
Click on
to view photographs:
Designed by Dixon, Balbirnie, and Dixon, the Courthouse was built between 1854 and 1856 on land donated by Dr. Grafton Bosley. This Greek Revival building was constructed with local limestone and granite. Additions were made in 1910 and 1958. Courtroom No. 5, the County's first courtroom, has been restored.
Constructed in 1933, it is one of the last armories built in a medieval style of architecture, once popular for this type of building in Maryland.
Built in 1927, the building is noted for its green tile roof and Georgian Revival features, such as its belt coursing and swan's neck pediment with a pineapple.
The Neoclassical structure was built in 1937. Its vestibule contains rare verde antique marble and a WPA mural depicting mail delivery.
This was originally a two-story building with Italianate features during the 19th century. Its Neoclassical facade was added in 1914.
This late Gothic Revival Church, built in 1929, was designed so its tower would not be higher than the Court House dome. The older, Italianate-style parsonage is now used for offices.
Designed by Dixon and Dixon, this Italianate structure was built in 1855 on land donated by Dr. Grafton Bosley. The south wing contains the iron cage cell blocks and an entrance to the courtyard where the gallows stood.
Once called Uplands, the Victorian central part of this building was constructed by Dr. Grafton Bosley in 1860 for his house. Since 1929, the Presbyterian Church of Maryland has used it for a retirement home.
The first building specifically designed for high school students in Towson was used from 1907 to 1941. Now it is a Baltimore County office building. It is on the County Landmarks List.
Constructed of native marble and brownstone, this Gothic Revival church was completed in 1904. It has many French Gothic features: pointed windows, a rose window in the west facade, a clerestory wall, and buttresses. Its interior was altered significantly in the 1960's.
Towson's oldest standing church was designed by Nathan Starkweather. Built with stone from the Ridgely quarries on land donated by Enos Smedley, it was dedicated in 1860. The Gothic Revival structure has two signed Tiffany stained glass windows. Its parish hall and rectory were completed in the early 1880's.
Dr. James H. Jarrett, a surgeon and Union Civil War veteran, built his office on the back partof his property in 1900. The Towson Jaycees moved it to the current location in 1978.
Constructed by William Shealey between 1872 and 1876, this brick structure is a good example of vernacular architecture.
A private, nondenominational cemetery, it is the resting place for many members of Towson's leading families who played active roles in the growth of Towson. It is open to the public. It is on the County Landmarks List.
This is Towson's oldest remaining building. It is a Federal-style stone house built by Solomon Schmuck, a relative of the Towson and Shealey families, between 1833 and 1841.Samuel Kirk, the silversmith, once owned it.
This stone building with Italianate features has been renovated many times since it was reconstructed following the great Towson fire of 1878. It is one of the oldest structures in continuous use by the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.
Built in 1904, the club is a mixture of two architectural styles. The Palladian window, columned porch, and fanlight are Colonial Revival features. The stained glass and gambrel roof are from the Victorian era.
In 1926 this stone building replaced an earlier bank that was located at this intersection. Its architect was John Ahlers, who designed the theater.
The exterior of this movie theater has changed very little since it opened to the public in 1927, when it had a Kilgen organ.
This small, private cemetery is the resting place of some of Towson's oldest residents. It is named for Mary Shealey,a major local property owner in the 19th century and a descendent of the community's founders.
The cross-gable house was built in 1873 by a group of people who left the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Hampton was built between 1783 and 1790 by Colonel Charles Ridgely in the center of 1500 acres. Captain Ridgely died six months after completing the house, and left it to his nephew, Charles Carnan, who then took Ridgely as his last name. This man became known as General Ridgely and served as the Governor of Maryland between 1816 and 1819. This Georgian mansion is a National Historic Site.
John E. Owens, a famous British comedian, engaged the services of Niernsee and Neilson to create this Second Empire mansion around 1868. Later his estate was broken into lots and became one of the oldest planned communities in Baltimore County. Aigburth Vale is on the Baltimore County Landmarks List.
After the State Normal School moved from Baltimore to Towson in 1914-1915, this building served as a combination classroom, office, and administration building. In 1971 it was named for Morse Bates Stephens, a State Superintendent of Education.
Built in 1799 as a dower house for the Ridgely family,
the original building burned and was replaced in 1849. In 1944 it was sold to the
Sheppard-Pratt Hospital and used as the superintendent's house. Today it belongs to Towson
State University. Auburn is on the
Designed by Dixon and Dixon, this landmark was built of locally-quarried stone by John L. Gitter in 1860. The hospital, funded by the well-known Baltimore philanthropists Moses Sheppard and Enoch Pratt, began to serve patients in 1891.
Built for Robert A. Taylor in 1853, this home was acquired by Joseph Rieman, a director of the B&O and Central Railroads. Laterowners were Mr. Rieman's descendants, members of the McIntosh family. Currently occupied by Baltimore Actor's Theatre Conservatory.
Confederate Colonel David McIntosh, a lawyer and a founder of Towson's oldest bank, conducted the bank's business and practiced law here after the Civil War. This building once stood across from the street from the Court House and was moved to its current location in 1968.
Frederick Harrison, who was instrumental in surveying railroad and canal routes during the first half of the 19th century, built this summer home around 1855. Named after his daughter, Anne, it was one of a number of such estates that once lined York Road. John Rudolph Niernsee was the architect. Villa Anneslie is on both the NationalRegister and the Baltimore County Landmarks List.
Return to Historic Towson,
Inc.