Pascault Row, Baltimore

Pascault Row is a national historic district located in Baltimore and is a stunning example of the city's early-19th-century townhouses. Built in 1819 by wealthy French merchant Louis Pascault, the row consists of eight 31⁄2-story dwellings that illustrate the transition between the Federal and early Greek Revival periods. The row was designed by William F. Small, who was employed in the architectural office of Benjamin Henry Latrobe at that time.

Louis Pascault was born in France and later moved to the French colony of Saint-Domingue (now known as Haiti). In 1791, Pascault fled the island due to the slave revolt and settled in Baltimore. He became a wealthy merchant, and after the city expanded in 1816, he commissioned Small to design this elegant row of Federal style houses adjacent to his estate. The row soon became a prestigious address, attracting some of Baltimore's wealthiest families.

One notable resident of Pascault Row was Columbus O'Donnell, who was president of Baltimore's Gas and Light Company in the mid-nineteenth century and a director of the B & O Railroad. O'Donnell's wife, Eleanor, was Pascault's daughter, and his mother, Sarah Chew Elliott O'Donnell, also lived in the row during the early 1820s. John O'Donnell, Columbus' father, was a wealthy merchant and politician who had a significant impact on Baltimore's international trade and after whom Baltimore's O'Donnell Square is named.

By the 1970s, Pascault Row had fallen into disrepair. However, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, purchased the row in 1978 and used funds procured under the College Housing Loan Program to renovate the historic buildings, transforming them into offices and student housing. In 1973, the row was added to the National Register of Historic Places, preserving this piece of Baltimore's history for future generations.