Few people know Baltimore’s treasure, the Mt. Clare Mansion of the Charles Carroll family— the oldest colonial Georgian-style structure in the city, surrounded by Carroll Park, originally part of their extensive Patapsco Valley plantation. The tour explores this 1760s historic landmark with its authentic furnishings and traces the 250 years of the estate’s rich history through periods of industrialization, the Civil War and then a pleasure ground. In 1890, the City acquired the property to become the city’s third municipal country landscape park following Patterson and Druid Hill parks.
During the early 1900s, the Olmsted Brothers Landscape Architects envisioned the 70 acres as a well-designed park, respecting its multi-faceted history and also integrating health- promoting recreational facilities during the nation-wide Recreation League movement of which Baltimore was a leader. With community input, park revitalization continues under the guidance of the 2001 Carroll Park Master Plan.
- 1–2 p.m. Tour of Mt. Clare Mansion guided by volunteer docents
- 2–4 p.m. Guided walk through Carroll Park led by Myra Brosius, landscape architect, former Baltimore City park and environmental planner, lead project manager of the 2001 Carroll Park Master Plan, and Gloria Pestridge, a Pigtown resident, participant in the master plan, and previous chair of the Friends of Carroll Park.
Mount Clare Mansion & Carroll Park
Sunday, April 28 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM
Meet at Mount Clare Mansion House Entrance
1500 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230 at 12:45 PM
Tour: $35 including cost of mansion house tour. To register, contact Kaleidoscope atexternalprograms@rpcs.org or call 410.323.5500, extension 3045.
This tour is sponsored by the Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks & Landcapes through Kaleidoscope. Parking is along the upper roadways and parking lot near the mansion. The mansion has no elevators to the three second-floor rooms. Carroll Park has level and gradual inclines on asphalt paths and roadways.
