Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, home of the Engineers Club in Baltimore, on Wednesday unveiled its renovated courtyard, which the organization said is part of a $5.5 million upgrade to the 150-year-old structure.
The nearly $3 million upgrade to the courtyard included installing a steel-and-glass cover. By enclosing the courtyard, the club increased the amount of available square footage for events on the first floor, said Douglas F. Suess, president of the Engineers Club.
With the enclosure of the courtyard, the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion can handle events with up to 500 guests. The mansion, which has a full catering staff, is a popular venue for weddings.
The mansion is in the Mount Vernon Cultural District in Baltimore. The Engineers Club is a private, nonprofit membership organization.
The Garrett-Jacobs Mansion, at 11 Mount Vernon Place, was built in 1853. John Work Garrett, president of the B&O Railroad, bought it in 1872 and gave it to his son Robert Garrett. Garrett died and his widow later married Dr. Henry Barton Jacobs.
The Engineers Club purchased the property in 1962.
The club hopes the Maryland Historic Trust will grant an interior easement for the mansion this month. The easement, which permits modifications to the building, will also allow the club access to public grant money for further improvements to the mansion.
About $2 million in upgrades have already taken place,including replacement of the heating plant, expansion and modernization of the kitchen, and partial replacement of the façade.
“We?re told there is a ghost here,” joked Robert F. Leach, a trustee of the Engineers Club and president of the Garrett Jacobs Mansion Endowment Fund.
“We think Mrs. Garrett would be pleased with the renovations,” he said.
