National Historic Landmark

Rowland, Henry August, House

Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland
Listed
May 14, 1975
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
75002098

About this property

The Henry August (or Augustus) Rowland House is a historic row house at 915 Cathedral Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Built in the 1880s, this nondescript row house is historically important as the home of physicist Henry Augustus Rowland (b. 1846) from 1889-90 until his death in 1901. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975. The Henry August Rowland House is located on the north side of Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood, at the northeast corner of Cathedral and Brexton Streets. It is the southern of two adjacent row houses, which are typical of brick rowhouses built in the fashionable residential area in the 1880s. It is three stories in height, built out of red brick, and topped by a flat roof with a projecting carved wooden cornice. It is three bays wide, with the entrance in the rightmost bay, sheltered by an elaborate surround toppedy a shallow projecting bracketed hood. The building interior was reported in 1975 to be in good condition, with original features including a working dumbwaiter. Rowland purchased the house in 1889 or 1890 and lived there until his death in 1901. His wife and daughter continued to live there after his death. He was educated as a physicist at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and in Germany, and was hired in 1876 by Daniel Coit Gilman to help build the physics department of Johns Hopkins University. His achievements include advancements in tools and understanding of magnetism, and the development of a formula for translating heat into mechanical work. His best known work is in the development of a high-precision diffraction grating for doing spectral analysis. Isaac Asimov characterized Rowland as "one of the few important 19th century American physicists." National Register of Historic Places listings in Central Baltimore Henry August Rowland House, Baltimore City, including photo dated 1975, at Maryland Historical Trust

Location

915 Cathedral St.
Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland
39.30056, -76.61715

Categories

SCIENCE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

The Maryland Club
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0.1 mi
First Presbyterian Church and Manse
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0.1 mi
Belvedere Hotel (Additional Documentation)
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0.2 mi
Welch, William H., House
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0.2 mi
Buildings at 10, 12, 14, and 16 East Chase Street
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0.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Rowland, Henry August, House listed on the National Register?

Rowland, Henry August, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1975.

What type of historic resource is Rowland, Henry August, House?

Rowland, Henry August, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

Is Rowland, Henry August, House a National Historic Landmark?

Yes. Rowland, Henry August, House has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.

What is the period of significance for Rowland, Henry August, House?

The period of significance for Rowland, Henry August, House is recorded as the industrial era.

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