Hot House: 101 S. Washington Street, Baltimore, MD 21231
Brick townhouse, circa 1891, detached. Two bedrooms, two full and two half baths over 2,322 sq. ft., no basement. Ten-foot ceilings, original and new hardwood floors throughout, radiant flooring. Living room, powder room, laundry room and garage on the main level. Upstairs has open plan, loft-like kitchen/dining area and addition with ensuite bedroom. Third level has large master suite and original architectural detailing. Large roof deck with city views. Central air. Two-car garage plus one-car parking pad on alley: $399,900
What: In 1891, Baltimore entrepreneur Bernard Link built the Excelsior Cigar Factory and advertised his product in The Baltimore Sun as “The Leading 5 Cent Cigar In The World.” He further offered “A $1000 Reward to Anyone Who Can Prove I Am Not Using Genuine Havana Tobacco as Filler.” Possibly he couldn’t live up to his promise, for no further records of the company are found after 1910. Nevertheless, he was doing well enough in 1891 to erect an impressive factory building in prosperous Butcher’s Hill, with his company’s name emblazoned at the top.
Now, 101 S. Washington is a warm and inviting single family home that’s been nicely, if not expensively, renovated. It has the potential to be a real showplace. Long windows on three sides let in tons of light. A 2000 addition includes a bridge on the second floor to a huge bedroom with walk-in closets and a full private bath. Both the second and third levels have the original cigar factory floor cutouts, where tobacco was hauled up to the roof to dry. The old pulley is a feature in the third-floor master bathroom. There’s lots of character here, in a sunny and spacious city house.
Where: 101 S. Washington Street is near the corner of E. Lombard Street in Butcher’s Hill, a historic, mostly residential neighborhood a few blocks west of Patterson Park. The hilly local terrain creates nice vistas and adds interest to the blocks of row houses which are larger and more substantial than those in Fells Point and Canton to the south. It’s less than a mile to Fells Point, and 2.5 miles to the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus. There’s a Hopkins-run shuttle bus to Bayview that runs through the neighborhood. People with children often use local charter schools–Hampstead Hill Academy, Wolfe Street Academy, and The Green School — as well as local elementary Commodore John Rogers School on nearby Chester Street.
Why: Patterson Park, cigar factory cachet, parking.
Why Not: The alley leading to the garage is narrow. You’ll probably end up parking on the pad.
Would Suit: Bayview commuters, YoPros, urban family.
NB: This house would work well for a roommate situation. Both the second and third floors are spacious and private with their own full baths.
Commodore John Rogers Elementary/Middle School is excellent and closer than the charters mentioned.
Thanks Lauren, I’ll add it to the list.