Chesapeake Shakespeare Theater
7 S Calvert St, Baltimore, MD 21202 (Downtown)
Information
Designed by the architectural firm Wyatt & Sperry, the Mercantile Trust & Deposit Company building was built in 1885. The building was designed as a bank but was converted into a theater by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in 2014. The company’s mission is to offer performances that “blow the dust off of Shakespeare and delight.” The building where these vibrant performances take place is recognizable for its detailed masonry and Romanesque-style architecture—deep-set windows, squat columns with foliated capitals, steeply-pitched roofs, and straight-topped window groups. When the Mercantile Trust & Deposit Company opened back in 1886, the building was praised for its fire-and-burglar-proof vaults. There was also a separate vault in the building for women to have privacy when managing their deposits. The bank pioneered the concept of trust management and went on to shape major industries in Baltimore and beyond.
- Accessibility: Fully Accessible
- Parking: Street
- Photography: Permitted
Photo Credit:
CSC Interior – Alan Gilbert
CSC Exterior – Brandon W Vernon
CSC Curtain Call – Jean Thompson
