Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, Baltimore

my wife and I made the terrible mistake of walking from the hotel near the inner harbor to the Poe Museum. After crossing MLK things got very scary. Boarded up windows and doors on some units in the projects. Not worth the risk to walk.....

1st of all we never got to go in...Someone who is such a huge part of Baltimore's history doesnt even have a decent sign or way to direct people there? After driving around a few poorly maintained & abandoned buildings we saw a tiny sign that said poe house. It wasn't possible to tell which house it was and the one that appeared to be it was had boarded up windows. How about investing a bit of money here Baltimore? Maybe a gurd at the front so people can ask a question and be directed to the safest place to park if any exists. A man who looked way out of it walked by swinging a baseball bat and we never stopped.

So the neighborhood is not the best but ur commin in the heart of baltimore city. Yea there gonna be black people uea theres gonna be crackheads yea and dope feens and everything else. But.that neighborhood is not the worst we got. Face it. Im a white girl and i walk around down there by my self. Its not that bad its like 1 or 2 blocks from mlk. Its not that bad honest.

How dangerous might you ask? My family walked to the house and when we got there we hear a voice behind us say, "Excuse me, what are you doing here?" We turn around and it is a cop in a police car. "You know this isn't a good part of town for a family like you to be in. Let me escort you guys back to MLK. After that you should be fine." So he indeed drove slowly next to us, always looking around cautiously until finally we reached MLK. So I guess I can't really comment on the actual museum since I never go to go in. I just wanted to bring this story to light to show that this neighborhood isn't good, no matter what some of the previous posters have said. Did I get robbed? Nope, but if a cop cautiously escorts us out at 2:00pm on a Saturday, then something's not right.

We visited the "neighborhood" on foot, September 1, 2010. The neighborhood is indeed very bad. I agree that one must be very careful when visiting the Poe house. (BTW) I know the RIte Aid and other landmarks noted, but nonetheless, be careful!

Just visited the Poe house today. I found myself very concerned when I started going through the neighborhood. Yes it looks very dangerous...but I'm not from Baltimore so I dont know the area and I dont want to judge..however... being a stranger to the area my safety alarm was on maximum overdrive. If your not from there use common sense by hidding your stuff and park in the front. Overall the experience was a little bit of a let down.

As we drove thru the "projects" trying to find the place, we drove past it twice, my wife had an excellent point... Edgar Allan poe's death must have been gang related. This house is in one of the worst projects I have ever seen and I live in Washington DC. Park your car out front at your own risk...

In response to "Never Again" I'm wondering if she actually went to the Poe House. The Poe House is NOT located in a "ghetto." Yup, the area is sooo bad that a Credit Union building is one and half blocks east of the site, the University of Maryland has two BioTech buildings just 2 blocks south of the site and is building two more. The State of Maryland is building a new forensics building one short block south of the Poe House. A state police officer lives around the corner of the Poe House. Yes Sir! This area is sooo bad that a RIte Aid Pharmacy is 1 1/2 blocks east of the Poe House. There are street vendors selling hot dogs and snow balls when the weather is nice. Of course the poster didn't know this but new townhomes and condo's are being planned for the immediate area surrounding the Poe House. Until all the people are moved out you will see boarded up houses. If she had bothered to look she would have seen very nice townhomes just one block east of the Poe House. But I guess she chose NOT to see the things I just listed.

if you want a fun Poe experience, travel to Richmond, Virginia. i am from Va, and we prize our connection with Poe very highly. i loved the gravesite, but the museum i did not visit. i got lost trying to find the museum on foot, and the police officer that assisted me informed me that not only was it closed temporarily, but it is in one of the WORST neighbohoods in Baltimore. the house is literally directly in the ghetto, and is actually attached to some of the housing projects there.

True Poe fans can not miss Baltimore. It's certainly a humble house located in, ahem, a less than typical tourist neighborhood (I've been there several times and never felt unsafe; I'd just recommend not trying to look like you don't belong there). Poe IS Baltimore (and vice versa), and don't forget to visit Poe's grave while you're out there, as well as Fort McHenry, where Poe was once stationed as a soldier.