Walters Bath No. 2 opened in 1901 serving residents living in the busy industrial neighborhoods of southwest Baltimore. The construction of the bathhouse was supported by Henry Walters, art collector and philanthropist. Despite living in New York, Walters supported the construction of four bathhouses spread out spread out across the city to improve public hygiene and sanitation. Bath No. 2 on Washington Boulevard is the only one of the four that still stands.

Designed by architect George Archer, the bathhouse features a less-ornate version of the Renaissance Revival architecture that was popular at the turn of the twentieth century. The forty-foot front façade with four bays facing the street is the only part that is more than strictly utilitarian in design. A large stone plaque across the top of the building reads "THE WALTERS PUBLIC BATHS."

Unlike earlier luxurious bathhouses, which date back to the early nineteenth century in Baltimore, Walters bathhouses were erected to improve the sanitary conditions of the crowded industrial city that Baltimore had become. The bath offered a shower, spray, or tub bath to those who usually could not afford access to similar facilities. To oversee this step forward in public health, Baltimore City created the Free Public Bath Commission to supervise the bathhouses as well as comfort stations, swimming pools, school shower programs, and portable shower baths, all of which were operating by 1925.

When the building opened in 1902, Bath No. 2 charged three cents for adults and one cent for children for soap and towels, and 2 ½ cents per hour for laundry privileges. Later, the public bath system upped the fee to five cents, a charge that remained until the entire public bath system was closed at the end of 1959.

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900 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230

Award-winning Reuse of the Montgomery Ward Warehouse

Built in 1925, the eight-story tall Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is one of nine monumental distribution centers built by the Montgomery Ward mail order company in cities around the United States.

Built in 1925, the eight-story tall Montgomery Ward Warehouse and Retail Store is one of nine monumental distribution centers built by the Montgomery Ward mail order company in cities around the United States. Founded by Aaron Montgomery Ward in Chicago, Illinois in 1872, the store sent catalogs (sometimes known as the "Wish Book") listing thousands of items, from clothing to tractors, to rural communities around the country. Designed by in-house company Engineer of Construction, W. H. McCaully, the building on Washington Boulevard is a testament to the importance of the company’s early success.

Montgomery Ward located its Atlantic Coast Headquarters in Baltimore largely due to the efforts of the city government and the Industrial Bureau of the Association of Commerce to attract new businesses—an early example of a public economic development program.

For nearly 60 years, Montgomery Ward was a major business in Baltimore. It employed thousands of people, sent out hundreds of thousands of catalogs emblazoned with the name Baltimore to customers throughout the eastern seaboard, and provided a unique retail option to generations of local residents.

Today, Montgomery Park has been adapted to a new use as offices. The new use also gave the building a new name, but saved the sign while replacing only two letters from the historic "Montgomery Ward" sign to preserve this icon on the southwest Baltimore skyline. The development won the Environmental Protection Agency's 2003 Phoenix Award.

1800 Washington Boulevard, Baltimore, MD 21230