A commercial building and parking lot on one of Mount Vernon’s most eclectic and storied blocks sold at auction on Wednesday for $280,900.
A.J. Billig Auctioneers handled the sale of the three-story building at 224-226 W. Read Street along with a 10-space parking lot at 900 Tyson Street.
The building dates from the 1850s and is part of the Mount Vernon historic district. At various times it housed the Park School Thrift Shop; Dreamland, a vintage clothing shop run by Tim Potee, who lived upstairs; the Bum Steer, another clothing boutique, and the annex of Walter Neese’s upscale Designer’s Hardware store, which was across the street.
It’s at the same intersection – Read and Tyson streets — where John Waters filmed the final scene in “Pink Flamingos,” the one where Divine devours dog droppings.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the 200 block of West Read Street was Baltimore’s answer to the Haight-Asbury district in San Francisco or Greenwich Village in New York. It was known for its counterculture denizens and shops with bohemian flair.
Other businesses on the block have included Hair Garage (“We Help Keep Maryland Beautiful”); the Clothes Horse; the Natural Body Shop; Divine Trash; Body Furniture; the Bead Experience; Leather Underground (before it moved to the 100 block); J. W. Berry & Son antiques shop; Anne Smith’s Antique Toy Museum; Anne Smith Antiques and Fine Art; Joseph Lehn’s Antique Frames; Jay’s on Read piano bar, and R. Mark Mitchell Clocks and Clock Repair (now located at 516 N. Charles St.)
Current businesses include Neal’s The Hair Studio & Day Spa; Roberts Key Service; The Beatnik Barbershop; The Bun Shop (where Hair Garage and Designer’s Hardware were), and The Drinkery.
A big event was the Read Street Festival, which was “always packed,” said Mitchell, whose clock business was located at 206 W. Read Street for 40 years. The block was such a popular destination, he said, that whenever one shop closed “a new one took its place immediately.”
The building at 224-226 W. Read Street stands out because it’s not part of a longer row and it has a sloping, shingled roof with dormer windows.
Billig’s sale was conducted both online and in person. It drew nine bidders, six online and three in person. The seller was 226 West Richmond LLC. The sale price included a high bid of $265,000 and a six percent buyer’s premium. The winning bidder was online. The buyer’s name and plans for the property have not been disclosed.
