Edgar Allan Poe Society Records

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore was officially established following a commemorative celebration of Poe's birthday on January 19, 1923. The Poe Society organized an annual series of public programs that included musical settings of Poe's poems, readings from his writings, exhibitions of information and memorabilia, and lectures about his life and works. On June 4, 1938, the Poe Society was alerted by an article in the Baltimore Sun to the planned destruction of the block of houses between Lexington and Saratoga Streets, including the house where Poe had lived in 1833-1835. The Society organized to preserve the structure, due in large part to the efforts of May Garrettson Evans and Dr. John C. French. The Poe Society provided tours from 1950 until 1977, when responsibility for the museum was assumed by Baltimore City's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP). After 1977, the Society returned its efforts to focus on annual commemorative lectures and associated publications. In 1983, the Edgar Allan Poe Society worked with University of Baltimore President Turner to have the Edgar Allan Poe statue moved from its location in Wyman Park to the Gordan Plaza at University of Baltimore. The statue later became a symbol of the University.

[Some information for this historical note was gathered from an article in 'UBique: The University of Baltimore Student Newspaper' Vol. VII No. 2, February 20, 1995.]