New date alert! The 11th annual Doors Open Baltimore is moving to late October to coincide with the National Organization for Minority Architects (NOMA) Conference and Exposition coming to Baltimore. This year’s city-wide celebration will feature a new format for open houses on Sat. Oct. 26 and guided tours throughout the entire month of October.
Doors Open Baltimore, hosted by Baltimore Architecture Foundation, gives the city’s architecture and neighborhoods the chance to take center stage, opening doors to 40+ buildings for public exploration.
Tours begin this weekend, Oct. 5! Some tours include an Architecture Boat Tour of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, Voxel Theater – a new black box research theater in Charles Village, and a rare look inside an 1895 marble facade townhouse in Harlem Park, home to sculptor P Brad Parker’s art studio, “Parker Studio.”
Hundreds of architects visiting Baltimore will have the opportunity to participate in this annual event while in town Oct. 23 – 27 for NOMA’s traveling annual conference.
“The local chapter of NOMA, Bmore NOMA, has worked tirelessly to provide a fantastic conference experience for the 1,200+ licensed architects, professionals, and students who will be attending the conference,” Nakita Reed, President of Baltimore Architecture Foundation, said. “BAF is proud to use Doors Open Baltimore as a way to celebrate the city and show that there’s more to Bmore.”
This year’s open house day provides participants with a more organized way to tackle the day.
“Doors Open sites will be open either in the morning [10 AM – 2 PM] or afternoon [1 PM – 5 PM] and will be clustered geographically to encourage car-free neighborhood touring,” Katherine Somerville, Associate Director of Education & Programs for Baltimore Architecture Foundation, said. “For those looking for a more adventurous strategy, look for themed routes which weave a connective thread between Baltimore buildings. For example, follow the “Baltimore Made” themed route to learn about 19th century industrial workers at the Baltimore Immigration Museum and then continue to Coradetti to watch glass blowing demonstrations.”
Doors open Baltimore is welcoming numerous new sites this year, including several in the Station North Arts District.
“I wanted to participate in Doors Open because I’ve had such a wonderful time touring other sites over the years,” John Renner, Owner of North Avenue Market, said. “The opportunity to visit spaces that are normally closed to the public is a great tool for getting people out to explore the city. The 22 lane duckpin bowling alley at North Avenue Market has been closed to the public since about 1990, and few modifications have been made to the space over those 34 years. So it is sort of like a time capsule.”
2024 Doors Open Baltimore Sites and Tours are available on our website and are announced weekly on Doors Open Baltimore’s Instagram (@doorsopenbmore). See our full lineup at doorsopenbaltimore.org
