For Immediate Release Contact: Paula Hankins, Carroll Museums, Inc. 410.605.2964 [email protected] CARROLL MUSEUMS TO HOST HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE AT THE CARROLL MANSION SATURDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2005 Kick off the holiday season at the historic Baltimore home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton with decorations, music, crafts for kids and refreshments. Baltimore, MD… Carroll Museums, Inc. will hold its Holiday Open House at Carroll Mansion, 800 East Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, on Saturday, December 3rd from 10am to 4pm. Volunteers from the Mt. Washington Garden Club have decorated the Mansion’s rooms and hall with fresh holiday arrangements and a Christmas tree. “The Apollos” of Friends Middle School will present a choral concert at 2pm. There will be crafts for kids and cookies and hot cider for all! Admission is one dollar per person. Proceeds will support Carroll Museums and the Apollos Choir. Metered parking is available along S. Front Street. There is paid parking across from the Carroll Mansion at President and Lombard Streets as well as at the corner of President and Pratt Streets. About Carroll Museums, Inc. Carroll Museums, Inc., a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, was founded in 2002 to restore and revitalize the Carroll Mansion and the Phoenix Shot Tower, two beloved Baltimore landmarks. The Carroll Mansion (ca.1811) is named for its most prestigious inhabitant, Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living and only Roman Catholic signer of the Declaration of Independence. It is also one of the finest examples of a Federal-era merchant’s townhouse still standing in Baltimore. In its long history it has housed a saloon, immigrant tenement apartments, a sweatshop, a school, and a recreation center – continually adapting while retaining its historic legacy. The Phoenix Shot Tower was once the tallest building in the United States, and at 215’9” it is still the tallest shot tower ever built in this country. Charles Carroll of Carrollton laid the tower’s cornerstone in 1828. A fire in 1878 gutted the interior but failed to topple the brickwork, and the tower remains to this day one of Baltimore’s most prized and recognizable buildings. The Carroll Mansion and Phoenix Shot Tower are historically significant at the city, state, and national levels. They are also key components of their historic Jonestown neighborhood and have the potential to play a pivotal role in the future of the area and the quality of community life. Carroll Museums recognizes this potential and has formulated a strategic plan that 1) honors and preserves the sites’ heritage 2) seeks innovative ways to interpret their past and 3) makes them active participants in their modern community. ### .