August 2025 (Baltimore, MD) — This year’s list of Doors Open Baltimore participating sites help us remember our past and reimagine our future.

It is not uncommon for an urban building to lead multiple lives, built for one purpose, but serving many others throughout its existence. Many of the buildings participating in this year’s Doors Open Baltimore are examples of adaptive reuse, the renovation and recycling of an existing structure to serve a new function.  “Neighborhoods and buildings are perpetually evolving and Doors Open Baltimore strives to highlight success stories to inspire future growth, reuse, and love for our city,” says Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF) President, Kevin Miller.
Adaptive reuse embodies sustainability, creativity, and cultural continuity and is a way that the built environment meets the city’s changing needs. Driven by visionary design, several spaces participating in Doors Open Baltimore have become community hubs. “The Rotunda was one of Baltimore’s pioneering adaptive reuse projects, turning an Olmsted designed corporate campus into retail, entertainment, and office space in the Hampden neighborhood,” reports Jillian Storms, board member for both BAF and Friends of Maryland’s Olmsted Parks and Landscapes. Other examples include the newly opened Library 19 in Fells Point, PS 103 (now Justice Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center) in Upton, The Compound artists’ space in East Baltimore Midway, and Squashwise, located in the former Greyhound bus terminal on Howard Street.

Doors Open Baltimore, hosted by BAF, is an annual city-wide celebration honoring Baltimore’s diverse cultural tapestry by highlighting its vibrant neighborhoods, captivating architecture, and distinctive spaces that contribute to the city’s charm. Always occurring in October, dozens of usually off-limits buildings across Baltimore host open houses and/or guided tours for the public to explore. Many sites and tours will be new in 2025.

To stay up to date on the event, check out the website doorsopenbaltimore.org, follow Doors Open Baltimore @DoorsOpenBmore on Instagram and Facebook.
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The Baltimore Architecture Foundation (f. 1987) is a 501c(3) non-profit organization that celebrates design and the built environment. This organization is supported in part by the Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org) and Maryland Humanities.