Edgar Allan Poe House Really Is In a Run-Down Part of Baltimore
May 25th, 2002, 06:27 PM
#1
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Edgar Allan Poe House Really Is In a Run-Down Part of Baltimore
Hi
I've lived in Baltimore for about 2 1/2 years now and a friend of mine really wanted to see the Edgar Allan Poe house. I'd heard it was in a not-so-good part of Baltimore from a few sources, so I wanted to scout it out in advance before she visited.
I must say, some people in the great metropolitan area are afraid of Baltimore City, the whole thing. I've always found that a shame because the city really does have a lot to offer. Then there are the people who tell me avoid "the bus station area", downtown, the Lexington Market and riding the subway/light rail/city bus. I sometimes wonder if these people just aren't afraid to be in a predominantly African American neighborhood (possibly due to media images of "the hood"?). I personally feel quite comfortalbe in these areas, love the Lexington Market and ride transit in the city regularly.
Anyhow, I saw the Edgar Allan Poe House was only 6 blocks west of the Lexington Market. I decided to walk; once I crossed Martin Luther King Blvd., I entered a neighborhood that looked like subsidized housing. Most of the stores around here were boarded up. I asked an older man where the Edgar Allan Poe House was, and he was very helpful. Once I reached Amity St. where the house is located and the man told me to turn, it looked like a run-down alleyway in the projects, so I thought I was mistaken and started walking to the next block. Then a 20 year-old woman says to me "you look like you lost!"; I wonder if 30 year-old white men wearing Banana Republic shirts are not a common sight. I tell her I'm looking for the Poe House and she knows right where it is too, telling me to turn on Amity St. and that it's at the corner of Lexington. Sure enough I find the house, closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays (I went today, Saturday), on Amity Street. The Poe House really looked like quite a humble 1800s rowhouse; it looked like all the neighboring houses had been torn down and replaced with projects, so it's hard to imagine what the neighborhood was like when he lived there.
I must say, I sometimes suspect racism when people say a neighborhood is "bad". But the area around Edgar Allan Poe House really was run-down. I felt quite apprehensive being the only non-black person in sight, particularly after the woman said "you look like you lost!". However, the three people I spoke to were very kind/helpful to me with directions, so I wonder if I don't have my own racist/classist demons still to deal with, if my apprehensions were unfair. Nevertheless, I tend to think that the humble rowhouse was not worth the effort. If you ARE a diehard Poe fan and insist, I do recommend taxiing there and have the taxi pick you up.
I've lived in Baltimore for about 2 1/2 years now and a friend of mine really wanted to see the Edgar Allan Poe house. I'd heard it was in a not-so-good part of Baltimore from a few sources, so I wanted to scout it out in advance before she visited.
I must say, some people in the great metropolitan area are afraid of Baltimore City, the whole thing. I've always found that a shame because the city really does have a lot to offer. Then there are the people who tell me avoid "the bus station area", downtown, the Lexington Market and riding the subway/light rail/city bus. I sometimes wonder if these people just aren't afraid to be in a predominantly African American neighborhood (possibly due to media images of "the hood"?). I personally feel quite comfortalbe in these areas, love the Lexington Market and ride transit in the city regularly.
Anyhow, I saw the Edgar Allan Poe House was only 6 blocks west of the Lexington Market. I decided to walk; once I crossed Martin Luther King Blvd., I entered a neighborhood that looked like subsidized housing. Most of the stores around here were boarded up. I asked an older man where the Edgar Allan Poe House was, and he was very helpful. Once I reached Amity St. where the house is located and the man told me to turn, it looked like a run-down alleyway in the projects, so I thought I was mistaken and started walking to the next block. Then a 20 year-old woman says to me "you look like you lost!"; I wonder if 30 year-old white men wearing Banana Republic shirts are not a common sight. I tell her I'm looking for the Poe House and she knows right where it is too, telling me to turn on Amity St. and that it's at the corner of Lexington. Sure enough I find the house, closed on Wednesdays and Saturdays (I went today, Saturday), on Amity Street. The Poe House really looked like quite a humble 1800s rowhouse; it looked like all the neighboring houses had been torn down and replaced with projects, so it's hard to imagine what the neighborhood was like when he lived there.
I must say, I sometimes suspect racism when people say a neighborhood is "bad". But the area around Edgar Allan Poe House really was run-down. I felt quite apprehensive being the only non-black person in sight, particularly after the woman said "you look like you lost!". However, the three people I spoke to were very kind/helpful to me with directions, so I wonder if I don't have my own racist/classist demons still to deal with, if my apprehensions were unfair. Nevertheless, I tend to think that the humble rowhouse was not worth the effort. If you ARE a diehard Poe fan and insist, I do recommend taxiing there and have the taxi pick you up.
May 25th, 2002, 07:24 PM
#3
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I don't think you are prejudiced. I have heard from people who know the city well that the Poe house is in a very bad area. Poe Did in a very nice room at the Univerisity of Virginia for the short time he was there, and they show it to you on the tour. If you get to Charlottsville, and are a Poe fan, you should see it.
May 26th, 2002, 08:13 AM
#6
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A friend of mine is a Poe fan and wanted to see the house. Next thing we knew, a squad car pulled up and asked why three middle aged women were in that section of Baltimore. They told us that seeing the Poe house wasn't worth risking our lives and they personally escorted us to the freeway.
Jun 10th, 2002, 07:28 AM
#8
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Uh, I don't think you should complain about Edgar Allen Poe's house. Its not like it was a "bad" town when he was BORN there. They wanted to keep his birthplace sacred. What is wrong with that? It sucks its not in a more elegant area- but he didn't get to choose where he was born.
DAN
