Melinda Mele’s vintage kitchen is her happy place even when tasked with making hundreds of cookies in an oven that fits one baking sheet at a time. For eight years, Mele and her husband have tried to preserve the house’s originality but also add their own flair of style.

The Cookie Monster has a place on the kitchen wall, finger puppets depicting Edgar Allan Poe, Frida Kahlo and Uhura from “Star Trek” sit near an entryway, and an art gallery’s worth of pieces can be spotted around the house, including an Andy Warhol-style image of pugs.

“We are very proud of our house. We’ve just tried to make it a great refuge from this darkening world we live in,” Mele said.

And, once a year, the neighborhood opens up homes like the Meles’ for people to visit and learn about.

Union Square’s Cookie Tour of Historic Homes has taken place for 39 years. It’s a chance not only to bite into a molasses, sugary or gingerbread treat but also to hear the backstories of homes — many built in the 1800s — and how people today came to live in them.

Some people were on the hunt for a historic home before buying or were recommended the area because of a friend or colleague. Others wanted to move back to the neighborhood they grew up in or to take advantage of grants that allowed them to live closer to where they work. Regardless, the tour introduces people to the neighborhood one house and one cookie at a time.

The Meles chose to share lemon stick cookies with guests as a nod to the Baltimore delicacy featured at the Flower Mart festival. After visitors snagged a peppermint treat, yellow stairs led them to more of the home’s “maximalist decor.” One room, across from a set of floral lockers, was draped in sheer fabrics in different shades of blue. Johnny Cash flips the bird in a poster on one of the walls near record players, Beatles memorabilia and a stuffed ewok.

Next door, Rachel Atkinson and Erik Smith have also started making their house, built in 1857, their own. After moving in at the top of the year, Smith said, they wanted to keep the “architectural charm” of the house. Smith believes the dark brown stairs have standout scrollwork, seemingly with a “carpenter’s personal touch.” Atkinson and Smith are still looking into the deeper history of the house and enjoy being able to offer a comfortable guest room for their visitors.

“You walk home and you’re just happy. It feels like home,” Smith said.

Another resident, Donnell Nance, grew up a few blocks from his current Victorian home on Hollins Street. He quickly learned that a modern approach wouldn’t work, so he decided to mix old with new. A piano from the 1920s isn’t far from a dining room table made this year. He most recently renovated the basement into a wine cellar with other areas to lounge.

The 7,500-square-foot home includes 12 fireplaces, 24 rooms, a double parlor and an enclosed side courtyard near the candy cookies Nance offered to guests. His home was also used as a film location for the movie “Safe Space,” which was directed by Boris Kodjoe.

Nance loves coming home to rearrange and organize. It’s a “labor of love” that takes a lot of patience, he said.

One of the oldest houses in Union Square is the Turnbull Mansion. Chuck and Linda Callahan are the current owners and moved in in 2016. The house was converted into apartments during World War II and was abandoned for 15 years in the late 1980s. An eight-year renovation began in 1998, with a goal of restoring the house but keeping it as close to original as possible.

“It’s kind of a Christmas redemption story,” Chuck Callahan said.

The Callahans, who were originally looking to downsize when searching for houses, have opened the house to Sowebo Community Church and other community activities.

Cousins Abby Steele and Lauren Thomas have made the cookie tour a personal tradition to attend together. They were unaware of how much history each house had and how much there was to see.

“It’s like trick-or-treating for adults,” Thomas said.

Both agreed it takes a certain kind of person to open their house to strangers to walk around and to bake for them, but they’re appreciative of being able to discover Baltimore’s gems.

“It just feels very homegrown and local,” Steele said.

Bif Browning, president of the Union Square Association, said the area’s mix of people, cultures and incomes fosters creative ideas. They’ve already started to pull together what they want to do for the 40th anniversary of the cookie tour.

“The secret to our success is everyone is welcome here,” Browning said.