part of me as my two hands."
After Mencken's death in 1956, his home was given to the University of Maryland. In 1983, the City of Baltimore took ownership of the house. They traded another building, the Old Pine Street Station, to the University for it.
The H. L. Mencken House then opened as part of the City Life Museums. It had furniture from Mencken's time and his restored office. It also hosted plays, readings, and music events. The City Life Museums closed in 1997. However, the house still has a special plaque honoring its famous resident. The house is currently empty and not open to visitors.
A group called "Friends of the H. L. Mencken House" is working to reopen it. In 2018, they received a large donation. This money helped them start renovating the house. They planned to reopen it by September 2019. The house was officially declared a National Historic Landmark in 1983.
What Does the Mencken House Look Like?
The Mencken House is a three-story brick row house. It is located in Baltimore's Union Square neighborhood. The property stretches from Hollins Street in the front to Booth Street in the back. The front of the house faces Union Square park.
It looks very similar to other houses on the north side of the park. All these houses share an Italianate design. The house and its inside rooms still look much like they did between 1883 and 1956. The tallest part of the house is three stories high at the front. It then gets shorter towards the back, becoming two stories, then one story. Like many Baltimore row houses, it has a marble foundation and marble steps leading to the entrance.
Inside the House
The front entrance has double doors. These doors lead into a small entry area with marble floors and tiled walls. Another set of glass double doors opens into the main hall. This hall has a staircase on one side.
A front room, called a parlor, is next to the hall. Behind it is another parlor, connected by sliding pocket doors. A third room was Mencken's dining room. It was likely the kitchen when the house was first built. The current kitchen was added in 1923. On the second floor, the front room was Mencken's study, where he did much of his writing.
