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Maryland Historical Society
Library of Maryland History
201 W. Monument Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
Phone: 410-685-3750
Fax: 410-385-2105
E-mail: library@mdhs.org
Baltimore Architecture:
Then and Now
Denny and Mitchell Building, 200 West North Avenue
image info
Architect:
George Archer
In 1872 the old Fells Point firm of John Hughes and Son, undertakers, admitted Francis Denny as a partner to the firm which operated under the name of Hughes and Denny until 1875. In 1876, the firm admitted E. Madison Mitchell as another partner, and then operated three funeral establishments under the names of Hughes and Company. In 1879 Hughes were no longer involved, and the firm was operated by Denny and Mitchell, who also ran funeral homes at 208 South Broadway, 1204 West Baltimore Street, and 1201 West Fayette Street. In 1886 the partners built the elaborate brick and terra cotta cipher in the gable structure on what was known as Oak Street (later Howard Street) and North Avenue. The strain of operating the four properties became too great, and in 1891, this partnership was dissolved and Denny continued the business in a portion of the building, identifying it as 130 North Avenue. He ran it until his death in 1897, whereupon his former partner, E. Madison Mitchell, operated the home until his death in 1916.
A variety of business types occupied the site as listed in the 1900-1902 and 1903-1906 Baltimore Directories, including the Maryland Construction Company’s Yard #4, the Crouch Automobile Manufacturing and Transportation Company (a short-lived automobile maker), and an even shorter-lived company, the Columbia Motor and Manufacturing Company. It also housed the National Compositype Company, and the Directory (1912-1914) listed the site as the home of the National Building Supply Company. No information is given for the period 1915-1927, but in 1928 it became the premises of United Auto Sales. In 1933 the Oriole Pontiac Company took over the site until 1958, and in 1964, the Baltimore Products Company took it over, staying until 1984. In 1985 Acropolis Wall Covering converted the space to show rooms for decorating firms. In 1994 the building was acquired by the How-Nor Partnership, which renovated and later sold the building to the Maryland State Department of Human Resources, who was occupying it in 2000. This agency identifies the building as “1900 North Howard Street.”
Image information
left: Courtesy of John Orrick.
right: Photo by John Orrick, 2000.Baltimore Architecture - Homepage
Site Contents
1 Masonic Building
2 Enoch Pratt House
3 Graham-Hughes House
4 American Brewery
5 Belvedere Hotel
6 Camden Station
7 Alex Brown Building
8 Williams-Small House
9 Timanus Mill
10 The Pembroke Apartments
11 Merchant's Exchange
12 Old B and O Building
13 Denny & Mitchell Building
14 Guardian Trust Building
15 Old Post Office Building
16 St. Joseph's R.C. Church & Washington Firehouse
17 The Maryland Casualty Building
18 Church of the Redeemer Building
19 The Popplein Family Mansion/Marlborough Apartments
20 Samuel Hoffman, later the Dr. William Osler Mansion
21 Cohen Brothers, later the Dr. Robinson Building
22 Saint Peter's Catholic Church 1770
23 The Baltimore Humane Impartial Society Building
24 Baltimore and Susquehanna Railroad Calvert Station
25 The Richmond Market Building Site
26 Dr. Charles Howard's Site and Mount Vernon Place M.E. Church
27 The Stephen Broadbent Mansion "The Glen Mary"
