Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/memories-of-the-baltimore-womans-industrial-exchange-tickets-796896427667?aff=oddtdtcreator
The Baltimore Woman’s Industrial Exchange (WIE) dates back to the days following the Civil War. Created by women of some of the city’s leading families, the Exchange became a place where women could sell items to help their families make ends meet. It eventually transformed from a few ladies selling items in Mrs. J. Harmon Brown’s parlor to a separate building at 333 N. Charles Street where generations of Baltimoreans purchased handmade items and lunched on delicacies such as chicken salad and tomato aspic. Although this institution shuttered its doors in 2020, the building lives on as a Baltimore landmark.
The Maryland Women’s Heritage Center, current tenant of the WIE building, is documenting the history and stories of the Women’s Industrial Exchange (WIE). This project includes cataloging artifacts left behind in the building, collecting oral histories of people who have memories of the Exchange, and crowdsourcing artifacts that may still be in personal collections.
Join Dr. Amy Rosenkrans, project lead, in a discussion of the history of the WIE and this intriguing project. Participants will be encouraged to share their memories of this Baltimore icon.