The Homewood House

December 10, 2008

 

Homewood House Holidays

Homewood in Baltimore, Maryland was the home of Charles Carroll, Jr. and his family. His father, Charles Carroll, Sr., was the only Catholic Signer of the Declaration of Independence. Here it is decorated for the holidays by the Homeland Garden Club. The mantelpiece decoration shows the red berries from the nandina bush also known as heavenly bamboo.

The plan of Homewood follows the traditional Palladian style, a central block with hyphens and wings. The interior carvings and plaster work are the height of fashion in the early 1800’s based on the work of Robert Adam. Interior details come from “The Practical House Carpenter,” one of many architectural pattern books published in England and popular in North America. Homewood is a National Historic Landmark.

A wedding present from his father, Charles Carroll, Jr. built the Federal style home following his marriage to Harriet Chew. She was of a family equally prosperous as the Carrolls, from Philadelphia. The house was a summer residence, a retreat from the heat and pestilence of the city. In 1902 Johns Hopkins University acquired the 130 acre property; Homewood, the original house, sits prominently on a gentle slope facing toward the City of Baltimore. www.museums.jhu.edu/homewood

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