Formerly: Al and Ann's
Baltimore, Maryland · Founded 1775
A Fell's Point saloon in a tavern site traced to 1775, best known for the unproven legend that Edgar Allan Poe had his last drink there.
The Horse You Came In On Saloon occupies 1626 Thames Street in Baltimore's Fell's Point, where preservation and local-history sources trace a predecessor tavern or bar to 1775. Howard Gerber bought the establishment, then called Al and Ann's, and gave it its current name in 1972. The bar's famous Edgar Allan Poe connection is local legend, not an established fact.
Preservation and Maryland-history sources date a predecessor tavern or bar at 1626 Thames Street to 1775.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Baltimore's The Horse You Came In On Saloon" (2015); Maryland Center for History and Culture, "Lost City: Local Taverns and Big Breweries"
Maryland Historical Trust inventory material says the property known as the Forbes House remained in the Winning family until 1819, when tavern keeper Daniel James acquired it.
Source: Maryland Historical Trust, B-3891 Captain's Mews inventory material
Edgar Allan Poe was found in distress at or near Gunner's Hall, also known as Ryan's Fourth Ward polls, on East Lombard Street; later local legend links his last drink to the Thames Street bar, but no contemporary evidence located in this review places him there.
Source: National Park Service, "The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's Death"; Poe Baltimore, "Poe Places"
Howard Gerber bought the establishment then known as Al and Ann's and renamed it The Horse You Came In On Saloon.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Baltimore's The Horse You Came In On Saloon" (2015)
The business was reportedly sold at auction to Eric Mathias, Ioannis Korologos, and Spiros Korologos.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Baltimore's The Horse You Came In On Saloon" (2015)
Every claim gets rated. A business's own website can never earn "documented."
Poe was documented as being found on October 3, 1849, at or near Gunner's Hall/Ryan's Fourth Ward polls on East Lombard Street, not at 1626 Thames Street. No contemporary record located in this review places him at the predecessor tavern, so the last-drink story remains local legend.
National Trust and Maryland-history sources repeat that a bar at this address dates to 1775 and operated through Prohibition. The sources reviewed do not provide the underlying license, business, or occupancy record needed to establish uninterrupted operation through every ownership change and the 1920–1933 Prohibition period.
The bar has a documented modern haunted reputation: a National Trust account records staff stories about swinging chandeliers, drawers opening, and leaving a drink for a ghost called Edgar. Those reports document the folklore, not the existence or identity of a spirit.
The current name dates to Howard Gerber's 1972 purchase of the establishment then known as Al and Ann's. The 1775 date is associated with a predecessor tavern or bar at the address, not with the current name.
The Horse You Came In On Saloon has operated under its current name since 1775.
Sources associate 1775 with a predecessor tavern or bar at the address. Howard Gerber renamed the then-Al and Ann's establishment The Horse You Came In On Saloon in 1972.
Source: National Trust for Historic Preservation, "Baltimore's The Horse You Came In On Saloon" (2015)
Edgar Allan Poe's last drink at The Horse You Came In On is an established historical fact.
Poe was found on October 3, 1849, at or near Gunner's Hall/Ryan's Fourth Ward polls on East Lombard Street. No contemporary evidence located in this review places him at the Thames Street tavern before his death.
Source: National Park Service, "The Mystery of Edgar Allan Poe's Death"; Poe Baltimore, "Poe Places"
The Horse pairs an unusually old Fell's Point tavern lineage with a durable modern identity created by Howard Gerber in 1972. Live music, waterfront tourism, and its Poe-and-horse storytelling have helped make it a recognizable neighborhood destination, though its strongest historical claims require more documentary continuity research.
The Horse You Came In On Saloon occupies a Fell's Point tavern site that preservation and Maryland-history sources date to 1775. Howard Gerber bought the establishment when it was called Al and Ann's and gave it the current name in 1972. The record reviewed supports a long tavern lineage at the address, but not a fully documented, uninterrupted identity for the present business from 1775 onward.
The Horse You Came In On is widely described as Maryland's oldest continuously operating saloon because its predecessor tavern lineage is dated to 1775. That statewide title remains unresolved in this review: the available sources repeat the claim but do not establish a complete continuity record through every ownership change and Prohibition, or a full comparison with other Maryland contenders.
There is no contemporary evidence that Edgar Allan Poe had his last drink at the Thames Street tavern. The documented record places him at or near Gunner's Hall, also called Ryan's Fourth Ward polls, on East Lombard Street on October 3, 1849; the Horse connection is a later Baltimore legend.
This review did not establish an earliest published report of The Horse You Came In On Saloon being haunted. A 2015 National Trust article documented the then-current folklore of a ghost called Edgar and staff reports of unexplained activity, but that article does not establish when the reputation began.
1626 Thames St, Baltimore, MD 21231
410-327-8111
Current operating hours are posted on the venue's website; the Poe association should be understood as local folklore rather than verified biography.