(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrett_Jacobs_Mansion)
". . . The mansion encompasses what once was three large row homes. The original Garrett Jacobs home, 11 Mt. Vernon, was built by Samuel George in 1853 on property purchased from John Eager Howard. The property was located in the then-new suburb of Mount Vernon, which was a haven for the newly-rich of Baltimore as a place to escape the congestion of the city. The property lay directly across from the site of the Baltimore's Washington Monument (completed in 1829), which further enhanced its value. . . Robert andd Mary lived in their row house for ten years during which time Robert was first President of the Valley Rail Road, a short line on the Shenandoah Valley Rail Road managed by the B & O and then promoted to third Vice President of the B & O. After the death of John Work Garrett, Robert Garrett became president of the B & O in 1884. Prompted by their growing business and social responsibilities and money, the Garretts decided to enlarge their home to create a fitting place to entertain the important people who were guests of the president of the B & O, including other railroad presidents, bankers, and state and national legislators. Robert Garrett attended to the neighborhood as well as the house, enhancing the setting of his home by engaging Fredrick Olmstead to design the four parks of the square. Additionally, he commissioned sculptor W.W. Story, who had just created a sculpture of George Peabody for the people of London where Peabody enjoyed public acclaim, to make a copy of that sculpture to be placed in front of the Peabody Institute. Inspired by the Champs del Elysees in Paris, Garrett wanted a similar park in front of his own home. Henri Cremier designed the fountain that graces that space. . . Robert and Mary Garrett then engaged Gilded Age architect Stanford White of architectural firm McKim, Mead and White to help them realize their vision of a beautiful home that would compare with other Gilded Age homes in Boston, New York, and Philadelphia. The renovations would continue for thirty-two years until the house included over forty rooms, sixteen fireplaces, and one hundred windows. . . Mary Garrett Jacobs died in 1936 leaving the house to her husband. They had no children. At his death, in 1939, the mansion which had renovations amounting to more than $2 million was auctioned for $36,000 to William Cook who planned to use it as a funeral home. Zoning laws prohibited this. The mansion was then sold to Boumi Temple. Three of the beautiful Tiffany windows were sold; other changes were made. . . Baltimore City purchased the mansion in 1958 with plans to use it for the Walters Art Gallery. These plans did not materialize. For years it sat empty, deteriorating. . . In 1962, it was sold to Baltimore’s Engineering Society, an organization that contributed much to Baltimore’s revitalization after the Baltimore fire of 1904 that destroyed most of the downtown. In need of a new home, the Engineering Society moved into the property and rescued it. . .The Engineering Society has overseen restoration of this mansion since that time. . ."
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