MARYLAND CENTER FOR HISTORY AND CULTURE
GEORGE PEABODY LIBRARY
JASON VARNEY
ANNA SCHMIDT
MOUNT VERNON
In the heart of this historic neighborhood, you’ ll find Mount Vernon Place and its stunning European-inspired buildings and parks, a cross-section of 19thcentury architectural styles. At its center is the Washington Monument, a Doric column constructed in 1815 to honor the nation’ s first president. Just across the street is the George Peabody Library, erected in 1866. More than 300,000 volumes are housed in this Renaissance Revival-style library, known as a“ cathedral of books,” that’ s open to the public for selfguided tours. You’ ll be dazzled by the five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies leading up to a massive skylight. Across the way sits an 1872
example of Gothic architecture in the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church. While you’ re in the area, soak up even more history at the Maryland Center for History and Culture and stop by the Belvedere Hotel, a 1902-03 Beaux-Arts building, for dinner at The Owl Bar.( Learn more about this institution’ s storied past on page 34.)
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