Baltimore's heritage lacks bite

The International Herald Tribune reports that the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum risks closure, in part because the funding it receives from the city of Baltimore is being cut. Its problem, it seems, is that "the museum sits amid a blighted housing project, far from the city's tourist center, and attracts only 5,000 visitors a year" (Taylor 2011a). How extremely short-sighted of Poe to have chosen to live off the tourist map! Let's dismantle the building brick-by-brick and move it to a more salubrious location... But wait a minute: surely the fact that it is in a deprived area ought to mean that it gets more not less help? A "blighted" neighbourhood is hardly likely to be awash with heritage attractions, is it? How many local people actually visit the house? Does the organisation that manages the property collaborate with local schools and community organisations? Isn't the existence of the museum a brilliant opportunity to get the residents of a supposed "blighted housing project" interested in literature? Children - and boys in particular - would surely find a grisly appeal in a short story such as "Berenice". It was written around the time that Poe lived at 203 North Amity Street and tells the tale of a man who digs up his cousin's not-quite-dead body in order to extract her teeth. It is a pity that Baltimore's public officials don't show the same sort of zeal when it comes to extracting benefits from the city's heritage.

Sources
Taylor, Kate (2011a) "The fall of the house of Poe: A museum faces closure", International Herald Tribune (Global Edition), 09/08, p. 2
Taylor, Kate (2011b) "Fiscal Woe Haunting Baltimore Poe House", The New York Times, 07/08, accessed 09/08/2011 at, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/arts/edgar-allan-poe-house-in-baltimore-faces-closing.html