Baltimore philanthropist Johns Hopkins incorporated his hospital and university in 1867. The Johns Hopkins University opened Feb. 22, 1876, with the inauguration of its first president, Daniel Coit Gilman. Gilman established a research university based on the German academic model, dedicated to advancing both students' knowledge and the state of human knowledge through research and scholarship.The realization of Gilman's philosophy at Hopkins revolutionized higher education in America and evolved into the research university system as it exists today.
The University was originally housed in the Peabody Conservatory of Music, in Mt. Vernon, but as early as 1883 the trustees were looking for a site to locate the institution. In 1901 151.75 acres of land on Charles Street was donated for the new site for the Johns Hopkins University. The property was adjacent to the 1801 Carroll Mansion, know as Homewood, and to the Wyman Estate, which was turned over to the city as a public park in 1905. In 1907 athletic fields and stands were built at the new Homewood campus, and in 1911 construction began on Gilman Hall.
The University is adjacent to neighborhoods of Hampden and Charles Village. The Baltimore Museum of Art sits at the south end of campus. The campus features primarily neo-Georgian architecture in a surprisingly wooded setting given its urban location. Other attractions include University-owned historic homes Homewood House, and further north on Charles Street, Evergreen. Also of interest are the Lacrosse Hall of Fame at the north end of campus and the Archaeological Collection located in Gilman Hall. From the Inner Harbor the No. 3 or No. 11 bus will take you to Johns Hopkins University; the No. 11 bus also goes up Charles Street to Evergreen House.