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Photo credit: Charity V. Davidson, 06/1997

1601-1830 St. Paul Street and 12-20 East Lafayette Street

Inventory No.: B-4096

Date Listed: 12/27/1984

Location: 1601-1830 Saint Paul Street and 12-20 E. Lafayette Street, Baltimore, Baltimore City

Category: District

Period/Date of Construction: 1876-1906

Resources: 78 (78 contributing, 0 non-contributing)

Description: The buildings at 1601-1830 St. Paul Street and 12-20 East Lafayette Street are a distinctive collection of residential buildings in north central Baltimore. It includes houses on St. Paul and East Lafayette Streets, most of which were constructed between 1876 and 1896 as the City expanded north from the Mount Vernon area. The district includes ten distinctive architectural groups of buildings constructed by different builders. Four separate buildings in the 1700 block of St. Paul were individually constructed and possess distinctive styles apart from that of the ten groupings. These rowhouses offer many features that contribute to a rich architectural fabric. Façade materials include Roman, common red, and molded brick; limestone; and sandstone. Fronts are swelled and straight, often punctuated with bays of various forms and heights. Some are further ornamented with terra cotta and articulated brickwork that forms pilasters, pediments, entablatures, and various arch conditions. Finally, these houses are graced with a mix of cornices, parapets, and dormer pierced mansard roofs. Notwithstanding the variety of architectural groupings of the properties, there is a common, albeit mixed, architectural bond in the proposed district, which creates a high degree of integrity separating the 1601-1830 St. Paul and 12-20 Lafayette Street District from the otherwise flat and unadorned rowhouses to the east and west. Fully 100% of the buildings in the district contribute to the area’s historic character.

Significance: Development of this district is a telling reflection of the change and growth that Baltimore underwent in the last 30 years of the 19th century. Recovering from the commercial devastation of the Civil War and the depression of 1873, Baltimore expanded and grew rapidly. Most of the 76 houses in the district were developed and constructed between 1876 and 1906 by some of the more prominent realtors and contractors in the city, specifically, Hiram Woods, Benjamin Bennet, and Oscar F. Bresee. During this period, new larger bridges were constructed over the Jones Falls, opening up development of the land to the north. Public transportation kept rapid pace with this growth changing from horse-drawn rail cars to cable, and then electric, so improving the speed of passenger travel to and from the center of the city that this area became one of the early commuter neighborhoods. The ornate houses that were constructed in the district attracted Baltimore’s more prominent and wealthier citizens. Most of the residents were professional business and civic leaders of the day. These persons included Hammond J. Dugan, George W. Rife, Edmund Sattler, J. A. Durham, C. D. McFarland, Cecil C. Buckham, and Dr. Henry B. Thomas. These residences collectively represent a unique mixture of eclectic and traditional articulated masonry and archtiectural ornamentation. This mixture represented a clear departure from the traditional Baltimore rowhouse that was flat, unadorned, and repetitious. Observers of the day noted this departure. "Baltimore: The Book of Its Board of Trade," described the 1600 block of St. Paul as ". . . unquestionably the handsomest in the City."

District Resources (78) (78 contributing, 0 non-contributing)

From associated listing in National Register nomination form. C = Contributing, NC = non-contributing, blank = not evaluated.

Address	Status	Resource Name and MIHP (if any)
12 E. Lafayette Street	C
14 E. Lafayette Street	C
16 E. Lafayette Street	C
18 E. Lafayette Street	C
20 E. Lafayette Street	C
1601 Saint Paul Street	C
1603 Saint Paul Street	C
1605 Saint Paul Street	C
1607 Saint Paul Street	C
1609 Saint Paul Street	C
1611 Saint Paul Street	C
1613 Saint Paul Street	C
1615 Saint Paul Street	C
1617 Saint Paul Street	C
1619 Saint Paul Street	C
1621 Saint Paul Street	C
1623 Saint Paul Street	C
1625 Saint Paul Street	C	B-5214 -- 1625 Saint Paul Street
1627 Saint Paul Street	C
1629 Saint Paul Street	C
1700 Saint Paul Street	C	B-5215 -- 1700 Saint Paul Street
1701 Saint Paul Street	C
1702 Saint Paul Street	C
1703 Saint Paul Street	C
1704 Saint Paul Street	C
1705 Saint Paul Street	C
1707 Saint Paul Street	C
1708 Saint Paul Street	C
1709 Saint Paul Street	C
1710 Saint Paul Street	C
1711 Saint Paul Street	C
1712 Saint Paul Street	C
1713 Saint Paul Street	C
1714 Saint Paul Street	C
1715 Saint Paul Street	C
1716 Saint Paul Street	C
1717 Saint Paul Street	C
1718 Saint Paul Street	C	B-5217 -- 1718 St. Paul Street
1719 Saint Paul Street	C
1721 Saint Paul Street	C
1723 Saint Paul Street	C
1724 Saint Paul Street	C	B-5220 -- 1724 Saint Paul Street
1725 Saint Paul Street	C
1726 Saint Paul Street	C
1727 Saint Paul Street	C
1728 Saint Paul Street	C
1729 Saint Paul Street	C
1730 Saint Paul Street	C
1731 Saint Paul Street	C
1732 Saint Paul Street	C
1734 Saint Paul Street	C
1800 Saint Paul Street	C
1801 Saint Paul Street	C
1802 Saint Paul Street	C
1803 Saint Paul Street	C
1804 Saint Paul Street	C
1805 Saint Paul Street	C
1806 Saint Paul Street	C
1807 Saint Paul Street	C
1809 Saint Paul Street	C
1811 Saint Paul Street	C
1813 Saint Paul Street	C
1814 Saint Paul Street	C
1815 Saint Paul Street	C
1816 Saint Paul Street	C
1817 Saint Paul Street	C
1818 Saint Paul Street	C
1819 Saint Paul Street	C
1824 Saint Paul Street	C
1830 Saint Paul Street	C
1720 Saint Paul Street (1720-1722 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5218 -- 1720 and 1722 St. Paul Street
1722 Saint Paul Street (1720-1722 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5218 -- 1720 and 1722 St. Paul Street
1808 Saint Paul Street (1808-1812 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5221 -- 1808-1812 Saint Paul Street
1810 Saint Paul Street (1808-1812 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5221 -- 1808-1812 Saint Paul Street
1812 Saint Paul Street (1808-1812 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5221 -- 1808-1812 Saint Paul Street
1820 Saint Paul Street (1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5219 -- 1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street
1822 Saint Paul Street (1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5219 -- 1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street
1826 Saint Paul Street (1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street)	C	B-5219 -- 1820, 1822 and 1826 Saint Paul Street