Afro Charities is redeveloping Baltimore’s historic Upton Mansion as the permanent home and research center for the AFRO Archives.
The Upton Mansion was built in 1838 as a private residence. Photograph courtesy of the Library of Congress/HABS.
The Upton Mansion is a Baltimore City Landmark that was originally built in 1838 as a private residence. It has served as home to Maryland’s first radio station, the Baltimore Institute for Musical Arts, and finally, the Upton School, before it was left vacant in 2006.
The property is individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a contributing structure to the Old West Baltimore Historic District.
Correspondence between the Upton School and AFRO Reporter Mrs. Elizabeth Murphy Moss
Mrs. Maxine Richardson and her class at the Upton School
Savannah Wood hangs a banner at the Upton Mansion. Photograph by Schaun Champion.
The Upton Mansion was built in 1838 as a private residence
WCAO, Maryland’s first radio station, sets up shop in the Upton Mansion
Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts is established at the Upton Mansion as a music school, open to all races
The Upton School opens
Major renovation of the Upton School
Property left vacant
Afro Charities awarded the right to develop the property from City of Baltimore
First major grant from Mellon Foundation
Federal earmark award celebration
Afro Charities acquires building from City of Baltimore
Our project includes the restoration of the historic mansion and carriage house, the construction of an annex at the rear of the property, and extensive site work on the grounds. Once complete, the campus will be ADA accessible for the first time in its nearly 200-year history, and will become an important economic anchor in a neighborhood that has suffered from generations of disinvestment.
(L-R) AFRO Publisher & CEO Dr. Frances "Toni" Draper, Upton Planning Committee board chair, Darroll Cribb, Afro Charities Executive Director, Savannah Wood, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Senator Ben Cardin, and Senator Chris Van Hollen.
The redeveloped property will include offices for Afro Charities, the AFRO American Newspapers (our anchor tenant), and other third-party tenants; state of the art archival storage; a research room; archival processing and digitization labs; a new gallery; and beautiful grounds, designed for indoor/outdoor events.
Savannah Wood sits on the steps of the Upton Mansion. Photograph by Schaun Champion.
Howard Tutman, III, Baltimore City Neighborhood Development Officer at the Upton Mansion. Photograph by Schaun Champion.
Rear-of-building renderings courtesy of Ziger|Snead Architects
This project would not be possible without the major support of our local, state and federal governments, private foundations, charitable businesses, and several individual donors. Thank you to our Upton Mansion supporters for your generous contributions to making this project a reality.
Front-of-building rendering courtesy of Ziger|Snead Architects
Front-of-building rendering courtesy of Ziger|Snead Architects
Building rendering courtesy of Ziger|Snead Architects
Afro Charities is working with Ziger|Snead as architects and Cross Street Partners as development consultants to redevelop the Upton Mansion into the permanent home and research center for the AFRO Archives.
The project is funded through a mix of local, state and federal grants, support from private foundations, donations from charitable individuals and businesses, New Market Tax Credits, State Historic Tax Credits and Federal Historic Tax Credits.
We are seeking donors to help us close our remaining $1.5M redevelopment gap, and to contribute to an $11M endowment to ensure the sustainability of this project well into the future.
Special thanks to our GROUNDBREAKERS — founding donors who committed nearly $200k to the project by December 31, 2023.
Baltimore DHCD event, awarding Afro Charities, Inc. the right to redevelop the Upton Mansion
Carolyn Green, advertising representative helps a customer with an ad at the AFRO's headquarters at 628 N. Eutaw Street
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Mrs. Mercedes Douglass, directs the Baltimore Institute of Music Choir at the March of Dimes Campaign
We invite you to personally experience the rich collection of the AFRO Archives!
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Faculty of the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts
Savannah Wood sits on the steps of the Upton Mansion. Photograph by Schaun Champion.
Check out our Frequently Asked Questions page on the Upton Mansion.
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Dr. J. Leslie Jones, President of the Baltimore Institute of Musical Arts
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