The Late, Lamented Homewood Garage

Those of use who have lived in Baltimore for ages, might remember the beautiful (!) Homewood Garage, which was located on St. Paul Street, just above 33rd Street. It was originally built for the residents of the nearby Cambridge Apartments. Because of where it was located, it needed to be somewhat elegant, and P&L were just the firm to accomplish that. 

In 1926, plans were submitted to the city for a garage to serve the Cambridge Apartments which were on 34th Street between St. Paul and Charles Streets. 

Construction started a few months later, which was mentioned in the Baltimore Sun. (If you look at the article above, you'll notice that Lamdin's name is mis-spelled as Lambdin.)

In September of 1930, the garage was featured in the Architectural Forum as part of an article about garages. 

The Homewood Garage also featured in a specialist publication called "The Modern Garage" which looks like it was published to promote the D'Humy Motoramp Garage system. The first image is from that publication.

Sadly, the handsome Homewood Garage was torn down in 2003 to build the bland and boring "Charles Village Project." The garage and another building were torn down, and then the lot sat empty for a number of years. Hopkins has a history of tearing down buildings and then leaving the property as a vacant lot for ages (see: seven houses at the Wyman Park Dell to be demolished).

If anyone has images of the late Homewood Garage, please send them to me at pigtowndesign at juno dot com.

In the Wild: Fayetteville, NC

I was completely surprised to get an email from someone telling me that they'd just purchased a Palmer & Lamdin house in Fayetteville, NC! When I went back and looked at the project list from P&L and the successor firms, this house was not listed. But once I saw it, and the owner (DB) shared the blueprints, I knew it was authentic.

(Please excuse the hideously over HDR'd photos from the real estate listing)

Interestingly, the house had originally been built for DB's maternal great-grandfather. He had heard that there was some connection between this house and Biltmore, but it wasn't until his brother found the original blueprints, and DB did a little research, that he understood the connection. 

The house was designed in the few years when the firm was Palmer, Willis & Lamdin were working together. The partnership did not last long, and there is scant information about J. Swing Willis. 

There are many of PW&L's trademark features in this house, including a turret, casement windows, a façade that both advances and recedes, a loggia with a peaked wooden ceiling and much more. 

DB told me that he's going to be painting and updating the house to make it more comfortable with the original style. Additionally, he's going to be returning some of the home's original furnishings to where they belong. 

DB also thinks that there might be more information about the house in some family files. I will look forward to seeing them, and sharing them with you.

Here are some additional photographs of the house. 

Thanks so much to DB for his generosity in sharing his house and adding to the Palmer & Lamdin catalogue raissonné.