NEVERMORE 2009

January 19, 2009 marks the 200th birthday of Edgar Allan Poe and to commemorate this historic milestone, the city of Baltimore will host Nevermore 2009, a yearlong celebration of the life and works of one of Baltimore’s most famed residents. The year will be filled with a variety of events, including birthday celebrations, lectures, wine tastings, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, special tours and more.

Poe lived and worked in Baltimore for a good part of his life. In addition to his home and his gravesite at Westminster Hall, traces of Poe's life, and his death, can be found throughout the city.

To add to the excitement of Nevermore 2009 - Harbor Magic has created an exclusive Poe Getaway which is a Poe Edition of our Discover Weird U.S. package that we offer. This popular package is based on a collaboration between our hotels and the two gentleman that wrote the book “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets”, Mark Moran & Mark Sceurman. The two Marks (as we call them) produced an exclusive Guide to Baltimore’s Top Weird Spots that our guests can use as a travel guide of sorts to explore the more off beat Baltimore sites that so few guests get to experience. One of the spots on that list is of course the grave, or shall I say GRAVES of Baltimore's adopted son Edgar Allan Poe. This is the basis of our Poe Getaway.

CLICK HERE to learn more about our exclusive POE Getaway

POE IN BALTIMORE

Edgar Allan Poe's Gravesite in Baltimore

The Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum

Edgar Allan Poe lived at this address in Baltimore—in what was then the countryside—with his aunt (and later mother-in-law), Maria Clemm, her ailing mother (Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, aged 73), her daughter (Virginia Eliza Clemm, aged 10, later Poe's wife), and perhaps her son (Henry Clemm, aged 14) for two or three years from about 1832 until 1835 when he moved to Richmond to edit The Southern Literary Messenger. The 2 ½ story, 5 room house is now open to the public from April through November (limited hours) as a museum, with displays featuring some of Poe's personal

The Edgar Allan Poe Collection at The Enoch Pratt Free Library

The Enoch Pratt Free Library is the home of a special Edgar Allan Poe collection of personal letters, images, poetry and memorabilia. The collection includes a lock of Poe's hair, a piece from his coffin and important letters regarding his mysterious death in 1849. The Pratt's Collection of Poeana has been bolstered over the years by three major gifts from descendants of Poe. Click here to view the digital collection.

Church Hospital

Originally Washington College Hospital, Church Hospital was the site of Edgar Allan Poe's death from poorly specified causes on October 7, 1849. Initially believed to be drunk, Poe was taken into a wing held for noisy drunkards before it was later determined that he had likely been robbed and beaten or mugged. Previously, physicians had diagnosed Poe with both "a weakness of the heart" and "lesions on the brain." His attending physician's notes tell of florid and morbid outbursts from Poe as he

Fell's Point

Although little is known about Edgar Allan Poe's final days, it is known that he frequented the watering holes of Baltimore's Fell's Point. Limited evidence exists linking Poe to several of the taverns then operating in Fell's Point; however, there is speculation that his mysterious and convoluted end may have come about as a result of his being kidnapped and perhaps beaten or drugged in an apparent attempted Shanghai. At the time of Poe's

Edgar Allan Poe Statue - University of Baltimore Law School

The last work of the great American sculptor Sir Moses Jacob Ezekiel, it was commissioned in 1907 by the Women's Literary Club of Baltimore. It was hoped that the statue would be ready by Poe's centennial in 1909, but a series of problems prevented its completion until 1916 and World War I delayed its arrival in Baltimore. The statue was dedicated in Wyman Park on October 20, 1921. Over the years, it suffered from neglect, vandalism and the effects of wind and rain, which eroded the inscriptions until they were virtually unreadable. Deciding that the park was too isolated a location for the statue, it was moved, under the recommendation of the E. A. Poe Society of Baltimore, to the plaza of the University of Baltimore's Law School, where it now resides.

The Poe Toaster

Since 1949, on the night of the anniversary of Poe's birth, a mysterious stranger has entered this cemetery and left as tribute a partial bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe's grave. The identity of the stranger, referred to affectionately as the Poe Toaster, is unknown. The significance of cognac is uncertain as it does not feature in Poe's works as would, for example, amontillado. The presumption for the three roses is that it represents the three persons whose remains are beneath the monument: Poe, his mother-in-law (Maria Clemm) and his wife Virginia. Out of respect, no attempt is made to stop or hinder him. Several of the bottles of cognac from prior years are on display in the Baltimore Poe House and Museum.

Baltimore Ravens

What other city had the grace and class to name their NFL franchise—and it's three mascots, Edgar, Allan & Poe—for a literary master and one of his most revered, macabre masterpieces, The Raven.

Annabelle Lee Tavern

Annabel Lee was the last poem that Edgar Allan Poe wrote before his tragic death in 1849. The Annabel Lee Tavern was established in 2007 and it is here that we pay homage to the great poet and too, the great city of Baltimore. Annabelle Lee Tavern 601 S. Clinton Street Baltimore, MD 21224 www.annabelleetavern.com Map It

DISCOVER WEIRD U.S. GETAWAY

Harbor Magic has created an exclusive Poe Getaway which is a Poe Edition of our Discover Weird U.S. package. This popular package is based on a collaboration between our hotels and the two gentleman that wrote the book “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets”, Mark Moran & Mark Sceurman. The two Marks (as we call

The Poe Edition of Discover Weird U.S. includes:

• Deluxe overnight accommodations at the Harbor Magic Hotel of your choice
• Breakfast for two
• Copy of “Weird U.S.: Your Travel Guide to America’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets”.
• Exclusive Guide to Baltimore’s Top Weird Spots with a limited edition Poe facts and trivia insert.
• Exclusive drink coupons to raise a glass at the Horse You Came In On, the place where Edgar Allen Poe drank his last drink and a coupon to enjoy a Raven Lager at the Poe themed restaurant, Annabel Lee Tavern.

The getaway can also be customized by adding the following experiences:

• The Poe Toaster Turndown – Since 1949, on the night of Poe Birthday, a mysterious stranger has entered the cemetery and left as tribute a partial bottle of cognac and three roses on Poe’s grave. Experience a turndown as only the Poe Toaster would leave as tribute including two mini bottles of Cognac and 3 roses laid across your bed.
  
• Entrance into the Poe House and Museum - Edgar Allan Poe lived at this address in Baltimore—in what was then the countryside—with his aunt (and later mother-in-law), Maria Clemm, her ailing mother (Elizabeth Cairnes Poe, aged 73), her daughter (Virginia Eliza Clemm, aged 10, later Poe's wife), and perhaps her son (Henry Clemm, aged 14) for two or three years from about 1832 until 1835 when he moved to Richmond to edit The Southern Literary Messenger. This Museum is now open to the public from April to November with limited hours.
  
• A walking tour of Edgar Allan Poe’s Graves and a tour of the catacombs under the church – Visit Westminster Hall, one of the area’s most intriguing architectural landmarks, is a converted Gothic church built on arches above Westminster Burying Ground, creating catacombs. Edgar Allan Poe, his young wife and her mother all eventually found their final resting place within Westminster Burying Ground – each having previously buried elsewhere.
  
• Haunted Baltimore Book – Harbor Magic’s Admiral Fell Inn is featured in this new book which exposes 37 haunting along Baltimore’s harbor waters. Read about Poe, the Horse You Came in on Saloon and the Ghost named Edgar. The authors of the book also produce the Fell’s Point Ghost Walk.
  
• Fell’s Point Ghost Walk – Join your guides under the cover of night to explore the many haunted pubs, shops and residences in this historic maritime neighborhood. Tours typically run on Saturday nights – and also Friday nights July – September.
  
• Entrance into the Sports Legends museum to visit the Raven’s Mascots: Edgar, Allan and Poe!
  
• Dinner at Annabel Lee Tavern
  

ADMIRAL FELL INN

Step into a place in history. Where folklore, fantasy and more than a few ghost stories thrive in the historic waterfront village of Fell’s Point, a charming neighborhood full of eclectic shops, restaurants, and taverns. And in the middle of it all is the Admiral Fell Inn, a quaint, European-style hotel that boasts stately rooms located just steps away from The Horse You Came In On Saloon which is one of the last

This Historic Hotel of America actually consists of seven different buildings dating back to the 1770’s. Over the years the Inn has served as a ship chandlery, a theater, a boarding house for sailors and later, a Seaman’s YMCA.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the Admiral Fell Inn

ENJOY A HISTORIC GHOST TOUR OF THE ADMIRAL FELL INN
Friday Evening - 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Saturday Afternoon - 5:00pm to 6:00pm

Lounge Fin

A fun and family-friendly walking tour through the historic Admiral Fell Inn, conducted by one of our Resident Historians. Hear some of the history of the buildings and amusing anecdotes of the other worldly encounters on the premises. The tour concludes with a complimentary glass of wine and a toast to the Admiral himself!