Historic Howard House (aka Shriver House) c.1893 is a superb historic estate in the Sudbrook Park Historic District of Pikesville Maryland, just minutes to downtown Baltimore. Beautifully restored and renovated, this 7 bedroom (2 ensuite) & 4 bathroom home features gorgeous wood floors, 2 staircases, a spacious gourmet kitchen with DCS gas range, granite counters & center island, luxurious bathrooms, 2 fireplaces with wood mantels and an enormous amount of charm. Nestled in a cozy historic neighborhood of late nineteenth and early 20th century summer homes for Baltimore professionals of the period, Sudbrook Park was the first American planned community and with the eventual modernized transportation and improved roads, the development blossomed into an affluent enclave of Baltimore commuters. William Howard was raised in this home in the early 20th century and in the 1960’s & 1970’s lived here with his famous Hollywood wife, Dorothy Lamour. Maryland Historical Trust informs us that “…during the the Pimilco races, Bob Hope & Bing Crosby would drop by for a visit.” Howard House has been enriched by its stewards and it can thank the current ones for the gourmet kitchen, luxurious bathrooms, the acquisition of an additional 1+ acres and much more.
The large wrap around porch is ideal for relaxing and viewing the estate’s private wooded acre and nature trails, and the brick patio with large stone barbecue is perfect for summer cookouts. A small pond with waterfall accents a meditation walkway and the expansive fenced yard includes a 2 story carriage house (c.1910), suitable for 2 cars, a work shop and plenty of second floor storage.
There are 3 adjoining lots in this sale and they make up one large nicely landscaped corner lot. A unique blend of luxury and comfort, Howard House is a stunning tribute to a by-gone era and an estate of rare and beautiful distinction, close to Baltimore and DC, yet a world away.
1st Floor
Entry Hall – Wood floor, staircase, custom wood paneling, closet, 2 wall sconces, 2 windows.
Living Room 34′ x 14′ – Wood floor, fireplace with ornate wood mantel, hanging lamp with medallion, built-in cabinets, chair rail, crown molding, door to covered porch, 7 windows.
Dining Room 20′ x 16′ – Wood floor, fireplace with wood mantel, chandelier with medallion, crown molding, 2 built-in cabinets, window seat, chair rail, 3 windows.
Kitchen 24′ x 21′ – Wood floor, custom cabinets, granite counters, ceramic tile back splash, stainless steel appliances, DCS gas range, double sink, granite center island with breakfast bar, built-in vintage cabinets, 3 hanging lamps, door to Sun Room, 5 windows.
Sun Room 9′ x 8′ – Painted wood floor, ceiling fan, exposed exterior siding wall, door to porch.
Servery 12′ x 8′ – Wood floor, built-in cabinets, granite counter, stainless steel refrigerator, 2 windows (potential apartment or in-law suite).
Bathroom 12′ x 8′ – Ceramic tile floor, marble counter, claw foot bathtub, built-in cabinets, wainscot, hanging lamp, 2 windows.
Hallway/Mud Room – Wood floor, door to patio.
2nd Floor
Landing/Hallway – Wood floor, custom wood paneling on stairway.
Bedroom 1 13′ x 9′ – Wood floor, built-in bookcase, closet, 1 window.
Primary Bedroom Suite 17′ x 14′ – Wood floor, transom, ceiling fan, closet, pass door to Bedroom 1, door to private porch, 3 windows.
+Bathroom 9′ x 6′ – Ceramic tile floor, wainscot, claw foot bathtub, built-in cabinet, 1 window.
+Private Porch 9′ x 9′ – Vinyl floor, ceiling fan, screened.
Bedroom 3 17′ x 14′ – Wood floor, ceiling fan, 2 closets, transom, built-in bookcases, 2 windows.
Bedroom 4 Suite 16′ x 15′ – Wood floor, ceiling fan, 2 closets, 2 windows.
+Bathroom 9′ x 6′ – Ceramic tile floor, granite counter, glass shower, 1 window.
Bedroom 5 18′ x 16′ – Wood floor, transom, ceiling fan, chair rail, wood mantel, closet, 3 windows.
Hallway – Wood floor, 2 closets.
Hallway to Back Staircase – Wood floor, back stairway to 1st floor, door to attic, door to Bedroom 6, 1 window.
Laundry 9′ x 6′ – Vinyl floor, wainscot, sink, 2 closets.
Hall Bathroom 9′ x 5′ – Ceramic tile floor, glass shower, wainscot, 1 window.
Bedroom 6 19′ x 13′ – Wood floor, ceiling fan, 2 wall sconces, 3 closets, 2 windows.
Bedroom 7 17′ x 14′ – Wood floor, 2 wall sconces, 3 closets, 3 windows.
Attic
Unfinished – 77′ x 21′
Basement
Improved Cellar – 55′ x 28′
Outbuildings
Carriage House/Garage (2 story)
Ground floor – Concrete floor, garage area with spaces for 2 cars, separate workshop, stairway to second floor, 7 windows.
Second floor – Wood floor, exposed beam ceiling, 6 windows.
Additional Exterior Features
3 Deed Lots included – totaling 3.025 Acres
Recent Upgrades & Improvements
The Shriver House (aka Howard House) at 607 Sudbrook Road is located in Sudbrook Park in Pikesville in the Third District of Baltimore County. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, Sudbrook Park Historic District is significant as a small community designed and planned by Frederick Law Olmstead. George M. Shriver, a B&O Railroad attorney, was the original occupant of the house. Soon after the turn of the century the Howard family purchased the property and are responsible for the extensive additions built onto the rear of the dwelling. Bill Howard grew up in this house and later married well known movie actress Dorothy Lamour who would stay with her in-laws in Sudbrook Park during the Pimlico races. During the races other notorious persons, such as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, would drop by for a visit.
This Shingle-style dwelling, built 1893, is sited on a level grassy lot with a paved driveway among foundation plantings and mature trees and shrubs. The two-and-a-half story, three-bay dwelling has a random rubble foundation with raised mortar supporting a wood frame structural system clad with aluminum siding. The off-center entry has a one-leaf wood door with a one-light transom. The first story also features a bay window and a cut-away corner. The inset wrap-around front porch is set on brick piers and features wood Tuscan columns and square cut balusters. The first- and second-story have wood sash windows with 1/1-lights set in thin square surrounds with square sills. The second story features an oriel window with a 1/1-light sash window set between two fixed lights, and a tripartite window with one-light casements flanking a 1/1-light arched window. A two-story side porch is screened on the second story. The house has a gambrel roof covered with asphalt shingles and one interior brick chimney which has a corbeled cap and a hood. Associated with the property is one historic carriage house. (Maryland Historical Trust)
more…
excerpt from Way Back When in Sudbrook Park by Beryl Frank, 1997
“This house will always be known as the Howard House. The Howards lived here fifty-one years,” said the present owner, “and we have lived here for thirty-six years.” Interestingly enough, while many residents of Sudbrook Park do indeed refer to 607 Sudbrook Road as the Howard House, it was not William R. Howard who built it.
In 1892, George M. Shriver purchased 1.5 acres of land upon which he built the large house which is there today. The house, completed in 1893, was one of the earliest homes in the area known as Sudbrook Park. Whether it was originally built as a summer home for the Shriver family or for year-round living is not known. What we do know is that William Ross Howard bought and improved both the house and the lot by adding enough parcels of land to put the house on two acres.
According to the records of Sr. Mark’s-on-the-Hill, William Ross Howard and Louisa M. Thomson were married there on November 15, 1902. Miss Thomson, known as Lulu, was the daughter of Mrs . .]. S. Thomson who ran the Sudbrook Park Hotel. The wedding notice from the church mentioned only that the bride was living in Sudbrook Park and did not indicate where in the Park she lived.
By 1907 the Howard family included three young children: Charles Ridgely, William Ross Jr.,and Louisa Margaretta. About 1907 the Howards did extensive remodeling. They added the large fireplace to the living room and made this room into a place for entertaining many well-known people.
Bill Howard, the second Howard son, married the well known movie actress Dorothy Lamour. So it was that such famous movie personages as Bob Hope and Bing Crosby were entertained at 607 Sudbrook Road when they came to the horse races at Pimlico. The house is set today on three acres of ground with tall trees surrounding it. It has a mansard roof with dormer windows and originally had wooden steps leading up to gracious porches. The frame was painted white and the trim was green. Shutters framed the many windows. Indeed, it was sometimes called a house of windows as there are about forty-five in all.
When you walk into the entry hall, the first thing you see is the dark mahogany stained oak paneling. The doors were also made of oak to match the paneling and they stand seven feet tall – large doorways in good proportion to the ten foot ceilings. At one time, there were sliding doors to the front and back parlors.
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This Shingle-style dwelling, built 1893, is sited on a level grassy lot with a paved driveway among foundation plantings and mature trees and shrubs. The two-and-a-half story, three-bay dwelling has a random rubble foundation with raised mortar supporting a wood frame structural system clad with aluminum siding. The off-center entry has a one-leaf wood door with a one-light transom. The first story also features a bay window and a cut-away corner. The inset wrap-around front porch is set on brick piers and features wood Tuscan columns and square cut balusters. The first and second-story have wood sash windows with 1/1-lights set in thin square surrounds with square sills. The second-story features an oriel window with a 1/1-light sash window set between two fixed lights, and a tripartite window with one-light casements flanking a 1/1-light arched window. A two-story side porch is screened on the second story. The house has a gambrel roof covered with asphalt shingles and one interior brick chimney which has a corbeled cap and a hood.
Associated with the property is one historic carriage house. The one-and-a-half-story, three-bay carriage house, circa 1910, has a concrete block foundation and a wood frame structural system clad with wood German weatherboard. The building features wood sash windows with 2/2-lights on the first story and in the side shed dormers. The building has a gambrel roof and a skirt roof both clad with asphalt shingles. (Maryland Historical Trust)
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December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996
An American actress and singer
On April 7, 1943, Dorothy Lamour married former Air Force Captain and advertising executive William Ross Howard III in Beverly Hills. The couple had two sons: John Ridgely and Richard Thomson Howard.In the 1960s and 1970s, Lamour and Howard lived in the Baltimore suburb of Sudbrook Park.
Lamour starred in a number of movie musicals and sang in many of her comedies and dramatic films as well. She introduced a number of standards, including “The Moon of Manakoora”, “I Remember You”, “It Could Happen to You”, “Personality”, and “But Beautiful.”
The Road To Bali would prove to be the swan song of Lamour’s film career. Afterwards, she began a new life as a nightclub entertainer and a stage actress. In the 1960s, she returned to the screen for secondary roles in three films, including John Ford’s “Donovan’s Reef” with John Wayne and Lee Marvin, and became more active in live theater, headlining a road company of “Hello Dolly!” for over a year near the end of the decade.
Frederick Law Olmsted, Sr., the founder of landscape architecture in America, designed Sudbrook in 1889. His roads of continuous curvature were a graceful work of art compared to the rectangular grid pattern that predominated at that time.
In the 1850s, prominent Baltimorean James Howard McHenry (1820-1888), grandson of the famous statesman James McHenry and the Revolutionary War hero Col. John Eager Howard, purchased over 850 acres of land in Pikesville and named his estate “Sudbrook.” At that time, the only way to travel the eight miles into Baltimore City was by horse and carriage over bumpy dirt roads, a problem McHenry eventually solved by securing train service through his property in the 1870s. With transportation in place, McHenry actively sought to develop his Sudbrook estate as a “suburban village,” a concept in its earliest infancy…….
Sudbrook Park opened in the spring of 1890 with its entranceway bridge, a train station, a hotel, and nine sample “cottages.” Summering spring through fall in Sudbrook was highly popular with Baltimore’s social set from the community’s inception. The Park offered its occupants the advantages of a high elevation in a picturesque wooded section far from the heat and annoyances of the city and in close proximity to the Western Maryland Railroad, which ran several trains a day. But the sale of property for year-round residences (as intended by Olmsted and The Sudbrook Company) was a hard sell; most Baltimoreans could not be convinced to live year-round so far from the city. Property sales languished. Blackford’s death in 1908 was a severe loss and by 1910, The Sudbrook Company withdrew from active management. Residents formed The Sudbrook Park Improvement Association after Blackford’s death to provide some direction. By 1930 there were about 50 homes in Sudbrook Park.
Sudbrook Park grew to over 500 homes during the second wave of suburbanization, from 1939 to the early 1950s, when hundreds of brick Neo-Colonial and Cape Cod homes were built to accommodate Baltimoreans with automobiles. The new developers retained much of the Olmsted ambiance-preserving the community’s mature trees, curving roads and deep setbacks so that the newer homes blended well. Old and new residents alike made trees and open space preservation a paramount goal….
Sudbrookpark.org for more history
The Howard Estate boasts a number of notable Baltimore County trees and in 2014 they were officially recognized by Maryland Department of Resources.
Maryland Historical Trust – BA-3041 – Howard House (Shriver House)
Maryland Historical Trust – BA-159 – Sudbrook Park Historic District
Sudbrook Park – SudbrookPark.org website
Howard House – “Way Back When in Sudbrook Park” by Beryl Frank, 1997 (excerpt)
News Clipping – Dorothy Lamour and Howard House, Baltimore Magazine 1984
News Clipping – Dorothy Lamour and Howard House
Dorothy Lamour – Wikipedia
Books
Way Back When in Sudbrook Park by Beryl Frank, 1997, Sudbrook Park, Inc.
Olmsted’s Sudbrook, The Making of a Community by Melanie D. Anson, 1997, Sudbrook Park, Inc.
This information is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.
Updated on May 10, 2023 at 6:55 am
Historic Howard House c.1893 - 607 Sudbrook Road Pikesville, Maryland 21208 United States
