Woman's Industrial Exchange

The Woman's Industrial Exchange is a five-story brick building on North Charles Street in Baltimore that began as a townhouse. It holds retail shops on the ground floor, two restaurants, and seven residential apartments stacked above.

The building was founded in 1880 and formally registered in 1882 to give women post-Civil War income opportunities through handcraft sales. It was part of a national movement that provided economic outlets to women where few others existed.

The building served as a gathering place where women could sell handmade goods such as needlework, embroidery, and baked items to support themselves. This practice shaped how the community understood women's economic independence in Baltimore.

The building is easy to reach from central Baltimore and its shops and restaurants are public spaces visitors can enter. If you want to explore inside, keep in mind it is an active, working building with limited open areas.

The building operated continuously for 140 years with the same mission before closing in 2020. This long streak shows how durable and valued the concept of a woman-led community initiative remained.