Editor’s note: This article has been updated with a statement from the Housing Authority of Baltimore City, as well as a photo of the work that HABC has done to seal the nearby structures.
Demolition around the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum is making way for future public housing – but it’s creating an expensive headache in the present for the historic landmark.
The Edgar Allan Poe Homes Housing Project was built in 1940 as Baltimore’s first public housing project, providing a home to Black families during segregation. The Edgar Allan Poe House at 203 N. Amity St. was originally part of a duplex built in 1830 that was later cut in half to build the Poe Homes complex, and it has existed within the housing project’s footprint for more than 80 years.
Now, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City is working to redevelop the former Poe Homes into 288 units of public housing.
That’s welcome news for Poe Baltimore Inc., the nonprofit that oversees the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. However, the nonprofit has launched a fundraising campaign to pay for costs associated with conditions created by the demolition as well as a nearby vacant building they said was left open to rain, trespassing, and vandalism.
To prevent damage, the Housing Authority of Baltimore City has sealed doorways and windows on structures around the Poe House & Museum.
“We are committed to revitalizing the neighborhood with new mixed-income housing while preserving the Poe House as an important part of the community,” the housing authority said in a statement to Baltimore Fishbowl. “Through an agreement with our community partner, Poe Baltimore, we sealed and protected the vacant units directly attached to the museum and donated them to the organization. This will allow the museum to expand its footprint into these units and preserve the history of the Poe House and the surrounding neighborhood.”
They continued, “Our housing transformation work includes the careful removal of vacant homes surrounding the Poe House. The demolition currently underway is taking place on properties adjacent to, but not near, the Poe House Museum. The structures are being dismantled by hand to minimize impacts and ensure the Poe House and surrounding area are always protected. We will continue to advance this important neighborhood transformation while preserving our city’s history.”
In a message to “Friends of Poe House,” the nonprofit’s executive director, Enrica Jang, expressed excitement for the public housing project while also writing about the help that her organization needs to weather the interim.
“The photographs we are sharing are difficult to see, but they are only part of the story. The demolition surrounding Poe House is also clearing the way for a safer, more welcoming site and the expanded museum we have worked toward for years,” Jang wrote.
She continued, “These are not the costs of building that future. They are the costs of carrying Poe House safely through the difficult passage between here and there.”
These expenses come as the 620-square-foot Poe House & Museum is planning to expand back to the size of the duplex that Poe once called home from 1833 to 1835.
Poe Baltimore has incurred or projected more than $50,000 in costs related to the nearby demolition, including security, oversight, staffing, cleanup and maintenance. Costs of monitoring and preservation are still to come.
Immediate preservation concerns have already emerged, including water intrusion, Jang said.
As of this article’s publication, the nonprofit’s “Stand Guard for Poe House” emergency preservation campaign has raised $9,639 – 19% of their $50,000 goal.
The funds that Poe Baltimore raises will first support the expenses of preserving, securing, monitoring, and operating during the demolition period. Any remaining funds will be directed to Phase 1 of the Poe House expansion.
Jang quoted one of the lines Edgar Allan Poe wrote: “And all I lov’d—I lov’d alone—.”
“But,” she said, “to protect Poe House, we hope you can stand guard with us.”
