# If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk: A History of an American House

**Source**: https://museums.jhu.edu/exhibitions/current/if-homewoods-walls-could-talk/
**Parent**: https://museums.jhu.edu/exhibitions/current/

In this section

## [Exhibitions](https://museums.jhu.edu/?post_type=page&p=2329)

- [Rare Air: Endangered Birds, Bats, Butterflies, & Bees](https://museums.jhu.edu/exhibitions/current/rare-air/)

Interior View of Homewood House, undated, Special Collections, Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries.

October 21, 2025 – January 10, 2027

[Homewood Museum](https://museums.jhu.edu/homewood-museum/visitor-info/)\
*On view with regular admission, Free-$12*

In conjunction with the 250th anniversary of the United States and the [150th anniversary of Johns Hopkins University](https://150.jhu.edu/), this house-wide exhibition explores Homewood’s 224-year history, from its 1801 construction for the family of Declaration of Independence signer and enslaver Charles Carroll of Carrollton, through its 1902 acquisition by Johns Hopkins University, to its 1980s restoration and launch as a historic house museum. Using archival photography, textiles, student diaries, historic documents, furniture, oral histories, and more, the exhibition amplifies the voices of those who lived, worked, or learned at Homewood, allowing visitors to understand how individual histories contribute to a larger story of the house, the university, and the United States. Read more [here](https://blogs.library.jhu.edu/2025/10/new-exhibition-at-homewood-museum-tells-houses-224-year-history/).

*The exhibition and related programming are made possible, in part, by the Johns Hopkins University Sesquicentennial Celebration, with additional support from John Guess, A&S ’71, SAIS ’76 (MA); Hopkins Retrospective; and the Program in Museums & Society at the Krieger School of Arts & Sciences.*

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## Upcoming Programming

### Retrospectives: Curators Share the History of Homewood and Hopkins

**Thursday, February 26, 6-8 P.M. | FREE**

Join Hopkins Retrospective for a panel discussion on the creativity and historical research behind *If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk* and *Dreams of Scholarship: 150 Years of Discovery* with exhibition curators Michelle Fitzgerald and Margaret Burri, students who participated in research for the exhibition, and other guest panelists. Following the panel, visitors may explore the Homewood exhibition and enjoy refreshments.

Space is limited; registration will open soon.

### 

### Decision Points at Homewood House

**Thursday, March 5, 5-6 P.M. | $5-7**

From 1936 to 1971, five presidents of Johns Hopkins and other top administrators had their offices at Homewood House, as it was then known. There, they made impactful and often surprising decisions, setting Hopkins on a distinctive course as higher education underwent fundamental changes. [Andrew Jewett](https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/authors/andrew-jewett?srsltid=AfmBOorPE3RTJL9POO5tg46S1Fhlya71R5wx8kCGGlHm8L2B4FjlnydO), a teaching professor at Johns Hopkins University and co-author of the forthcoming book [*Johns Hopkins: The First 150 Years*](https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53690/johns-hopkins), will trace those fraught decades and the decisions made in Homewood that still reverberate today.

**[Advance registration required](http://homewood-museum.vbotickets.com/event/decision_points_at_homewood_house/184396).**

### 

### The Power of Song

**Thursday, April 16, 6-7 P.M. | FREE**

Inspired by themes of protest and resistance in *If Homewood’s Wall Could Talk*, this program will showcase the songs that soundtracked the student movements of the late 1960s and ’70s. Gather outside at Homewood to hear songs performed by soprano Teresa Ferrara and readings of student and faculty oral histories. Lyrics will be made available to facilitate singalongs.

**[Advance registration required](http://homewood-museum.vbotickets.com/event/the_power_of_song/184390).**

---

## Past Programming

### Lunch with the Libraries & Museums: The Curatorial Mind

**Thursday, September 18, 12-1 P.M. | FREE**

Join Hopkins Museums Advisory Board Chair Beth Felder and her daughter, Grace, assistant manager of the American Family Immigration History Center at the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island, for a special virtual tour of Homewood Museum led by Curator of Collections Michelle Fitzgerald. As the United States prepares to turn 250 years old and Johns Hopkins University celebrates its 150th anniversary, Ms. Fitzgerald will discuss her forthcoming exhibition marking these milestones, If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk: A History of An American House. Opening October 21, 2025 and running through January 10, 2027, the exhibition will reflect on what has changed over the course of Homewood’s history and how the stories of one house connect to larger narratives about the university and nation. Viewers will also gain insight into Ms. Fitzgerald’s approach to exhibition development and her curatorial process. A live Q&A will follow the pre-recorded broadcast.

[Watch the recording](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnR_OvcEZr0&t=3s)

### Exhibition Opening & Panel Discussion

**Thursday, November 6-8 P.M. | FREE**

Homewood celebrated the opening of *If Homewood’s Walls Could Talk: A History of an American House* with a panel discussion featuring JHU Museums Director Lori Finkelstein, JHU Museums Curator of Collections Michelle Fitzgerald, Hopkins Museums Advisory Board Member John Guess, former student curator Hadeed Habib, and JHU Theatre Arts & Studies lecturer Molly Moores. Following the panel, visitors explored the exhibit and enjoyed refreshments.

[View Images from the Event](https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCAusN)

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