Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy lives on in Baltimore, thanks to his original home turned museum in the city.
It is often contested which city that has claim over the famous American writer Edgar Allan Poe, but it was right here in Baltimore that Poe met his wife and started his literary career after winning a short story content. His legacy lives on in Baltimore, thanks to his original home turned museum in the city. His poem “The Raven” is the name that inspired the Baltimore Ravens NFL team, and there are numerous food and drink establishments that honor his legacy. To learn more about the history of Edgar Allen Poe and the city of Baltimore, read on!
Visit His Home in Baltimore
Edgar Allan Poe’s great-grandfather traveled and started the family in Baltimore back in 1755. Poe lived with his aunt in a duplex on North Amity Street in Baltimore from around 1832 until the fall of 1835. During this time, he composed poetry, wrote various literary criticism, and penned a few of his earliest short stories like “Berenice” and “MS. Found in a Bottle.” While you’re in Baltimore, consider visiting the Poe House and Museum to see the exact same writing desk and chair where he wrote a few of his most famous works.
Raise Your Glasses
Poe’s death is a mystery – he was found in a gutter in the Fell’s Point neighborhood and suffered from delirium for days before he passed, but it is widely believed that Baltimore’s oldest bar was one of his last stops before he died. The Horse You Came In On Saloon, which opened in 1775 and is today known for its live music and dive bar vibe, but also enjoys an occasional ghost spotting. You can go on a ghost tour here to learn more about his spooky final moments.
Take a Visit to His Famous Grave
Westminster Hall, one of the most historic locations in the city, is an architectural landmark. The brick church was built in the 1850s, and various mayors of Baltimore and heroes of the American Revolution rest with Poe and his wife, Virginia. You can visit his gravesite whenever the burial grounds are open to the public.
View Poe’s Work
Among the treasures in the Edgar Allan Poe room in Mount Vernon’s Enoch Pratt Free Library is an impressive collection of his manuscripts, books, letters, and even some of his hair. The Peabody Library in Mount Vernon also has rare Poe books, a few original letters that he sent, and a collection of musical settings for some of his writings.
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