Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Bel Air (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Hays House, Tudor Hall, and Odd Fellows Lodge. Also, be sure to include Liriodendron in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Bel Air (Maryland).
Table of Contents
Hays House
Museum in Bel Air, Maryland. The Hays House is a historic home located at 324 South Kenmore Avenue, Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a frame 1+1⁄2-story house with a gambrel roof, likely built in 1788 with an addition in 1811. The house was moved in 1960, and stands on a modern concrete-block foundation. The Hays House is owned by The Historical Society of Harford County and today the Hays House Museum offers visitors a glimpse into the life of an affluent family in late 18th century Bel Air.
The Hays House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[1]
Address: 324 Kenmore Ave, 21014-4156 Bel Air
Tudor Hall
Museum in the Bel Air North, Maryland. Tudor Hall is a historic home located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a 1+1⁄2-story Gothic Revival cottage built of painted brick. The house was built as a country retreat by Junius Brutus Booth from Plates 44 and 45, Design XVII, of The Architect, by William H. Ranlett, 1847. However, Booth never lived in Tudor Hall, because he died before it was completed. His son Edwin Booth lived there only briefly on his return from California before he moved the family back into Baltimore. But his other son, John Wilkes Booth, lived there with his mother, brother Joseph, and two sisters from December 1852 through most of 1856.
After the family moved out, they rented the home to the King family and later sold it to Sam Kyle and Ella Mahoney. She lived in Tudor Hall for 70 years and opened a museum. After her death the house passed through a succession of owners, including the Worthington family, who owned the Aegis newspaper. Finally the house was sold to the Foxes, who reopened Mahoney's museum.
Tudor Hall was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. A modification to its listing, to decrease its boundaries, was registered in 1982. After the Preservation Association of Tudor Hall (PATH) collapsed, Tudor Hall was sold to the Bakers and later to Harford County, who are now in possession of the historic home.
The house is currently the home of the Junius B. Booth Society, a group of volunteers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the historic home. Tudor Hall is open for tours on select Sundays from April until November and during special events hosted by the Society.[2]
Address: 17 Tudor Ln, 21015-4807 Bel Air
Odd Fellows Lodge
Building in Bel Air, Maryland. Odd Fellows Lodge, also known as Old First Presbyterian Church, is a historic building in Bel Air, Maryland, United States. It was built in 1852, and is a one-story, temple-form, Greek Revival style brick building above a high basement. The front facade features a projecting portico supported by four Doric order columns. It was originally built for the First Presbyterian Church, who moved to a new church in 1881 and leased it to the Odd Fellows Lodge.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[3]
Liriodendron
Liriodendron is a historic home and estate located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It was the summer home of Laetitia and Dr Howard Kelly, a successful surgeon and founding member of the Johns Hopkins Medical College, and comprises the mansion named Liriodendron; the Graybeal-Kelly House; a c. 1835 bank barn; a c. 1898 carriage house; a c. 1850 board-and-batten cottage; and five other outbuildings including a corn crib, a smokehouse, two ice houses, and a shed. The 2+1⁄2-story, stuccoed brick mansion was designed by the Baltimore architectural firm of Wyatt and Nolting in the Georgian Revival style and constructed about 1898. The 2+1⁄2-story Georgian-style Graybeal-Kelly House, built about 1835, was the manor house for the farm until the mansion was constructed. It is used as a wedding, conference, and arts facility.
Liriodendron was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[4]
Bel Air Armory
Armory in Bel Air, Maryland. Bel Air Armory is a historic National Guard armory located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland. It was constructed in 1915 of Port Deposit granite. The building consists of the main block, five bays by three, two stories over a raised basement, and the "drill hall" to the rear of the main block. The front elevation is detailed to recall Medieval fortifications and features two projecting hexagonal towers which rise to three stories and are topped by crenelated battlements finished in stone coping.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.[5]
Address: 37 N Main St, 21014 Bel Air
Dibb House
Historical landmark in the Bel Air South, Maryland. The Dibb House is a historic home located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a 2+1⁄2-story frame house with a gable roof and a central projecting bay with cross gable. In Victorian style, it features a myriad of porches, oriels, and bay and dormer windows. Also on the property are a shed, a barn, and an outhouse.
The Dibb House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[6]
Graham-Crocker House
Historical landmark in Bel Air, Maryland. The Graham-Crocker House is a historic home located at 30 North Main Street, Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a 2+1⁄2-story frame dwelling with a shed addition to the south and an ell to the west, and dating to about 1825.
The Graham-Crocker House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.[7]
Proctor House
Historical landmark in Bel Air, Maryland. Proctor House, also known as the Cassandra Gilbert House, is an historic home located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a two-story detached Carpenter Gothic style cottage with board and batten siding, constructed between 1860 and 1873 and enlarged about 1884. The interior features an arched slate mantel painted to resemble several colors of inlaid marble.
Proctor House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[8]
Hays-Heighe House
Historical landmark in Harford County, Maryland. The Hays-Heighe House is a historic home located on the campus of Harford Community College near Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It is a five bay long, two bay deep stone house with a gable roof and massive brick chimneys on each gable, built in 1808. On the east is a five bay long, two-story stone wing. Its initial owner, Thomas A. Hays, was one of the founders of the town of Bel Air.
The Hays-Heighe House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[9]
Address: 401 Thomas Run Road, Bel Air
The Vineyard
Home in Harford County, Maryland. The Vineyard is a historic home and farm complex located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. It consists of a cluster of buildings on a knoll in the center of a 310-acre working grain and livestock farm. The main house is a large stone structure, the oldest section of which comprises a two-story side stairhall / double parlor dwelling built about 1804. Two bays were added to the old house around 1870. Historically significant outbuildings, include two structures (a dairy/smokehouse, and an ice house.
The Vineyard was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.[10]
Mount Adams
Historical landmark in Harford County, Maryland. Mount Adams, also known as The Mount, is a historic home and farm complex located at Bel Air, Harford County, Maryland, United States. The complex consists of a 114-acre working farm, originally part of Broom's Bloom, centered on a large, multi-sectioned, 2+1⁄2-story frame house built in 1817 in the Federal style. The house has an 1850, 2+1⁄2-story cross-gabled addition, connected, but an independent unit from the main house, and slightly taller in the Greek Revival style. The property include a stone bank barn, a stone-and-stucco dairy, a stone-and-stucco privy, all dating from the early 19th century, as well as a family cemetery. Its builder was Captain John Adams Webster.
Mount Adams was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.[11]