The most noticeable thing about Mary Pickersgill?s house in downtown Baltimore is the way it smells.
It is old and musty. The floors creak and the walls are cracking. The doors and windows look as if they have had hundreds of coats of paint ? probably because they have.
Before the house was purchased by the City of Baltimore and opened as a public museum, it was home to a pharmacy, shoe repair shop and Italian grocery as well as Pickersgill?s flag-making business, said Jill Peters, a tour guide at The Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum.
The Baltimore row house, in which Pickersgill lived, has been open to the public since 1927. About 13,000 people visit the museum each year, said Eric Voboril, director of programs and collections.
It is where Pickersgill began sewing the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. It was 30 feet long and 42 feet wide.
The museum?s front window houses a full-scale replica of the original flag, which now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
The sight of Pickersgill?s flag on Sept. 14, 1814, inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem while his ship was imprisoned by the British off the coast of Baltimore City, Peters said.
The museum tour begins with a short film about Pickersgill and the city?s role in the War of 1812 and continues with a guided tour of her house. The visit ends in the Star-Spangled Banner Museum, where temporary exhibitions are housed. School groups come for the tours, and special events such as hearth cooking and historical interpretations are held Saturdays.
But during the week, the museum remains relatively quiet, averaging 15to 20 visitors per day, Voboril said.
Brooke Neugebauer recently moved to Baltimore City and has been a docent at the museum for two months.
“I don?t think people realize how much history is in Baltimore,” Neugebauer said.
IF YOU GO
» What: The Flag House and Star-Spangled Banner Museum
» When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Tuesdays through Saturdays
» Where: 844 E. Pratt St., Baltimore City
» Fees: Adults $7, Seniors $6, children, students and military personnel $5
» For more info: 410-837-1793
