Poe House stewards ask for help preserving landmark amid surrounding demolition

The historic Edgar Allan Poe House is in trouble. Its caretakers are asking the community for help raising $50,000 for an emergency preservation effort as debris and security issues arise from a neighboring city construction project.

Despite being surrounded by 270 degrees of demolition, the small brick building once home to one of America’s greatest authors is still standing. Its stewards are working to protect its history and frozen-in-time condition from damage caused by construction that the Housing Authority of Baltimore City is undertaking to rebuild its oldest housing complex.

The Poe House, just 620 square feet, is nestled in a corner of the 7.5-acre Poe Homes housing complex on North Amity Street and is attached to one of the apartment buildings. The Poe Homes redevelopment started in 2018. Demolition of the complex, which previously housed some of the city’s poorest residents, kicked off in the spring of this year.

The house also sits directly across from a controversial housing development that displaced many former residents of the Poppleton neighborhood.

Preserving the 1830 landmark and keeping the museum open during this period have been increasingly difficult, said Enrica Jang, executive director of The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum. Jang is part of Poe Baltimore, a small nonprofit that has assumed stewardship of the Poe House.

“It’s quite an extensive project,” Jang said. “Because we’re such a small organization, any of these kind of impacts when it comes to a big project that are being delayed or site conditions, those have a bigger impact on us because we’re so tiny.”

The housing authority didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although small, the Poe House is tethered to an enormous legacy in the history of Baltimore. The city’s football team is named after the mythical bird referenced in “The Raven.” Poe, a master of Gothic horror, took refuge at the house in the 1830s after becoming estranged from his foster family and launched his writing career there before winning his first literary prize.

Alex Zavistovich, 64, who lives in the community and directs the National Edgar Allan Poe Theatre, is hopeful the building’s historical use will be preserved.

“The Poe name goes back to the Revolutionary War and before,” he said. “It’s significant for people, especially visitors, tourists, to get a greater understanding of Poe’s significance not just as a celebrated figure in American literature, but as a name that in many ways is synonymous with the earliest days of Baltimore.”

The Poe House typically welcomes some 19,000 people from all over the world each year. The museum’s primary revenue comes from admissions and tours, but the giant construction site has generated less foot traffic — roughly 20% fewer people during the busy summer season than in other years, Jang said.

But according to Jang, the demolition has created a catalog of security issues for the Poe House and Museum.

Earlier this summer, the museum experienced a break-in when vandals kicked in the back gate. There was no other damage, but trespassers have been caught on security cameras many times while roaming the property. Jang said that stemmed from the housing authority leaving the adjacent building open during construction.

Her team has since hired overnight security to protect the house. She said they’ve also had to pay for additional pest control and workers to deal with water coming into the museum’s basement from the adjacent building.

Dust clouds kicking up onto the house and mattresses and other debris dumped at the top of the hill on North Amity Street have impacted the guest experience as well, Jang said.

The organization was additionally forced to relocate its annual Edgar Allan Poe Festival to Lexington Market this year. The festival, its largest public program, is held in October.

The latest, perhaps most pressing threat to the preservation of the Poe House is vibration from heavy machines used in the demolition that could structurally damage the museum, Jang said.

The Poe House stewards took their concerns about the residual impact and additional costs to the housing authority. Jang said they were told they had to pay for the preservation methods themselves.

“Poe House is a very important part of city history,” Jang said. “As a small organization, it’s just an inordinate impact, and that’s why we’re seeking help.”

As of Wednesday, Poe Baltimore had raised about 20% of the $50,000 it’s seeking.