At Read and Cathedral streets in Mount Vernon lies what historic preservationist Jamie Hunt calls "the historic and spiritual intersection of royal romances in Baltimore."
On one side sits the church where Wallis Warfield was christened. (King Edward VIII was forced to give up the British throne to marry the twice-divorced Baltimore native.)
The other side of the street boasts the townhouse where Elizabeth "Betsy" Bonaparte died in bitter seclusion after Napoleon ended her marriage to his younger brother, French naval officer Jerome Bonaparte.
The intersection provided one of many such stories on yesterday's walking tour of Mount Vernon homes linked to Baltimore's lovestruck and unlucky luminaries. The chilly tours attracted dozens of couples interested in delving much deeper into Valentine's Day than the traditional chocolates and roses.
This was love -- some happy, but most hapless -- in Mount Vernon, from a brief but blissful marriage that prompted crusty writer H. L. Mencken to write flowery diary entries about the "numerous and powerful tentacles" of a happy marriage to the Stafford Hotel, where F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, stayed.
One unromantic tale that proved profitable for Baltimore was the love story that wasn't.
Merchant George Peabody twice proposed marriage -- and twice was rejected. Thwarted in his attempts to find a bride, Peabody dedicated himself to working and building his fortune. That included donating $1.4 million -- "a pretty good chunk of change" for 1857, as Hunt pointed out -- to establish the Peabody Institute.
"I don't mean to seem cruel, but George Peabody's bad luck in love was probably good for the city of Baltimore," said Hunt, who works with Preservation Maryland.
He started leading the free tours in October 1998, when he and Brass Elephant owner Jack Elsby organized Hunt's frequent neighborhood walks into a formal presentation beginning and ending at the elegant Charles Street restaurant. They moved the excursions closer to Valentine's Day to maximize the seasonal sentiment.
Edda Budlow was among the crowd traipsing through the streets in yesterday's late afternoon sunshine. She brought along friend Dick Watkins to learn a little more about one of her favorite neighborhoods.
