"Cedarwood" (Baltimore, Maryland)

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"Cedarwood" is an excellent example of 1920s suburban architecture and landscaping. It was built in 1927 by master architect Laurence Hall Fowler for multi-millionaire Alexander Duncan, founder of the Commercial Credit Corporation, Maryland’s second billion-dollar business. As a result of the expansion of Baltimore’s city boundaries in 1918, developers and homeowners began to desire a mix of urban
and rural amenities into a suburban utopia; thus, new neighborhoods like Blythewood, where Cedarwood is located, were designed with the resources to support the Suburban ideal. For Cedarwood’s “French Eclectic” style, Fowler combined his well-educated understanding of architectural history to build a modern house garbed in Old World Landmark motifs. Its stone façade, slate roof and landscaping, as well as being setback from the street, emphasize its nature as a ‘retreat’. Cedarwood stands as one of the most opulent examples of how landscape and architecture captured 1920s suburban design and desire, and is emblematic of Baltimore’s vision of the Suburban ideal.