City guide
97 buildings worth a detour, each with what to look for. Open them on the map, or walk them with the iPhone app, which collects each one you photograph.
The buildings that define the city's architecture.
The B&O Railroad Headquarters Building was built in 1906 in downtown Baltimore in the Beaux-Arts style, designed by architect James Gamble Rogers to serve as headquarters of the B&O Railroad.
Photo: Library of Congress , Public domain
The B&O Railroad Museum occupies a roundhouse completed in 1884 and designed by Ephraim Francis Baldwin, a noted architect for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, in the Georgian style. The building's iconic roundhouse form is visible from the street, and its history as a railroad roundhouse gives it a strong, retellable story.
Photo: JGHowes , Attribution
Baltimore City Hall was completed in 1875 to a design by architect George A. Frederick in the Second Empire style. As the seat of city government, it carries a strong civic story, and its prominent domed facade forms a landmark on the street.
Photo: Marylandstater , Public domain
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was completed in 1821 and designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, one of the most historically significant American architects. It is an exemplary early American Neoclassical cathedral and a notable early domed masonry cathedral in the young United States.
Photo: The original uploader was Basilica1 at English Wikipedia. , Public domain
The Brewers Exchange is a Renaissance Revival commercial building in downtown Baltimore designed by Joseph Evans Sperry, a prominent Baltimore architect. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church is a Gothic Revival church designed by Ralph Adams Cram, one of the most significant American Gothic Revival church architects.
Photo: James G. Howes, aka JGHowes at en.wikipedia, photographer , Attribution
Chizuk Amuno Synagogue, built in 1876 in downtown Baltimore, is a neo-Mudéjar building, an unusual style choice for a synagogue of its era. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
The Commercial Credit Company Building is a modern office building in downtown Baltimore, completed in 1954 and designed by Harrison & Abramovitz, a nationally significant firm in modern architecture. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower was completed in 1911 and designed by Joseph Evans Sperry, a prominent Baltimore architect, in the Renaissance Revival style. It is modeled on the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio, a distinctive typological reference, and remains an iconic skyline tower highly visible from the street.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
The First Unitarian Church was designed by Maximilian Godefroy in the Neoclassical style. Its Neoclassical dome and facade are visible from the street, and the church's National Historic Landmark status supports a strong, retellable story.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum is a Federal-style building in downtown Baltimore, designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It stands as the site connected to the making of the Star-Spangled Banner flag, preserved today as a historic house museum.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
Highfield House Condominium is an International Style tower listed on the National Register of Historic Places, its massing visible from the street.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Hippodrome Theatre is a Beaux-Arts theater in downtown Baltimore, designed by Thomas W. Lamb, a noted theater architect. The building is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Teda13 , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Hutzler Brothers Palace Building is a Second Empire commercial building in downtown Baltimore, designed by the Baltimore architecture firm Baldwin & Pennington. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The original Johns Hopkins Hospital building dates to 1889 and was built in the Queen Anne style. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Lloyd Street Synagogue was built in 1845 in downtown Baltimore in the Greek Revival style, and it is among the oldest surviving synagogue buildings in the United States. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
The Lord Baltimore Hotel is a Renaissance Revival hotel tower in downtown Baltimore designed by William Lee Stoddart, a noted hotel architect of the era. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Montgomery Park is an Art Deco building completed in 1925, individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its large Art Deco facade is visible from the street.
Mount Clare is a Georgian-style mansion in Baltimore, recognized as the city's oldest surviving 18th-century mansion and associated with the Carroll family. It is designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Pubdog , Public domain
Mount Royal Station is a former railroad station built in the Renaissance Revival style. It is designated a National Historic Landmark and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: JGHowes , Attribution
Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church and Asbury House is a Gothic Revival complex in downtown Baltimore designed by architect Thomas Dixon. It is a National Register of Historic Places contributing property within a listed place.
Photo: Eli Pousson from Washington, DC, USA , CC BY-SA 2.0
Old Frederick Douglass High School was built in 1924 in a late Gothic Revival style. Named for Frederick Douglass, it was an early African American high school in Baltimore, and its Gothic Revival massing reads clearly from the street.
One Calvert Plaza was designed by D. H. Burnham & Company, a nationally significant architecture firm, in the Beaux-Arts style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
One Charles Center was completed in 1962 to a design by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, a historically major architect, in the International Style. It is an early International Style tower central to Baltimore's urban renewal era and gives a strong sidewalk-level presence as a landmark tower.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Landmark
Oriole Park at Camden Yards in downtown Baltimore was designed by Populous and is widely credited with sparking the retro-classic ballpark movement, launching a new ballpark typology. Its facade and the adjacent warehouse backdrop are a well-known part of the city's story.
Photo: Keith Allison , CC BY-SA 2.0
Otterbein Church is a Georgian-style church in downtown Baltimore, one of the city's oldest churches. It is named for Philip William Otterbein and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
Poppleton Fire Station is a fire station in downtown Baltimore built in the Tudor Revival style, an unusual choice for the typology. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The Rombro Building is a Queen Anne style building in downtown Baltimore, designed by architect Jackson C. Gott. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
St. Alphonsus' Church, Rectory, Convent and Halle is a Gothic Revival church complex in downtown Baltimore designed by architect Robert Cary Long, Jr. The multi-building ensemble is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
St. Mary's Seminary Chapel was designed by Maximilian Godefroy in the Gothic Revival style and ranks among the earliest Gothic Revival buildings in the United States. Its facade is visible from the street.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
Stewart's Department Store in downtown Baltimore was designed by architect Charles E. Cassell in a Renaissance Revival and Mediterranean Revival style. The former department store facade is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The United States Custom House is a Beaux-Arts federal customs house in downtown Baltimore, completed in 1907. It was designed by Francis Davis Millet together with the architecture firm Hornblower & Marshall, and it is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association Building is a Moorish Revival building in downtown Baltimore, designed by architect Joseph Evans Sperry. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Worth a stop when you're nearby.
B'nai Israel Synagogue in downtown Baltimore is built in the Moorish Revival style, a rare choice among Baltimore's synagogues, with an ornamented facade visible from the street.
Photo: Baltimore Heritage , CC0
The Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses were built in 1900 to designs by the architecture firm Wyatt & Nolting, giving the city's judicial system a Greek Revival home downtown. The building tells a civic story, housing the circuit courts at the turn of the twentieth century.
Photo: User:Marylandstater , Public domain
Baltimore Hebrew Congregation Synagogue was built in the Byzantine Revival style, a distinctive choice for a synagogue. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
Landmark
The Baltimore Museum of Art was designed by John Russell Pope, the architect later responsible for the National Gallery of Art and the Jefferson Memorial, and dates to 1914. Its purpose-built museum facade holds a prominent place on the street.
Photo: Nrswanson (talk) at en.wikipedia , Public domain
The Baltimore World Trade Center rose in 1977 to designs by Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, giving downtown Baltimore a prominent modern high-rise on its skyline.
The Bank of America Building is a 1929 Art Deco tower in downtown Baltimore, a landmark skyscraper of its style and period visible from the street.
Photo: Andrew Bossi , CC BY-SA 2.5
The Bankard-Gunther Mansion is a Renaissance Revival mansion listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The Belvedere Hotel is a Beaux-Arts hotel in Mount Vernon, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Dick Rochester from Lafayette, Colorado, United States , CC BY-SA 2.0
Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church is a Gothic Revival church designed by architect John Appleton Wilson. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Dclemens1971 , CC BY-SA 4.0
Douglass Place is a Renaissance Revival building in Fells Point, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its name suggests a connection to Frederick Douglass.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Eastern Female High School, located downtown, was designed by architect Richard Snowden Andrews in the Renaissance Revival style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Eastern High School was designed by architect James R. Edmunds, Jr. in the Tudor Revival style, giving the former school its distinct massing. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
Landmark
The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, built in 1830, was home to the writer Edgar Allan Poe. Now a National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places listed site, it preserves a small rowhouse facade tied to his story.
Photo: Midnightdreary , Public domain
Eutaw Place Temple is a synagogue designed by architect Joseph Evans Sperry in the Byzantine Revival style, notable for its Byzantine-influenced facade.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
First Presbyterian Church and Manse is a Gothic Revival church and manse in downtown Baltimore, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The paired church and manse facade is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Franklin Street Presbyterian Church and Parsonage is a Gothic Revival church and parsonage in downtown Baltimore, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The paired church and parsonage facade is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The Graham-Hughes House in downtown Baltimore was designed by architect George Archer in 1888, in the châteauesque style.
Photo: Smash the Iron Cage , CC BY-SA 4.0
Landmark
The H. L. Mencken House, built in 1883, was the home of the nationally significant writer H. L. Mencken. It is a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a modest rowhouse whose significance rests on the man who lived there.
Hendler Creamery in downtown Baltimore was designed by architect Jackson C. Gott in the Romanesque Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
Hollins Market is Baltimore's oldest continuously operating public market, built in the Greek Revival style. It is a contributing property to a National Register of Historic Places historic district, and its market hall remains visible and active on the street today.
Landmark
Lovely Lane Methodist Church was designed by the architect Stanford White and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, a mark of its architectural and historic standing in Baltimore.
Photo: {{{1}}} , No restrictions
McKim's School, in downtown Baltimore, is a Greek Revival building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is associated with McKim's Free School, a notable early charitable institution in the city.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
Landmark
The Peale Museum in downtown Baltimore was built in 1786, making it one of the earliest purpose-built museums in the United States. It is designated a National Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sellers Mansion is a Renaissance Revival house individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Eli Pousson from Washington, DC, USA , CC BY-SA 2.0
St. Elizabeth of Hungary is a Romanesque Revival church listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a facade visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
St. James the Less Roman Catholic Church is a Romanesque Revival church listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with a facade visible from the street.
Photo: Terry.a.white , CC BY-SA 3.0
St. Leo's Church in downtown Baltimore was built in 1880 in the Renaissance Revival style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Byzantine Revival architecture
St. Michael the Archangel Ukrainian Catholic Church is a Byzantine Revival church in Fells Point, designed by architect Zenon Mazurkevich. Its onion-domed form is a distinctive sight in a Baltimore neighborhood better known for rowhouses and harbor trade, marking the presence of the city's Ukrainian Catholic community.
Photo: Bohemian Baltimore , CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Michael's Church Complex is a multi-building Romanesque Revival church ensemble individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Landmark
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in downtown Baltimore was designed by Richard Upjohn, a historically important American church architect. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Ymblanter , CC BY-SA 4.0
St. Peter the Apostle Church was built in 1843 in the Greek Revival style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Jaimenish at English Wikipedia , Public domain
The Standard Oil Building, located downtown, was built in the Beaux-Arts style and named for the Standard Oil company. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The United States Post Office and Courthouse is a Neoclassical federal building in downtown Baltimore, completed in 1932 and designed by James A. Wetmore, who served as the U.S. Supervising Architect. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Marylandstater (talk) , Public domain
Zion Lutheran Church stands in downtown Baltimore in the Romanesque Revival style. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Concord , CC BY-SA 3.0
Fine buildings that fewer people seek out.
The Benson Building is a Neoclassical, Chicago School-influenced commercial building in downtown Baltimore, designed by the notable Baltimore firm Baldwin & Pennington. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Booker T. Washington Middle School was built in 1896 in the Romanesque Revival style and is designated a Baltimore City Landmark.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The building at 409 West Baltimore Street in downtown Baltimore is an Italianate style structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its Italianate detailing is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The building at 423 West Baltimore Street in downtown Baltimore is a Queen Anne style structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its Queen Anne ornament is visible from the street.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
Engine House No. 6 is a Gothic Revival firehouse in downtown Baltimore, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Engine House No. 8 is a Renaissance Revival firehouse listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Aukirk , CC BY-SA 3.0
First Church of Christ, Scientist is a Neoclassical church designed by architect Charles E. Cassell and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Garrett Building in downtown Baltimore is a Renaissance Revival building designed by the Baltimore firm Wyatt & Nolting. It is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: MKelly1990 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Grace-Hampden Methodist Episcopal Church is a Romanesque Revival church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Acroterion , CC BY-SA 4.0
The Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Mount Vernon was designed by architect Charles E. Cassell in the Byzantine Revival style, giving it a distinctive Byzantine-influenced facade.
Photo: ΙΣΧΣΝΙΚΑ-888 , CC BY-SA 3.0
Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church, built in 1860, combines Gothic Revival and Renaissance Revival styles. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with its 1860 facade still visible on the street.
Photo: Pubdog , Public domain
The Hotel Kernan is a downtown Baltimore building in the Renaissance Revival style, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its facade remains visible from the street today.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Johnston Building was built in 1880 in the Queen Anne style, designed by architect Jackson C. Gott, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: James W. Rosenthal for HABS , Public domain
The Lyric Performing Arts Center is a Renaissance Revival performance hall built in 1894 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Deb Kiley , CC BY-SA 3.0
The National Enameling and Stamping Company building is a Gothic Revival industrial building, an unusual pairing of style and building type, listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Pubdog , Public domain
Pascault Row is one of Baltimore's earliest surviving groups of rowhouses, built in the Federal and Greek Revival styles. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
Public School No. 111 is a Romanesque Revival school building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its massing is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Public School No. 25 in Fells Point is a Romanesque Revival school building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its facade is visible from the street.
Photo: KudzuVine , Public domain
Public School No. 37 is a Georgian style school building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its facade is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
Public School No. 99 is a Romanesque Revival school building listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its facade is visible from the street.
Photo: Terry.a.white , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Rieman Block in downtown Baltimore is a Queen Anne style commercial block listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its Queen Anne detailing is visible from the street.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The Riviera Apartments is a Neoclassical apartment building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Frederic C. Chalfant , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Rowhouses at 303-327 East North Avenue are a Second Empire row of houses listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Bill Angel , CC BY-SA 3.0
The Southern District Police Station is a Romanesque Revival building designed by architect Jackson C. Gott and individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Pubdog , Public domain
St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church was built in 1856 in the Renaissance Revival style and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Terry.a.white , CC BY-SA 3.0
St. John's Episcopal Church is a Gothic Revival church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: HomeopathyIsBad , CC BY-SA 3.0
St. Luke's Church is a Gothic Revival church individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
The United States Parcel Post Station is a Neoclassical former U.S. postal facility listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Photo: Smallbones , CC0
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