Merchants Club

This skylight is part of Baltimore’s historic Merchants Club on Redwood Street. One of several private clubs that began catering to businessmen more than 100 years ago, The Merchants Club dates back to 1882, and this building was built in 1905. (An older club building which stood in the same location was destroyed during the Great Fire of 1904.) High ceilings, an open floor plan, and stunning wood detailing, in addition to the skylight, are some of the interior features of the current structure, especially on the fourth floor. 

Reportedly, during its heyday, the club was visited by several notable guests, including the queen of Romania and the duke and duchess of Windsor. After the club went out of business in 1989 it was briefly owned by the Baltimore International College’s culinary and hospitality programs. Since 2016 the building has been used by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, which moved into the equally historic Mercantile Trust and Deposit Company next door in 1994. (The Mercantile building, which survived the 1904 fire, dates back to 1885.) The theater uses the upper floors of the Merchants Club building for rehearsal, event and office space, while the club’s former commercial kitchen is still there for when the theater wants to provide food service for guests.