Hot House: 4309 N. Charles Street, Baltimore 21218
“Oak Acre,” in cream stucco, circa 1928, with slate roof, stone porch. Six bedrooms, 5 full and 1 half bath, over 3 stories and 6,418 sq. ft., in good condition. A 30′ entrance hall, 9′ ceilings, grand staircase with hand-carved spindles, large living room and library with fireplaces, multiple french doors. BSO Symphony Decorators’ Show House 2015. Hardwood floors, carved moldings, rich architectural detail. En suite master bedroom, second floor study with french doors to wrought-iron balcony, paneled pocket doors. Third floor billiards room with vintage table. Terraced grounds, two covered porches, two-car garage with walled stone courtyard. On a 1.05 acre lot with mature oaks: $1,395,000
What: A showstopper of a house that looks like it has a storied past, but was actually one family’s home for nearly 90 years. In 1926, Baltimore attorney and real estate investor Clarence Harlan Hurlock, Sr., bought this property in the new and rising community of Guilford, meticulously orchestrating every detail with Philadelphia architects Mottu and White, who also designed Tyrconnell. He named it Oak Acres and moved here two years later with his wife and four children. A generation later, his oldest son C. Harlan Hurlock, Jr. took ownership with his wife Ruth Singewald, and they raised three children here. Harlan, like his father, was a graduate of University of Maryland Law School and Johns Hopkins University, and ran the family business, Fidelity Real Estate Corporation. Until her death in 2013, Ruth lived here with her two fox terriers Rhett and Scarlett. She wasn’t alone in feeling that this house could be the setting for a Southern novel, with its white corinthian columns and imposing entrance hall. It has been well-loved and well-maintained, but it’s ready for a makeover. New kitchen, new electrical, central air and some bathroom renovations are in order (best guess, $.5 million) to make it feel like Tara again.
Where: As you head south on Charles Street past Cold Spring Lane, it is just past the split with St. Paul’s Street. Stay on Charles, the house is on the left, across from the Calvert School — nicely set back, prominent but not exposed. Around the corner are the white steeples of the Second Presbyterian Church. Sherwood Gardens are a couple of blocks down Greenway. Great access to downtown, as well as points north via Charles Street. Many of Baltimore’s most beautiful houses are within blocks of here, this one included.
Why: Because you swore you’d “never be hungry again…”
Why Not: Fear of decorating.
Would Suit: Marriage of style with substance.
NB: Third floor billiards room would make a nice setting for a bourbon collection.
