Mini -nerd trip: Poe House, Baltimore

Display in the kitchen of the Poe House

Even though I’ve lived in Baltimore for years, I never seemed to find time to visit to the Poe house. Labor Day weekend 2010, my friend Nancy was visiting from Ohio. She had never been on a nerd trip, and I thought the Poe house would be an easy introduction. The house is very small, so it wouldn’t take long to tour. Plus, Poe is an interesting character and the people visiting the house would probably be interesting as well. (One woman brought her whole family as a way to celebrate her birthday!) The Poe house did not disappoint.

https://www.eapoe.org/balt/poehse.htm

First of all, the Poe house is located in a tough neighborhood. The website warns you about it. Trust that warning. The volunteers will check you out on the camera before they let you in.  We didn’t have any problems. The people working there were great.

The Poe house is very, very small! It’s hard to imagine several people living in that home. It’s amazing how much stuff we have now.

Also, the house has some of the steepest stairs I’ve ever seen!

Stairs from Poe’s room to second floor

These stairs come down from Poe’s bedroom. You can’t go in there, but you can look. If you think Poe’s stories are scary, you should try these stairs!

The people who put together the displays and materials at the Poe house definitely have a sense of humor! I’ll write more on that in another post. Wishing you safe travels and loads of learning for your next nerd trip!

P.S. In the years since this post was written, financial problems forced Baltimore’s Poe House to close. However, Poe supporters rallied. In 2014/2015, the house reopened on a limited basis. Check the website for the latest information: www.poeinbaltimore.org[map size=”medium” align=”left”]