A Tale of a Missing Address: 101 Willard Street
5March 10, 2013 by Baltimore Slumlord Watch
A few months ago, I spent the day in Shipley Hill and Yale Heights, two of my favorite Baltimore neighborhoods. Lots of interesting architecture, beautiful once-grand homes, tidy smaller homes — and yes, lots of blight, unfortunately.
I came across a curious group of buildings — obviously an old factory complex, one of the buildings still had the address painted on the front facade: 101 Willard Street. Upon arriving home, I immediately looked to see who owned this property — and what did it used to be?
Imagine my surprise to find the address no longer exists…in fact, the odd site of the 100 block of Willard Street is missing altogether. Yet, I stood there, right in front of 101. Hmmm.
100 block, Willard Street, odd side.
Turns out, the factory complex was the former Eigenbrot Brewery, featured in several articles, including this one from the City Paper.
100 block, Willard Street, odd side.
There are quite a few old photos online that show the brewery complex in its former glory, until it closed in 1920. A mattress company moved in at one time, along with a moving and storage company — both have also closed their doors. It’s a shame to see this once-grand set of buildings (101-107 Willard Street) fall into such terrible disrepair.
100 block, Willard street, odd side.
When researching who actually owns these buildings — which is no easy feat, considering they no longer officially exist — I came across this curiosity…a tilapia farm that claims to be using one of the buildings as its principal place of business. If this business exists, I have no idea where it is, as all the buildings I saw were dilapidated, and certainly not fit to be used for a business — although, it’s possible that I missed something.
The LLC that owned the building is not in good standing with the state, and their charter has been forfeited. The resident agent for the LLC owned (or still owns) several blighted or lead paint-filled homes around town — very curious, indeed.
It would be nice to see these buildings restored — if anyone has any information on them, or their future — please let me know!
What a beautiful building. http://baltimorehistorybits.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-tale-of-two-west-side-breweries.html
Love this — thank you for sharing the link!
I think I found some info on that property.
I found a listing for property Adress:
1 – 113 WILLARD ST in OpenBaltimore
And the city and state agree that the lot sze for the property is:
423-1×151-6
SDAT lists the owner as:
CHESAPEAKE ROW HOMES LLC
P.O. BOX 741109 HOUSTON TX 77274-0000
And according to OpenBaltimore the owner owes over $10,000 in taxes on the property!
This really worries me — Chesapeake Row Homes is owned by Scott Wizig, a slumlord who has been profiled in many articles — a slumlord who was also tossed out of Buffalo, NY for his property violations. Ugh.
I wrote a couple of posts on the properties he owns in Baltimore:
http://slumlordwatch.wordpress.com/2012/12/22/a-duo-of-investor-owned-blight-524-and-526-e-north-avenue/
http://slumlordwatch.wordpress.com/2010/03/08/buffalos-worst-slumlord-is-still-in-baltimore/
check out http://cityview.baltimorecity.gov/ and put “property information” under both menus on “thematic overlay”. you can then enter addresses, or move the map to wherever, and find that the property you’re referring to is all listed as 1 Willard St., and is owned by Cheasapeake Row Homes, LLC.