Historical Analysis of Baltimore Inner City Neighborhoods (1964)

 

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HISTORICAL •

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ANALYSIS OF BALTIMORE S

INNER CITY NEIGHBORHOODS 1

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N O VEMBER 1 9 6 4

 

 

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF BALTIMORE S INNER-CITY NEIGHBORHOODS

November 1964

Health and Welfare Council of the Baltimore Area ·,Y\c,.J 10 South S t r e e t •\ • Baltimore, Maryland 21202

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PREFACE

This publication s one o f a series o f technical documents growing out of the research services provided by the Health and Welfare Council t o the Renewal. wal. These documents Steering o r r ~ i t t e e for a Plan for Action on Human Rene present relevant supplementary material which could n o t , for practical reasons, be included i n de t a i l i n the formal report of the Steering Committ Com mittee. ee. This Thi s form fo rmal al report, A Plan for Action on the Problems o f Baltimore's Disadvantaged People, has been transmitted t o Mayor Theodore R. McKeldin i n the expectation that he w i l l urge t s adoption as Baltimore's program t o deal with poverty under the Federal Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. and other relevant Federal legislation. George H. Dengler Research Associate on the Health and Welfare Council s t a f f , was primarily responsible for the h isto r ical research involved i n t h i s document. Thomas Curtis, a Research Assistant, prepared the neighborhood map and the cover.

Daniel R. Fascicne Research Director

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TABLE OF

CONTENTS

Page Preface

1

Introduction

Neighborhood

e v e l o ~ m e n t

in

Baltimore s I n n e r - C i t y . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

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Appendix Bibliography

• • • • • • • • • • • • •

Index o f Baltimore s Inner-City Neighborhoods

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Neighborhood Map

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Introduction

The delineation o f an Action Area for the Human Renewal Program was accompanied by efforts to identify natural or functional neighborhoods th at could serve for administering the neighborhood-based programs t o be included i n the Plan and which required decentralization by small geographic areas.

approaches t o the problem o f identifying these small neighborhoods were employed. One approach was t o trace, through relevant documents the developmental history of Baltimore i n terms of identifiable neighborhoods i n and around the Action Area. This historical analysis, while indicating clearly that i n the past there have been some definite patterns of neighborhood development i n Baltimore provided no convincing convincing evidence of the existence of natural neighborhoods i n the i n n e r ~ c i t y today.

Two

The other approach consisted of interviews with community resource people chosen because of their involvement with the various health, welfare 1 education, community organization or corrlillercial a c t i vi t i e s n and around the ActiOl l Area. While provid ing much useful information on area problems and related services, however this method failed, fbr the most part, to establish the existence of neighborhoods small enough t o be considered meaningful from the point o f view o f neigpborhood-based administration of services.

Since neither o f these approaches proved completely satisfactory n meeting the desired objectives, the Steering Committee has l e f t the decision for subdividing the Action Area t o the future, when those responsible for implementing the Plan for Action can pursue the kind o f further investigation indicated or draw the necessary boundaries on the basis o f administrative oonaiderationa which cannot be accurately foreseen a t this time. The results of the interviews with community resource people are reported n while A Plan for Action on the Problems o f Baltilnore 1 s Disadvantaged People, a distributional breakdown of those interviewed, together with facsimiles o f the questionnaire l e t t e r s and related documents used n the administration of this nn ing can can be found i n a separate publloation, Interviews with phase of the pla nning Community Resource People: Baltimore, Maryland -Work MAterials. 11

The findings of the h isto r ical analysis of Baltimore the Action Area are reported on the foll owin g pages pages •

n e t ~ n

o r h o o d s

i n and around

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UNIVF.RSITY

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Neighborhood

D e v e l o ~ m e n t

i n Baltimore's Inner-City

There i s ample documentation available to indicate t h at 18th and 19th century anJ., t o some extent, early 20th century Baltimore was subdivided i n t o various distinguish able neighborhoods. The original three communities t ha t merged t o form Baltimore / w e r e themselves d i s t i n c t . Jones Town or Old Town, as i t was called a f t e r the formation of Baltimore i t being older than Baltimore Town), l ay t o the eas t o f Jones F al l s and centered along Front and Gay S t r e e t s. Old Town, with i t s markets and i t s t h eat res , i t s picturesque houses, i t s fashion and i t s sturdy population," had n.uch l he a i r o f a Baltimore Town, on the west side of Jones F a l l s, was l i t t l e community i n England. less developed and contained some homes and farms. F el l s Point, located southeast of Old Town along the harbor, became the center for the families o f s ai l i n g men. I t was also a thriving community o f wharves, warehouses, and a shipyard, where many s k i l l ed workers had s et t l ed . After the i n i t i a l formation of Baltimore, neighborhoods appear t o have focused around squares, t h eat res , inns and churches. Prior to the· erection o f the Washington Monument following the War o f 1812, Monument Square (the B at t l e Monument on Calvert S t reet ) was the center o f town. Fine homes were b u i l t around o f fashion. As the years progressed, the neighborhood isurrounding t and i t became a center Washington Monument known then as Howard s H i l l and today as Mount Vernon) replaced Monument Square as Baltimore's center of fashion and culture. Other neighborhoods were l e ss prosperous. By the l a t e 19th century, the neighborhood surrounding Federal Hi l l Park near Montgomery S t r e e t became a c l ut t e r o f houses, wharves, t i l t e d roofs and disreputable s h e ~ · Some o f t h i s i s of l i t t l e neighborhood s t i l l a network courts and a l l e ys. -

At. the beginning o f the 19th century, and for a number of years t he r e a f t e r , the area along Frcnt S t reet (in the vi c i ni t y o f the Gay S t r e e t bridge across Jones Falls) was the most fashionable r e si de nt i a l part of town. For many years the Front S t reet Theaj7e (near Fayette S t reet ) held a position o f importance i n Baltimore l i f e . This theatre survived u n t i l 1905. The New Theatre and the Hblliday S t reet Theatre were among the other.leading playhouses o f earl y 19th century Baltimore catering t o the eminent citizens o f the commun community. ity. Both were t o make way for the municipal plaza l a t e r i n the century demolished •  

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Baltimore Town, Jones Town and Fells Point. In 1745 Jones Town was annexed t o Baltimore Town, and, i n 1774, Fells Point was annexed. Stockett, L e t i t i a , Baltimore: Gore Norman, Pub.), 1936, p.

2

A Not Too Serious History, (Baltimore:

I bi d. , .P• 157.

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Grace

 

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,everal inns and taverns were well known i n 19th century Baltimore. n Bank Street near Broadway there was once r-;amous tavern known as White Hall ••• the center of neighborhood jollifications." ± I n the SUlTilller benches and tables were set out, and, i n the winter, there were broad hearths and roaring fi re s indoors. Here residents and sailors gathered. Other inns, notably the General Wayne the Fountain Inn and the Farmer s and Carter's Inn, served as social centers for neighborhood residents, sailors and farmers during part o f the 19th century. 1

Church-centered neighborhoods neighborhoods involving particular n at i o n al i t y groups appear t o be among the strongest and most readily distinguishable neighborhoods characteristic of early Baltimore. One of the e a rl i e st indications of a church-centered neighbor neighbor hood occurs i n the period following the ar r iv al of the Acadians from France i n 1755. This l i t t l e congregation established ~ p a r i s h near Charles and Lombard Streets and the l o cal i t y was called French Town. _ Otterbein Church on Conway Street ministered t o the early German s e t t l e r s in Baltimore, as did Zion Church nearer t o the heart of town. As the German community grew during the 19th century, additional churches served German neighborhoods. Some d istin ctly German communities were vi si bl e u n t i l World War I . Today, although the German popu lation has assimilated and there i s no longer a compact e r m ~ community, there are s t i l l church services conducted wholly or partly i n German. ~ the mid-19th century, a sizable I r i s h community grew up i n an area south of the westward rd t o the Falls and south t o a point below present City J a i l , extend ing westwa Monument Street. Old Limerick, as i t was called, was a clannish community where the Iri sh retained th eir church and their traditions As new immigrants eventually moved into the area, Old Limerick disappeared. 1 

In

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as immigrants from eastern and southern Europe.came t o Baltimore i n increasing numbers and tended t o s e t t l e i n compact communities, neighborhood churches serving various ethnic groups became increas ingly prevalent.

At the turn of the 20th century, one o f the most notable of these compact communities in Baltimore was the neighborhood i n the v i ci n i t y of Baltimore and Spring Streets. Old established families had long since moved out and t h i s area w a ~ a center for Russian Jews who emigrated t o Baltimore i n the years aft er 1880. _

Stockett, op. c i t .

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p. 175.

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48.

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Ib i d . , p.

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Including those a t St. James the Less and s t . Michael's Roman Catholic and Zion

Lutheran Churches. 11

0ld Limerick A Lively Spot", Baltimore Evening Sun, September 30

Stockett, op. c i t .

p . 172.

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1963.

 

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By the end o f' t h e 19th century, a Polish settlement had developed i n the Fells Point area. Father Koncz organized the f i r s t exclusively Polish church - St. Stanislaus a t Ann and Aliceanna Streets. As the Polish community grew and St. Stanislaus oecame too small t o serve the entire community, a second congre gation was formed a t Holy Rosary Church i n the 400 block s . Chester Str e e t. 7 During the f i r s t quarter o f t h i s century the expanding Polish community spread eastward, focusing along O'Donnell Street toward the Canton area. The Poles de  veloped a small civic center on O'Donnell Street between Lakewood and Ellwood Avenues. The center revolved around St. s i m ~ r Church (Kenwood and O'Donnell), Canton Market, a libr a r y and a public bath. lOt As the Polish community grew i n excess of 50,000 people, i t consumed a good portion o f East Baltimore, and had separate pockets elsewhere i n the City i n Locust Point and Curtis Bay. Eight churches, six/of them Reman Catholic, administered t o the s p ri t u al needs o f this c o r r ~ u n i t y 11 Today, some o f these churches are s t i l l Polish and there are Pblish institutions, clubs, and organizations i n the City. As more and more It al i an s came t o the City aft er 1880, the area from Central Avenue to Eastern Avenue and west t o the harbor became an I t a l i a n dominated community. Father Andros founded St. Leo's Church i n the 200 b l o c k s . Exeter Street, and i t i s s t i l l an ·almost exclusively I ta lia n parish. I ta lia n clubs, s o ci et i es , and frat ern al organizations are s t i l l v i s i b l e i n this area. The boundaries o f L i t t l e I t a l y have changed l i t t l e 'over the years and i t i s on   o f the few church-centered ethnic 7 communities s t i l l visible i n Baltimore.  

In the la te 19th century, a group o f Bohemians se ttle d i n the area around Barnes Street, Abbott Street, and Broadway. Sometime aft er 1900, t h i s ccmmunity had shifted somewhat to the e a st of the 0 r ig in a l location and centered along Collington Avenue near the Northeast Market. 13/ The Bohemians had t h ei r own churches, schools, and newspaper. St. Wencelaus Roman Catholic Church (Collington and Ashland Avenues) i s s t t l l regarded as a Bohemian parish. For a number of years a rather sizable Lithuanian community has existed in southwest Baltim Bal timore ore . ' he colony col ony gr grew ew up i n an area located · the v i ci n i t y o f South Paca, South Greene, West Lombard and Hollins St reet s . 14 Today, some o f Baltimore's Lithuanian community i s s t i l l found along West Lombard and Hollins Streets i n the vicinity o f the Hollins Street Market. Although not located i n t h i s particular residential area, St . Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church a t Park Avenue and Saratoga Street serves some members o f the Lithuanian community.

2

Irvin, Robert, (ed . ), Baltimore 1129-1929: Municipal Journal) 1929, p . 279.

Two Hundredth Anniversary (Baltimore:

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Public Harkets S t i l l Keep Up City's Traditions: Baltimore Evening Sun, May 5 , 1937.

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Irvin, op. c i t . 12/

Picturesque Spots Many",

pp. 279-280.

Stockett, op. c i t .

p. 183.

13/-   I Remember Northeast Market 50 Years Ago", Baltimore Sun, August 21, 1955. 14/

Irvin, op. c i t .

p . 283. 4

 

small Chinese colony has long been visible i n an area near Park Avenue and Mulberry Jtreet. Grace and S t. Peter 1 s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue conducts a Chinese service and also serves a s a so c ia l center for Baltimore's Chinese community. There are also Greek, Russian and Ukranian churches i n various parts o f Saltimore. Apart from the role that they have played i n the development of ethnic communities, some churches have been inf lue ntia l i n the development o f other neighborhoods. Among the early parishes i n Baltimore was S t . Paul's. At the turn of the 19th century, St. Paul's Church served as a focal point for an area composed o f s tately residences along Lexington Str e e t. During the 19th century, S t . Pa tr ic k's Church a t Broadway and Bank Streets was inf lue ntia l i n the Fells Point neighborhood. Father Do  e n was called the Apostle o f the Paint, a sturdy shepherd with a wild 5 flock." 1 _ L et i t i a Stockett, author of Baltimore: A Not Too Serious History, in describing the Bolton section sometime during the 1920 1 s or 1930's sta te s, ••• that section ••• north of the Armory i s bounded b y Dolphin St reet , •••north Eutaw Place, North Avenue and Mt. Royal Avenue ••• This part o f tow.n has for i t s axis Bolton Str e e t, and there i s no one i n t h i s l o c a l i t y who did not know the Bishop of Bolton Street as he was often cal6 d  Dr. William Meade Dame the beloved rector of Memorial Church. _ 

Today, the Memorial Episcopal and Brown Memorial Presbyterian Churches jointly ad minister a neighborhood center i n the Bolton Hill area. Apparently, public food markets have played a significant role i n neighborhood patterns i n Baltimore. During the 18th century, a town market was located a t Gay and Market Baltimore) St reet s . Later i n the century, i n order t o meet the de mands of a growing community, Center Market was b u i l t somewhat t o the east o f the old market. By the mid-19th century, the City began building a series o f public markets, each o f which catered t o a certain area of the community. By the begin ning of this century they numbered 11, and ccmpletely encircled the heart o f the old City. Today, seven of these public markets are s t i l l operating. The most notable example o f a market-centered neighborhood comes from an a r t i c l e which appeared i n the Sun in 1955. I t stated tha t, i n the years following the turn of the 20th century; the Northeast Market was responsible for the growth o f a south- 17/ called i n Leachville. Leachville neighborhood being located east o f the market r r y described Street andasPatterson Park Avenue. the vic inity of M c ~ l d e was

15/

Stockett, op. c i t .

16/ ~ 17/

p . 174.

p . 285.

" I Remember Northeast Market 50 Years

A g o

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op.

cit.

 

would appear t h at Belair Market a t Gay and Orleans S t reet s , l i ke Northeast M a r ~ e as designed t o serve the irrmediate areas of what was then northeast Baltimore. _ Cross S t reet Market has t r a d i t i o n a l l y served residents o f South Baltimore, while Hollins Market has served the same function for rdsidents o f West Baltimore. Another public market, Lafayette, was h u i l t i n a location which became a predomi Richm chmond ond Mark Ma rket et,, b u i l t on North/Howard Street, nately Negro area o f the community. Ri catered more t o the s i l k stocking residents o f North Baltimore. 19 Richmond Market has since closed.  

The Fells Point or Broadway Market has been an important focal point i n the Fells n t h i s area, many of Baltimore's immigrants f i r s t s e t t l e d . Point neighborhood. For the immigrant, Fells Point Market often serveq as the f i r s t place of contact with his neighbors. I t was a place where he could begin the business of l e r n ~ g welccme spot where he might find someone o f his own language. __ / English - and a we This oldest-standing of Baltimore markets s t i l l serves many residents o f Fells Point.

Other public markets b u i l t to serve both i r r ~ e d i a t e and larger areas included Canton, the Lombard S t reet curb market, Hanover, and Lexington. Of these, however, only Lexington Market i s s t i l l operating.

In a number o f cases,

areas flourished with or near the public food markets. These r e t a i l areas were usually looked upon as neighborhood shopping centers. For years, Chester S t r e e t was known as the business center for the Collington Avenue retail

retail

near 21/ near area aleng e si de nt i a l areas The Belair Market. and Leachville Market. S t reet was rthe business center for Northeast the r e si de nt i a l area Gay Later, as the population moved, a r e t a i l area along Monument S t r e e t began t o flourish. The Fells Point r e si de nt i a l area looked t o the Broadway Market and the business d i s t r i c t o f South Broadway as a center. A r e t a i l d i s t r i c t grew up along Light Street near t ~ e Cross S t reet Market and i t served as a business community for South Baltimore. 22

Historically, Baltimore has followed some d efi n i t e patterns o f neighborhood develop ment. Not too long ago many smaller Baltimore neighborhoods were known to residents by a number o f i n t eres t i n g and ch aract eri s t i c names. Some o f these names came i n t o existence during the b i t t ern es s o f war, the t i d e o f immigration, and the heat o f pol i t i c a l controversies. Yet, today, there seem t o be few distinguishable neighbor hoods visible i n Baltimore, especially i n the i nne r - c i t y areas. This i s due, i n part, t o a number o f fact o rs .

18/ Ibid. and

Belair 1 s Old Tradition Has

March 20, 1948.

19/

Public Markets

?:2_

Broadway Market 11, 1962.

Still is

_a

Very New Look

 

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Keep Up C i t y ' s TrB;ditions ••• , op.

Baltimore Evening Sun,

cit

Neighborhood Crossroads , Baltimore Evening Sun, April

21/

I Remember Northeast Market

E:_/

Public Markets

Still

50 Years Ago , op.

cit

Keep Up C i t y ' s Traditions •••

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op.

cit

 

 

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lle natural growth o f the City and the influx o f immigrants during the 19th century forced many old-time residents t o abandon the once fashionable neighborhoods charac t e r i s t i c o f o n ~ e n t Square, Front S tr e e t and Lexington St reet . As these residents moved out o f th e ir established neighborhoods, they dispersed to newer areas o f the City. With the development o f t h i s process, Baltimore l o s t some o f i t s e a r l i e s t neighborhood ide ntitie s. ·

The out-migrating residents o f the older neighborhoods were generally replaced by the newly ar rived irrmigrants. Usually, the f i r s t generation or two o f these people r e ~ a i n e d th e ir Old World customs, tr a d itio n s and c u ltu r a l values, and, hence, they established new neighborhood patterns based upon ethnic communities.

During the course o f the l a t e 19th and e a rl y 20th centuries, however, these residents o f the older sections of the City tended ·to move out o f th e ir ethnic neighborhoods as they achieved economic betterment. As the various ethnic groups assim ilated in to the population and themselves dispersed throughout the City and suburbs, while foreign immigration declined, t h i s neighborhood pattern also disappeared, and with i t , o ft en went the names and tr a d itio n s o f these old neighborhoods. With the passage of time, the older areas o f the City deteriorated in to poorer tenement d i s t r i c t s . The residents of these areas became more and more a group o f people with a limited c u ltu r a l background, whose subculture and cu l t u ral values were considerably different from those which had established the original neighbor hood i d en t i t i es i n these areas. Beginning i n the 1930 s, Baltimore, l i k e other large c i t i e s , experienced a large influx of Southern migrants, both Negro and white, who, because o f t h ei r ru ral background, may have had l i t t l e or no concept of neighborhood o r c c r r ~ u n i t y aware ness. Prior t o coming here, most o f these migrants had had l i t t l e or no experience in·urban· liv in g . They lacked leadership s k i l l s and, for most, active participation i n the many formal organizations and associations o f urban community l i f e was limited. Time has proved t h ~ t i t i s d i f f i c u l t to reach these migrants i n i t i l l y through organized groups. ~ Hence, the areas in to which these migrants moved seldom developed unifying neighborhood c h a r a c te r istic s. I n 1950, of a t o t al white population o f 1,955,000 n Maryland, almost 2 0 0 ~ 0 0 0 had been born i n the seven other sta te s o f the Southern Appalachian region. ~ ~ More than 82,000 people from these s t at es entered Maryland n the decade 19uQ-1950,

while over 2),000 others had come t o Maryland between 1930 and 1940.

£2/

Since

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Address by Mr. Ward Porter, r u r a l sociologist, to Baltimore Department,of Education Community Study Workshop, December 10, 1957.

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Includes parts of Alabama, Georgia, K e n t u c ~ Virginia and West Virginia.

.5/

Baltimore ~

North Carolina, Tennessee,

June 5 , 1960.

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.timore i s the nearest large i n d u s t ri al c i t y and also serves as a Gateway t q the , t may be assumed that most o f these migrants s et t l ed i n Baltimore. ~ / 1e Negro in-migration to Baltimore, as well as t o other c i t i e s , has s t ead i l y i n  .•eased since 1930, a t 7 ~ a s t up t o a few years ago. Most o f t h i s influx has been •om the r u r a l South. g__

'.though many white Southern migrants have since returned home, and, for th e aj,rst in history, there occurred a Negro out-migration n Baltimore i n 1962, __ ~ e 2 1 helped bring about the f l i g h t t Le continuing growth of t h i s new immigration iliurbia of many established r e sid e n ts, p a r tic u la r ly during the 1950's. This f l i g h t :d t o more dispersion o f the population and a further breakdown o f neighborhood \entities.

o f the significant unifying characteristics have, o f course, disappeared from ny City neighborhoods as a res u l t o f these changes, but, i n other cases, squares parks, co.mmunity churches, markets and shopping areas remain as focal points, d suggest th a t some historic continuity may have been preserved. Therefore, de  i t e the lack of recorded evidence, t seems unwise t o discount completely the istence of scme degree o f neighborhood i d en t i t y i n and around the Action Area. · the relevance o f neighborhood i d en t i t y and social cohesiveness f o r action pur ses s accepted, then t s important t o establish, through further investigation, e extent to which the current residents o f these h i s t o ri c neighborhoods perceive me

as Andth even ntity s altogether communities. where neighborhood a t there n consciously revivsent, functional t i s reasonable t o assume might be value iide g h isto r ic a l names and boundaries as an aid to generating some degree o f social hesiveness among the current residents. em

/

In October, 1941, the Federal government estimated th a t 20,000 migrants would come to Baltimore i n the next 12 months, Baltimore Sun, October 21, 1941.

Experience shows th a t most came from Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia.

The Changing Color Composition of Metropolitan Areas , Land Economics, vol. XXXVIII, No. 2 , May,. 1962.

:/ Baltimore ~

December 9, 1962.

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PPENDIX

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Bibliography BOOKS

York rk:: Beirne, Francis, The Amiable Baltimoreans, (New Yo Deussen, Elizabeth, Explorin g Balti more, (Baltimore: Baltimore Public Schools), 1960. Irvin, Robert (ed.), Baltimore 1729-1929: Municipal Journal), 1929.

E. P. Dutton Dut ton and and Co.), 1951. Burea Bureau u o f Publications,

Two Hundredth Anniversary, (Baltimore:

Scharf, J . Thomas, History o f Baltimore City and County, (Philadelphia: Everts), 1881. Stockett, Letitia, Baltimore: Norman, Publ.), 1936. MAGAZINES AND

A Not Too Serious History, (Baltimore:

Louis H. Grace Gore

PERIODICALS

Baltimore, July, 1943. Land Economics, vol. XXXVIII

-Maryland Historical Magazine, volumes 25 NEWSPAPER

ARTICLES

Baltimore ~

1

35 54, 57, 58.

Oct. 21, 1941, June 5

1960, Dec. 9, 1962.

A Century o f Hollins Market , Baltimore Sun, August 30, 1936. Baltimore 1 s Quaint Local Names Are Being Lost , Baltimore American, February 4, 1923.

f·

f f

;:;:

Belair 1 s Old Tradition Has a Very New Look , Baltimore Evening SUn, March 20, 1948.

Broadway Market I s a Neighborhood Crossroads , Baltimore Evening Sun, April 11, 1962. Cathedral Hill:

People and Places i n

ts

History , Baltimore Evening Sun, March 31, 1941.

·

I Remember Market Day a t Cross Street , Baltimore Sun, March 17, 1957

I Remember Northeast Market 50 Years Ago Ago , Balt imor e ~

August 21, 1955.

I Remember When All Hollins Market Was a Deep Freeze , Baltimore Sun, November 3, 1963. Know Baltimore?

 

,

Baltimor& Sunday Sun, March 17, 1957.

0ld LimericK: A Lively Spot , Baltimore Sunday Sun, September 30

Public Markets S t i l l Keep p Ci t y 1 s Traditions: Baltimore Evening Sun, May 5 1937. - 10 -

1923.

Picturesque Spots Many,

 

 

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Index o f Baltimore s Inner-City N e i g h b o r h o o d s ~

Neighborhood 1.

Goose Hi l l

_

Lafayette on south; Ashburton on P et er s Cemetery on north.

Bentalou on east:

west;

st.

2.

Claremont

Di s t ri ct along Wilkin s Avenue east o f Gwynns Falls

3.

Mt. Clare

Vicinity o f B 0 shops stretching south from P rat t and Carey S t reet s .

4.

L i t t l e Lithuania

Lithuanian community along West Lombard and Hollins S t reet n the v i ci n i t y of the Hollins S t reet Market.

5.

Hel l s Kitchen

Housing development on West P rat t Street i n the v i ci n i t y o f Parkin and Scott S t reet s .

6.

Pig tom

Area south o f Cross S t r e e t and Washington Blvd.; center near Columbia and Cross.

7.

Grasshopper Hi l l

Small area along North Avenue, the r a i l r oa d tracks and Mt. Royal Reservoir.

8.

Bolton Hi l l

Area roughly bounded by Dolphin S t reet , Eutaw Place, Nort No rth h Avenue, Avenue, and Mt. Roya R oyall Avenue, Avenue, with Bolton Street as an axis. Name taken from old Bolton es t at e.

9.

Mt. Vernon Howard 1 s Hill)

Originally knom as Howard 1 s Hi l l , t h i s area s t ret ct es out for several blocks in a l l directions from the

10.

-· 11. 12.

~

Location and Comment

and slaughter houses.

Washington Monument.

Cathedral Hi l l

Area i n the v i ci n i t y o f old Roman Catholic Cathedral a t Cathedral and Mulberry S t r e e t s.

Chinatom

Small CrJnese ccmmunity centering around the i n t er section of Park Avenue and Mulberry S t r e e t .

Salisbury Plain

1200 Block Greenmount Avenue.

Only those neighborhoods which have existed in t h i s century within or near the boundaries of the Human Renewal Action Area are included. See accompanying map for.further i d en t i fi cat i o n .

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Neighborhood 13.

Johnson s Hill

14.

Roddyville

15.

Old Limerick

16.

Swampoodle

_

Location and Ccmment Biddle, Homewood

Valley and Chase S t r e e t s .

Small area on east side o f Jones Falls and south of j a i l • • Perhaps named for local family. I r i s h community south o f the present City J a i l extend ing westward t o the F al l s and south t o a point below Monument S tr e e t.

Broadway, Abbott, Bond and Barnes Streets •• • name origin may be from a stream running through the area, often flooding basements. Poodle may be Bohemian pronunciation o f "Puddle" ••• Residents washed dogs

i n stream. 17.

The Meadow

18.

Old Town

19.

L i t t l e Bohemia

20.

Leachville

21.

Little Italy

Centre on north; Lexington on south; Calvert on west; Fallsway on eas t ••• Area was S t ei g er s Meadow i n e a r ly settlement.

Original settlement called Jones Town which was eas t of centered along Front Falls Jones and and Gay Streets. Bohemian community which centered along Collington Avenue near the Northeast Market.

Neighborhood southeast of Northeast Market i n the v i c i n i t y o f McElderry S t reet and Patterson Park Avenue. It al i an community roughly stretching from

~ n t r a l

Avenue t o a point above E a s t e ~ n Avenue and west t o the harbor. Center may be i n the v i ci n i t y o f South Exeter and S tile s S tr e e ts. 22.

Scr ab bletown

23.

Federal Hill

24.

Fel: .s

25.

Locust Point (Whetstone P t .)

26.

Snake s Hollow

An area south o f ~ w ~ s t o f Patterson Fark ••• so named because Union troops camped there during Civil War.

27.

Canton

Area south o f Patterson Park stretching along O'Donnell S t reet t o the harbor which once was the center o f a strong Polish community.

Point

Bounded by Johnson S tr e e t and Ferry Bar i n South Baltimore. • . Hunting grounds o f youth gang. Area surrounding Federal H i l l Park i n the vic inity o f Montgomery S tr e e t. Original shipping and trading ccmmuni t y along the harbor spreading east and west from Broadway.

Originally called Whetstone Point, t h i s i s an area of South Baltimore stretching down the peninsula to F t . McHenry.

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