BALTIMORE (WBFF) — From statues to street signs — tributes, memorials — there are reminders of ‘The Master of the Macabre’ etched into Baltimore.
It’s a legacy larger than life with humble beginnings.
A small unassuming 1830s West Baltimore home is where Edgar Allan Poe began the career that would help shape modern literature.
“This was a working class family living here. You had five people living in this tiny house, and no running water or electricity at the time,” said Poe Baltimore Executive Director, Enrica Jang.
Jang’s current mission –to preserve the home already saved from demolition once in 1940.
“When the Poe Society of Baltimore learned the last surviving home in the city where Edgar Allan Poe had lived was about to be lost, they begged the city to please save the house. And the compromise was they chopped the house in half,” said Jang.
For 86 plus years, the Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum has existed — half of what it once was — sharing a wall with the city’s first housing project.
That housing project is currently being demolished and rebuilt — leaving The Poe House vulnerable once again.
“So these are some of the units that are getting torn down around us. The building that you see here and the building immediately to our rear,” Jang said.
That’s 270 degrees of demolition, delays over the Summer, and a nearly two-century-old structure caught in the middle.
“We are a small corner of a very large project,” said Jang. “There was a period of time that things were looking pretty dusty and apocalyptic.”
With water seeping in, security concerns, and the threat of vibration — the museum launched a $50,000 emergency fundraising campaign over the Summer to protect the house and what it means to Baltimore.
Festival Producer Kyle Northrup said that felt fitting for Poe.
“This is a person who is so essential to the city of Baltimore,” said Northrup. “And so many people don’t know we’re here, and so many don’t people don’t what we’re doing. So I think resilience and I think of adversity.”
The emergency fund goal was reached in September — but Jang said work continues — with a plan that goes beyond simply saving the house.
“We do want to emphasize that there’s a vision for the future and we are working towards that future,” Jang said. “So this is the potential phase one of the brand new Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.”
It’s a plan for a bigger space — for an author who left a big mark.
“So much of our identity is wrapped up in Poe. People come here for Poe. “Jang said. “So this is very much a Baltimore story, an American story
And for a writer obsessed with decay, Jang said Baltimore doesn’t have to let this piece of Poe’s legacy decay.
“We are standing guard for Poe House and you can stand guard with us,” Jang said. “So if you can come out and you can be part of that story, the door is wide open. Come knock, knock, knocking on our chamber door.”
Jang encouraged those looking to support the house’s preservation to visit the home which is open, attend the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival and Awards happening at the historic Lexington Market in October, or donate here.
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