H. L. Mencken House

H. L. Mencken House. Home of one of America's most influential writers. , This house is a landmark in the history of American literature. Henry Louis Mencken, born in 1880, moved here with his parents in 1883. This was his beloved childhood home, and the place where he did most of his writing., Shortly after Henry graduated from high school at the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, he started working as a reporter for The Baltimore Morning Herald and later gained national frame as an outspoken writer for The Baltimore Sunpapers., For a half century his typewriter upstairs churned out words that drew the attention of millions of readers in the U.S. and abroad. In the 1920s Mencken's influence as an articulate social critic led The New York Times to call him "the most powerful private citizen in America.", Henry authored more than 40 books, including The American Language, a thorough study of the English language as used by Americans from all walks of life , a reference book still valued by linguists today., On January 29, 1956, Mencken died here in his third-floor bedroom at the age of 75., Mencken's Writing Careers

. Newspaper reporter and writer , . Columnist , . Social commentator , . Performing arts critic , . Magazine editor , . Author , . Literary critic and linguist , . Mentor to aspiring writers , . Iconoclast, "…there is always an easy solution to every human problem , neat, plausible, and wrong." , - H.L. Mencken, "I have lived in one house in Baltimore for nearly forty-five years. … It's as much a part of me as my two hands." , - H.L. Mencken, 1927

, Tour the Mencken House Museum , The City of Baltimore and the Society to Preserve H.L. Mencken's Legacy have restored the Mencken House and establishing a museum for Baltimore residents and visitors. For information on tours go to: menckenhouse.org, [Captions:] , Mencken on his front steps (just to your right) in 1928. A few years earlier he had gained notoriety as a lead reporter at the famous Scopes "Monkey Trial" in Tennessee., You can see Mencken's original furnishings throughout the house today. Here in the rear parlor Henry relaxed after long hours at the typewriter. He also entertained friends here including American writers Theodore Dreiser and F. Scott Fitzgerald. …