The Odd Fellows Hall in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean t ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

was a building that was the meeting place of the

Independent Order of Odd Fellows The Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF) is a non-political and non-sectarian international fraternal order of Odd Fellowship. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Wildey in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Evolving from the Order of Odd ...

fraternal organization, as well as the organization's national headquarters, from 1831 until 1890. It was the first Odd Fellows' Hall in the United States.

Construction

In 1819, the first United States lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was established in Baltimore at the Seven Stars Tavern. The organization grew rapidly and on January 15, 1830, the Grand Lodge of Maryland unanimously resolved to "procur a suitable lot of ground, in some central part of the city...to build an Odd Fellow's hall". Soon thereafter, the trustees of the Grand Lodge purchased a plot of land on North Gay Street in Baltimore. The original plan, which called for the construction of the hall to be funded by the subordinate lodges, was not successful and James L. Ridgely, secretary of the Grand Lodge, successfully maneuvered to abandon this plan and replace with one that would call for the hall to be built solely by the Grand Lodge. A building committee was established and, after many unsuccessful efforts, was able to gain the necessary funds through canvassing of Lodge members and private credit.

Dedication

The Odd Fellows' Hall was dedicated on April 26, 1831. A procession was formed at the Exchange Building and marched to Trinity Church, where an oration was delivered by Ridgely and a choir performed a musical selection. The procession then marched to the hall, where the dedication ceremony took place and Thomas Yates Walsh made a speech. The number of the persons in the procession was reported to be over 500.

Building

Soon after it was built, the hall was described as a "new and handsome brick house". The first floor housed an extensive library and a reading room. The upper floor housed a grand ballroom known as the Egyptian Saloon. It was decorated with depictions of ancient Egyptian culture, including hieroglyphics, pharaohs, and the Nile River.

Notable events

In January 1844,

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

lectured on American poetry at the hall. During his lecture, Poe was "witheringly severe" about

Rufus Griswold Rufus Wilmot Griswold (February 13, 1815 – August 27, 1857) was an American anthologist, editor, poet, and critic. Born in Vermont, Griswold left home when he was 15 years old. He worked as a journalist, editor, and critic in Philadelphia, New Y ...

, who had published an article that attacked Poe's work. In 1844, the Egyptian Saloon was the largest meeting room in Baltimore and as such it was chosen to be the venue of that year's Democratic national convention. The room was a poor choice for the convention, as it was too small to comfortably fit all of the delegates, politicians, and spectators. As a result, the crowd spilled out onto the street. Furthermore, its acoustics were poor and the spectator gallery was described as being "as black as the hole of Calcutta". During the convention, one delegate moved that the convention to be moved to a larger room in Baltimore, however, the organizing committee responded that there was not a larger room in the city.

Addition

The building was enlarged in 1843 and 1847. In 1852, the South Wing (also known as the Tower Building) was added. The wing, which was in the Tudor Gothic style, fronted 30 feet on North Gay Street and extended 136 feet on Orange Street. The Egyptian Saloon was also remodeled. It was expanded, the windows were enlarged and the walls and ceilings were replastered to make the room brighter and better ventilated, and the ceiling was raised several feet.

Demolition

By 1899, the Odd Fellows had outgrown the hall. A site at Cathedral and Saratoga Streets was purchased for $42,300 and architect Frank E. Davis was commissioned to design a new hall.https://mht.maryland.gov/secure/medusa/PDF/NR_PDFs/NR-605.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form (Odd Fellows Hall, Baltimore City, Maryland) In 1890, the Odd Fellows moved their national headquarters from the hall and the building was demolished so that Lexington Street could extended from Holliday to Gay Street. This created what is now

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

Plaza. Baltimore's new Odd Fellows Hall was completed the following year.

References

{{Democratic National Convention venues 1831 establishments in Maryland Demolished buildings and structures in Baltimore Cultural infrastructure completed in 1831 Gothic Revival architecture in Maryland Odd Fellows buildings in Maryland Buildings and structures demolished in 1890