The Cloisters, also known as Cloisters Castle, is a historic home in Lutherville,

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland. The county is part of the Central Maryland region of the state. Baltimore County partly surrounds but does not include the independent city ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The building was completed in 1932, after three years of construction. The house is 4 story house, irregular in elevation and plan with much architectural ornament. It is built of large, random-sized blocks of a native gray and gold colored rock known as Butler stone, with details principally of

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

, wood from the site, plaster, and

wrought iron Wrought iron is an iron alloy with a very low carbon content (less than 0.05%) in contrast to that of cast iron (2.1% to 4.5%), or 0.25 for low carbon "mild" steel. Wrought iron is manufactured by heating and melting high carbon cast iron in an ...

. Many structural elements were salvaged from other buildings in the US and Europe, including several items from the Glen Ellen Mansion, which had been near

Loch Raven Reservoir The Loch Raven Reservoir is a reservoir that provides drinking water for the City of Baltimore and most of Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. It is fed by the Gunpowder River, Big Gunpowder Falls river, and has a capacity of ...

. The main façade is dominated by two asymmetrically placed, projecting sections topped by massive half-timbered gables that were originally part of a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

house in Domrémy,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It also has a massive stone octagonal stair tower, which contains a stone and wrought-iron

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical direction, vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps wh ...

and is crowned by a crenellated parapet and a small, round, stone-roofed structure from which one can exit onto the roof of the main tower. The house's roof is constructed of overlapping

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat Rock (geology), stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for Sidewalk, paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstone ...

s secured by iron pins, the only roof of this kind in America. The property is owned by

Baltimore City Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-larges ...

and operated by the Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts, although it is located in Baltimore County. The city ran a children's museum in the building until 1996, when it moved to the

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark in Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The Inner Harbo ...

area and was renamed Port Discovery. The Cloisters is currently operated as a rental facility, hosting over 250 weddings, parties, bar/bat mitzvahs, and gatherings per year. The Cloisters was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1979.

In popular culture

On December 31, 1997, about 100 guests attended the wedding of

Jada Pinkett Smith Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (née Pinkett; born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, businesswoman, and talk show host. She is co-host of the Facebook Watch talk show ''Red Table Talk'', for which she has won a Daytime Emmy Awards, Daytim ...

and

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, rapper, and film producer. Known for his work in both Will Smith filmography, the screen and Will Smith discography, music industries, List of awards and nominations re ...

at The Cloisters.

References

External links

*
The Cloisters official website
(Managed by Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, 10 E. Baltimore Street, 10th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202)
The Cloisters (Cloisters Castle)
(Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, 10 E. Baltimore Street, 10th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202)
Cloisters Castle - Event Venue, Historical Place , Facebook
(Listing on www.dupontcastle.com Directory of U.S. Castles)
''Maryland (Scenic) Byways'' (Brochure)
(References to The Cloisters, pp. 72, 74) Houses in Baltimore County, Maryland Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Houses completed in 1930 Gothic Revival architecture in Maryland Lutherville, Maryland National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore County, Maryland 1930 establishments in Maryland {{BaltimoreCountyMD-NRHP-stub