Benson Building - Baltimore MD - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Also known as IPC Building

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM

The Benson Building is an excellent example of early 20th century commercial architecture in Baltimore and is important as a design of a well-known local architectural firm, the home of quality Baltimore businesses, the site of an earlier historic clubhouse, and a part of the Mount Vernon streetscape in downtown Baltimore. The building is stylistically tied to both classical architecture and the commercial style which flourished generally between 1890 and 1915.


The building, erected by Thomas O'Neill, the owner of a department store and a vice president of the National Howard Bank, was constructed by Edward Walters and Company for a cost of approximately $75,000.00. Its name derives from C. J. Benson and Company, a local interior decorating and furniture establishment and one of its first tenants.

The book Baltimore: The Gateway to the South stated in 1898: "The firm handles only the choicest productions in the various lines, and imports its own paper and paper-hanging from England, Germany and France. The firm does the highest grade work in wall paper hanging and decorating".

Other early tenants of the building included the Walker and Gordon Milk laboratory, Hamilton Florists, and the Cassard Reese Company, a wholesale wine and liquor firm.

The old Athenaeum Club stood on this site from 1830 to 1910. Originally the home of William Howard, it was used by the Union Club in the Civil War era, and from 1877 it housed the Athenaeum Club, which included Enoch Pratt among its members. The building, a large Greek Revival structure with four large fluted monolithic columns and Beaver Dam marble construction, was razed for the construction of the Benson Building.

Street address: 4 E. Franklin Street Baltimore, MD United States 21202 County / Borough / Parish: Baltimore (Independent City) Year listed: 1980 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1900-1924 Historic function: Commerce/Trade Current function: Commerce/Trade Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/10/2021 Don.Morfe visited it