Before the corner of N Charles and W Eager was a CVS, it was a Baltimore institution: Club Hippo. For more than 35 years, Club Hippo was a refuge for Baltimore’s queer community. The dance venue was always a place where, as the club's motto read, “everybody is welcome.” The space gave people the ability to express themselves freely without fear.
The Hippo’s owner during this time was Charles “Chuck” Bowers. Bowers purchased the club in 1978 from its original owners, Kenny Elbert and Don Endbinder. In 1972 Elbert and Endbinder had turned the space into a gay-friendly nightclub. But Bowers was the one responsible for turning the club into a cornerstone of Baltimore’s queer community and the Mount Vernon business district. For instance, Baltimore City’s annual Pride Block Party, with few exceptions, took place at the intersection of Charles and Eager street, anchored by the Hippo.
During the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, Bowers was an outspoken advocate for gay men who contracted the disease. The Hippo at this time also hosted performances by Broadway stars. The Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS organization sponsored the performances to spread awareness and raise money to fight the deadly disease.
Bowers also helped to raise money for local charities fighting the AIDS epidemic including Baltimore’s Movable Feast and Light Health and Wellness by putting on fundraisers at the Hippo. Baltimore’s Movable Feast is an organization that provides meals to people with chronic and life threatening illnesses, including AIDS. In 1997, cast members of the Broadway touring company of “Cats” treated the guests of the Hippo to a special performance in order to raise money for Baltimore’s Movable Feast. Light Health and Wellness is a nonprofit that helps Baltimore youth and families who are affected by HIV/AIDS. The Hippo served an important role as a place for members of the community to come together to support each other in both good times and bad times.
Although the club permanently closed in October 2015, those that danced there cherish fond memories of the Baltimore institution. Erik J. Akelaitis, who attended the final dance at Club Hippo said:
"Although I had a blast dancing and reminiscing with friends one last time, it was sad to see a long-standing Baltimore institution, landmark, and vital part of Baltimore’s LGBT history come to an end. The dance floor was packed one last time with a playlist of songs they had played over the years. It felt like old times, and the way things should be… where everyone is welcome!"
The research and writing of this article was funded by two grants: one from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority and one from the Baltimore National Heritage Area.
Light and music onced poured out the windows and door of the Sphinx Club on Pennsylvania Avenue but only club members (and musicians) could get inside to enjoy the drinks and entertainment. Today, the building sits boarded-up and waiting on a planned redevelopment by the Druid Heights CDC to bring back music and life to the block.
In December 2002, Sevety-three-year-old jazz singer and educator Ruby Glover gave a tour of the Avenue to a Baltimore Sun reporter lamented the sight of the Sphinx Club sitting vacant. "It was always kept so well. Tilghman must be turning over in his grave." Charles Phillip Tilghman founded the club in 1946 and ran the business as an elegant private club up until his death in 1988. Tilghman recruited Furman L. Templeton, director of the Baltimore Urban League (with offices nearby at 1841 Pennsylvania Avenue), to chair of the club's advisory board. Glover recalled the scene:
There's nothing there that even gives you the image. It was always so pretty, so lit up. It really was a private club. And my impression was that it was for elite blacks. That was where they hung out. And you could always sing when you went in because they kept a house band, Chico Johnson and his organ trio and Earlene Reed, singing in there.
Ruby Glover recalled how musicians always went to the Sphinx Club right after nearby jazz venues, including Club Tijuana on Clifton Avenue, Red Fox on Fulton Avenue, and The Comedy Club and The Ubangi Club on Pennsylvania Avenue, closed for the night. She explained:
And whomever was down The Avenue performing, after the clubs closed that's where you went. Put on a good show in there. If you were a musician all you had to do is ring the bell. They'd tell you, 'Hey, come on in here, give us a little song.'
But four years after Charles Tilghman's death the "old Sphinx Club" shut down. By 2002, the Baltimore Sun described it as "dreary."
The building continued to remain vacant and boarded for over two decades. Fortunately, the Druid Heights Community Development Corporation is seeking to change that. In 2011, the Druid Heights CDC announced their plans to turn the building and an adjoining property into the Negro Baseball Museum and Restaurant—bringing new jobs and visitors to Avenue again.
Watch our on this site!