Evergreen Museum & Library

Evergreen Museum & Library is a historical museum of the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located between the campuses of the College of Notre Dame and Loyola College.

History

The mansion was built in the mid-19th century and bought in 1878 by the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, John W. Garrett.cite book|last=Fee|first=Elizabeth|editor=Fee, Elizabeth; Shopes, Linda; and Zeidman, Linda (eds.)|title=The Baltimore Book: New Views of Local History|publisher=Temple University Press|date=1991|location=Philadelphia|pages=11-27|chapter=Evergreen House and the Garrett Family: A Railroad Fortune|isbn=0-87722-823-X] Railroads were then a key industry in the United States and, as Baltimore's Garrett family owned and managed one of the biggest rail companies, the home grew and became both luxurious and famous. John Garrett's son T. Harrison added a wing containing a billiard room, bowling alley, and a gymnasium, which in later years were converted into an art gallery and private theater. Evergreen House served as a home for the family until 1942, when it was donated to the university. In fact, Garrett was a trustee of the Peabody Institute and asked its founder, George Peabody, to persuade Johns Hopkins to make the bequest that would make possible The Johns Hopkins University, Hospital, and School of Medicine.

Architecture

The house, a magnificent example of Gilded Age architecture, occupies 26 landscaped acres in Northern Baltimore and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The initial design was a more modest Italianate house but, with the Garretts, it became a 48-room mansion with a 23-karat gold plated bathroom, a 30,000-book library, and a theatre painted by famous Russian artist Leon Bakst. The abundant decorative items in the house reflect the Garretts' travels and interests, including a red Asian room displaying Japanese and Chinese items, paintings by Picasso, Modigliani, and Degas, glass by Tiffany or Dutch marquetry.

The exterior of the house was an influence for the exterior of the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland in California, as noted in Haunted Mansion: From The Magic Kingdom To The Movies by Jason Surrell.

Today, the university manages the museum and offers guided tours.

References

External links

* [http://www.museums.jhu.edu/evergreen Evergeen House website]