Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum

Infobox_nrhp | name =Edgar Allan Poe House
nrhp_type = nhl

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caption = Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum in Baltimore, Maryland
location= Baltimore, Maryland
lat_degrees = 39
lat_minutes = 17
lat_seconds = 28
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 76
long_minutes = 38
long_seconds = 0
long_direction = W
locmapin = Maryland
area =
built =1833
architect= Unknown
architecture= No Style Listed
added = November 11, 1971
governing_body = Local
refnum=71001043cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]

The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, located on Amity St. in Baltimore, Maryland, is the former home of American writer Edgar Allan Poe in the 1830s. Now open as a museum, the small unassuming structure is a typical row home, and also houses the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore.

History

The brick home, then numbered 3 Amity St.,Silverman, Kenneth. "Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance". New York: Harper Perennial, 1991. p. 96. ISBN 0060923318] is assumed to have been built in 1830 and rented by Poe's aunt Maria Clemm in 1832. Clemm was joined in the home with her ailing mother, Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, and her daughter Virginia Clemm. Edgar Allan Poe moved in with the family in 1833 around the age of 23, after leaving West Point. Virginia was 10 years old at the time; Poe would marry her three years later, though their only public ceremony was in 1836.

The house was rented using pension money that Elizabeth collected thanks to her husband, David Poe Sr., who was a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. The home is small and Poe's room on the top floor has a ceiling with a sharp pitch which is six feet high at its tallest point. [Haas, Irvin. "Historic Homes of American Authors". Washington, DC: The Preservation Press, 1991. ISBN 0891331808. p. 78]

In the 1930s, homes in the area, including Poe's, were set for demolition to make room for the "Poe Homes" public housing project. The house was spared and control was given to the Edgar Allan Poe Society, which opened the home in 1949. The Poe Society still oversees the building with assistance from Baltimore's Commission for Historic and Architectural Preservation (CHAP). [ [http://www.ci.baltimore.md.us/government/historic/poehouse.html Poe House on the city of Baltimore web page] ] At some point during renovations, they lifted the floorboards and found skeletal remains, reminiscent of Poe's story "The Tell-Tale Heart." They turned out to be animal bones discarded into what is known as a "trash pit" beneath the home. [Gentile, Sal. " [http://www.examiner.com/a-848001~Edgar_Allan_Poe_museum_staff_make_disturbing_find.html Edgar Allan Poe museum staff make disturbing find] ," Associated Press. July 26, 2007]

Museum today

The home is open to the public as a modest museum with self-guided tours. Displays in the house include a lock of Poe's hair, some original china that once belonged to John Allan (Poe's guardian after Eliza Poe's death), and a large reproduction of the portrait of Virginia Clemm painted after her death as well as many other Poe-related images. A reprint of the 1849 obituary from the October 24, 1849 edition of the "Philadelphia Dollar Newspaper" is also on display along with a reprint of Poe's original announcement for the creation of a new literary magazine to be called "The Stylus" - an endeavor that never came to fruition.

The museum and the Poe Society also host a number of Poe events throughout the year. It claims, for example, the largest Poe birthday celebration in the world every January at the Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. The organization also observes the annual visit of the mysterious Poe Toaster and helps protect his identity. The current curator of the museum is Jeff Jerome.

Works penned in this house

Though it cannot be fully proven, the Poe Society alleges that the following works were created while Poe was staying in this house:

ee also

*Edgar Allan Poe Museum in Richmond, Virginia
*Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
*Edgar Allan Poe Cottage in The Bronx, New York

References

External links

* [http://www.eapoe.org Official Web Site of the Poe House and Museum in Baltimore]
* [http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/baltimore/index.htm Baltimore, Maryland, a National Park Service "Discover Our Shared Heritage" Travel Itinerary]