These are among the smallest row houses in Baltimore, composed of only the front half of the two-story, gable-roof-with-dormer type, as demonstrated by their original front-facing shed roofs. With only a single room per floor, half-houses were generally built as rentals for those at the lowest income level. This row of eight houses is organized in staggered pairs appearing at an angle to the street to provide greater privacy. While they have since received rear additions to complete the gabled roof configuration, side profiles clearly indicate the ghost of the original form. They are part of a historically African American section known as the Sharp-Leadenhall neighborhood that was established in the 1790s by freed slaves and German immigrants. These row houses were sold to freed craftsmen, including carpenters and blacksmiths. The neighborhood became home to the first school for African Americans in Baltimore (1802, no longer extant) at 112 Sharp Street.