From 1946 to 1988, the Sphinx Club at 2107 Pennsylvania Avenue, was the premier club along the “Avenue." An elite, members-only club created by Charles Tilghman, the Sphinx attracted judges, doctors, business owners, and others into an interconnected network that positively shaped Baltimore. Its motto was “Where Friends Meets, Strangers Greet.”
Charles Tilghman, the Sphinx’s owner, created an advisory board to develop the membership club concept under the chairmanship of Dr. Furman Templeton, the long-time head of the Baltimore Urban League.
The Sphinx's first Mardi Gras in 1948 firmly established it as black Baltimore's premier social club. The members enjoyed swanky formal dances, photography shows, charitable affairs, and cocktail parties. Mr. Tilghman also created clubs within the Sphinx clubs, ranging from women’s groups to sports groups. The Sphinx would even organize special trains for out-of-town football games.
In the evenings, members could rub elbows with Baltimore’s and the nation’s leaders, such as Clarence “Du” Burns, Baltimore’s first black Mayor, Maryland’s first black Congressman Perren Mitchell and A. Philip Randolph, a civil rights leader and long-time president of the National Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters. The members leveraged these evenings at the Sphinx Club to hammer out citywide policies, create and strengthen business deals, and start profitable partnerships for the betterment of Baltimore and the nation.
While the Sphinx Club was noted for its great entertainers such as Redd Foxx, Sam Cooke and Gloria Lynn, Mr. Tilghman expanded the club’s cultural impact by exhibiting local artists’ work in front of wealthy patrons to help launch the careers of Baltimore-based artists. During the day, Mr. Tilghman allowed the club’s space to be used by groups and organizations for organizing voter registration drives, dismantling segregation, and launching civil rights initiatives. Showcasing the Sphinx’s Club’s reputation as a safe space, the Sphinx Club was listed in the 1956 edition of the “Green Book.” The club was also connected to the national “Chitterling Circuit” which provided safe havens for African American performers traveling to entertain throughout the Jim Crow and Civil Rights era.
Now operated by Druid Heights Community Development Corporation, the Sphinx Club is again in the middle of a West Baltimore Renaissance with successful initiatives along the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor. This planned renovation of this historical treasure will match the community association’s current work with building 23 newly constructed townhomes at nearby Baker’s View for first-time homebuyers. Druid Heights Community Development Corporation led the effort for the façade improvement of businesses in the 2400 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, the renovation of the Arch Social Club, and is currently developing historic three-story, historic rowhomes on the east side of the 2200 block of Druid Hill Avenue.
Here on this spot, we see the rich history of Druid Heights. But we can also see its vibrant future.
