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North Baltimore

Photo Credit: City of Baltimore.com

North Baltimore is home to a variety of delightful neighborhoods, from the historic neighborhood of Mt. Washington to the artsy, fun character of Hampden Village. Many of the area’s communities are a convenient distance to downtown yet still far enough away to have their own personality.

Home to Universities, famous cultural institutions and chic city villages, North Baltimore is an area that’s seeing growth, development and rehabilitation. The people who make their home here, although they all live in very different neighborhoods, can agree on one thing this is an awesome place to be.

North Baltimore neighborhoods include:
Abel | Charles Village | Harwood | Oakenshawe | Chinquapin Park | Lake Walker | Mid-Govans | Coldspring | Mt. Washington | Hampden | Remington | Woodberry | Greenspring | Guilford | Homeland | Lake Evesham | Tuscany - Cantebury | Waverly - Better Waverly

Abel
Abel is part of the Charles Village Community Benefits District (CVCBD). The CVCBD is an active community with a strong sense of self-identity. Over 14,000 people reside in the CVCBD and there are approximately 700 local businesses. Both the residents and the businesses are extraordinarily diverse with strong civic associations throughout the area. The CVCBD has a strong local business climate and an abundance of well-known cultural and educational resources, being the home to such institutions as the Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

Each of the four residential neighborhoods making up the CVCBD — Abell, Charles Village, Harwood and South Charles Village have their own special uniqueness and appeal. Abell with it's sunporches and quiet streets; the tight-knit community of Harwood; Charles Village's Victorian rowhomes; and South Charles Village's Old Goucher College Historic District.

The Abell community was part of the original “Huntington” tract laid out for Tobias Stanboro in 1688. The Abell neighborhood, like Abell Avenue, derives its name from the Abell family, longtime owners of the Baltimore Sun-papers. The Abells owned a large summer estate known as Roseland, located a short distance north of today's Abell community. Early in its development, during the teens and 1920s, Abell was known for its well-constructed rowhouses and such plumbing amenities as running water and indoor sanitary provisions. Daylight houses, which allowed light into all rooms were built mostly by Edward J. Strock in the northern blocks. Areas to the south were developed with bay window, porch-front rowhouses.

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Charles Village
Also part of the Charles Village Community Benefits District (CVCBD), this community generally comprises the area inclusive of Howard Street to E. 20th Street over to Guilford Avenue and E. 25th Street over to Greenmount Avenue, to E. 33rd Street. The community includes residential property, apartment buildings, and businesses.

During the 1960s Charles Village saw a renaissance begin as the area’s architectural variety and quality attracted new homebuyers. In addition to the functional beauty of its large buildings, the neighborhood offered a convenient location near good public transportation and prominent institutions, such as the Baltimore Museum of Art. Local resident Grace Darin coined the name, Charles Village, in 1967. She was also active in the founding of the Charles Village Civic Association, an organization that continues to be dedicated to the continuation of the area’s unique identity.

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Harwood
The community of Harwood is one of the 5 distinct neighborhoods that make up the Charles Village Community Benefits District (CVCBD). The area is conveniently located to downtown and has very easy access to I-83. Major bus-lines follow the CVCBD's major north-south streets such as North Charles, St. Paul, Maryland Avenue and Greenmount.

Harwood is a tight-knit community that is predominantly residential. This area shares its early history with certain neighboring communities, notably Abell and Better Waverly. Harwood was originally part of the second “Huntington” tract of 475 acres, which was surveyed for John and Ashsah (Ridgely) Carnan in 1757. In the 1870s the Harwood area was known as Oxford.

Harwood played an important role in Baltimore's baseball history as teams, leagues, and playing sites hopscotched all over the City. The first field named Oriole Park was located in the vicinity of today's 29th Street and Greenmount Avenue in 1889, it was abandoned two years later because it was considered too far out of the City. For the next twenty-five years, Union Park at 25th Street and Barclay was the predominant seat of baseball in Baltimore. In 1901, however, an American League Park was built on the site of the first Oriole Park. Later, in 1914, Terrapin Park was built north of 29th Street, this field was bounded by Vineyard Lane, 30th Street, and the backs of the houses built along the west side of Greenmount Avenue. The northern terminus of Barclay Street was then 29th Street. The Orioles of the Federal League played here for a few years until the association was disbanded. In 1916 the site was renamed Oriole Park and became synonymous with the word “baseball” in Baltimore, until 1944 when it accidentally burned down.

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Oakenshawe
Oakenshawe comprises part of the estate of Henry R. Wilson, who sold his property for development to the Phillip C. Mueller Company in the early twentieth century. The first houses were built in 1916 along Guilford Terrace, with other sections following at intervals thereafter. The architects, Flournoy and Flournoy, who were brothers, were masters of home planning in the Georgian Revival style. The proximity to Guilford meant that the quality of the housing stock would be particularly high: Oakenshawe houses are very well built. Then as now, the appeal of the neighborhood has been to provide roomy but affordable housing proximate to Guilford and Roland Park as well as Charles Village and Downtown. The atmosphere in this neighborhood is one of an eighteenth century English town, within the city.

Oakenshawe is ideally located and adjacent to many attractions. Walk to Johns Hopkins University, Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore Museum of Art, Charles Village and Waverly shopping areas and the superb Waverly Farmer’s Market every Saturday; excellent parks (Wyman Park, Bouton Green, and the Oakenshawe Green Space); 10 minute drive to Downtown; 6 minutes to Penn Station, 5 minutes to I-83, 15 minute drive to downtown Towson and 15 minute drive to Johns Hopkins Hospital and Medical School.

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Chinquapin Park
Chinquapin Park today is a leafy, gently hilly community comprised largely of solid, red brick rowhouses in a variety of styles. Chinquapin Run burbles through the park that bounds the neighborhood on the east, from which it derives its name. Lined by tall trees and rolling lawns, the well-kept park is at once a never-tiring romping ground for children, a place for neighborhood picnics and other functions, and a peaceful scenic stroll. The park includes a traditional playground, with awnings, seesaws, slide and basketball areas. In addition, sandwiched between the new Northern Parkway and Lake Avenue, is an innovative and imaginative city playground.

The neighborhood was once originally part of an 800-acre estate known as Drumquechastle, owned by William Govane, founder of Govanstowne, the neighbors to the south along York Road. In 1846, Joseph William Patterson purchased 55 acres of Drumquehastle. A house, dating to approximately 1800 was on Patterson’s land, but by 1857 he had remodeled and expanded it, and named it after the Vale of Evashem, in Worchester, England. The stately mansion was reached by following a picturesque, winding drive from Evashem Avenue across a wooded bridge over Chinquapin Run. The house, with steeply gabled roofs, stained glass windows, and walls two feet thick, was crowned by a "widow’s walk", which afforded a view that reached as far as the Bay. A stucco house on Dartmouth Road at Hunstel Road is all that remains of the original estate. The old mansion, which many older residents remember well, was sold to the city after developers bought most of its acreage. It was razed in 1961 to make room for a school that was never built.

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Lake Walker
A charming, affordable, beautiful neighborhood with an active community association, Lake Walker lies just minutes away from Towson, Northern Parkway, The Jones Falls Expressway, Baltimore Beltway, and Downtown. Lake Walker contains a wide variety of dwellings ranging from spacious Tudor-style townhouses built in the late 30s, and attractive frame cottages from the late 20s to an eclectic array of more modern houses; and even a few large, stately turn-of-the-century homes.

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Mid-Govans
Mid-Govans is a diverse and close knit neighborhood featuring blue and white collar workers from different ethnic backgrounds. The area also has a diverse range of houses including large and small wood frame houses and sturdy brick rowhouses. The neighborhood is close to several major colleges (Morgan State, Loyola, Notre Dame, Towson) and hospitals (Good Samaritan, Sinai, St. Joseph). Shopping, entertainment, and employment are available on York Road, Belvedere Square, The Alamada, and Northwood. The historic art deco Senator Theater features many first run movies and premiers.

Mid-Govans is in the center of Govans Community. The community was originally called Govanstowne, named after William Govane. Govane received a tract of land from Frederick Calvert, the 6th Lord Baltimore, in the mid-seventeenth hundreds. Govans has always been associated with York Road, first as an Indian trail, and then as an important commercial road and turnpike linking the rich farmlands of Baltimore County and Pennsylvania with the City and the Port of Baltimore and finally as the urban corridor we know today.

Govans was also home to many estates of some of early Baltimore's most famous people. Enoch Pratt businesses man and a philanthropist owned land and a mansion on Woodbourne Avenue. Also William Walters, businessman and art collector resided in a Govans mansion. Colonel Lawrence McCabe noted bridge and construction engineer who built the North Avenue and St. Paul Street Bridges and tunnels for the B&O Railroad. Several of the great mansions still stand today along the York Road corridor.

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Coldspring
Coldspring is without a doubt Baltimore's youngest community. In the late 1960's, Baltimore City Government conceived of a bold plan to develop a complete new-town on 375 acres straddling Cold Spring Lane west of the Jones Falls. While the site originally comprised several large estates and was largely undeveloped the steep-sloped topography and presence of quarries and a landfill presented the designer with a unique set of problems.

Plans called for the development of Coldspring of three distinct residential neighborhoods, each with its own neighborhood center, and a large town center along Cold Spring Lane. Approximately 2700 housing units are planned for Coldspring, as well as 150,000 square feet of office space and 300,00 square feet of commercial space. Four housing types were designed for Coldspring: the Townhouse, and High-rise Apartment Building; “Cluster Houses” (which are grouped along Coldspring's steep slopes, and “Deck Houses” contiguous units which are built over their own enclosed parking facilities.

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Mt. Washington
This neighborhood is comprised of approximately 1600 residences surrounded by attractions, natural and man-made. On the Northwest edge, Luckman Park provides a place to play tennis, picnic or walk through the woods. At the other (southeast) end of the neighborhood, the University of Baltimore Fields include playing fields for lacrosse and rugby, and a golf driving range open to the public. The Mount Washington Village is part of the eastern section of the neighborhood, which includes restaurants, salons, clothing stores, specialty shops and even a veterinarian. Across the Jones Falls from the village is the Mount Washington Mill, a historic mill complex along the Jones Falls reborn as a major shopping center. To the north is the Bonnie View Country Club, which includes golf, tennis and swimming. Mt. Washington boasts two swim clubs: the Mt. Washington Swim Club, which is a neighborhood non-profit summer time swim club, and Meadowbrook, which is a year-round swim club and fitness center includes Olympic swimming pools that actually produces Olympic swimmers (such as Anita Nall). To the south is the beautiful Cylburn Arboretum, which includes specimen trees, well marked nature trails and bird watching. The neighborhood is served by the Light Rail, with service to Camden Yards and the Airport, and several bus lines. Major employers surrounding Mt. Washington include the St. Paul Companies and Sinai Hospital.

Mt. Washington was founded in the middle of the nineteenth century as a place to escape the oppressive conditions of the city. One of the first “street-car suburbs” of Baltimore, Mt. Washington housed some of the finer families, including H.L. Mencken, during their summer escapes. The neighborhood quickly grew into a year round community. The Mt. Washington Improvement Association was founded in 1885, and continues to this day as one of the oldest neighborhood associations in the country. The Association typically averages approximately 650 dues-paying households, striving to keep the best of the past with an eye towards the future.

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Hampden
Hampden first came into being in 1802 as a cluster of houses built for workers who manned the newly erected flour and cotton mills along the Jones Falls Stream Valley. The creation of these mills in turn spurred the growth of the port of Baltimore, which exported the milled grains around the world.

Most of the original residents of Hampden were immigrants from England, Germany and Poland. As the industrial revolution grew, people left farming communities from the adjacent counties and as far away as Pennsylvania to work in the mills. Hampden derived its name from a developer, Henry Mankin, who named the town after John Hampden a key figure in the English revolution of the 17th century.

Hampden had always been an almost self-sufficient community. Residents could find just about everything they needed right in the stores along 36th Street, known as “The Avenue.” The Avenue was the main street of Hampden and a focal point for residents. But when the mills closed completely, in the 1960's and '70's, residents moved out of the area and the stores that were once filled with customers, now became vacant. Fortunately, the mills have been renovated by forward thinking companies and developers and enjoy a new lease on life. Mills now house artist studios, health clubs, high tech companies and more. Today, The Avenue and the area in general are thriving. Singles and young families are discovering that Hampden's small town atmosphere and proximity to downtown make it one of the most desirable of Baltimore's neighborhoods. Hampden is great place to live, work and play. It is also a fun place to visit with scores of elegant to funky stores, eclectic restaurants and special events like the Hon Fest. Hampden is a uniquely authentic experience that's happening every day!

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Remington
Remington is a very diverse and tight-knit community. Many of the residents were born and raised here; some moved out only to return. There is a strong sense of “community” and people are proud of where they live. The area has over 90 businesses and is within walking distance of the Baltimore Museum of Art. Within the various blocks of the community there is a mixture of economic class structures. Some of the blocks have large yards, tree-lined streets and large porches, whereas other streets have no yards, no porches, and are small two-story rowhomes where stoop sitting is the tradition. In order to get relief from the heat in the summer, people sit on their front steps, better known as the “stoop,” to socialize and enjoy the breezes of the great outdoors.

This is a neighborhood that is in walking distance to the following communities: Charles Village, South Charles Village, Johns Hopkins University, Stone Hill, Brick Hill, Hampden, Wyman Park, Harwood, Abell, and Waverly. It is also lucky to have the #27 bus line come right through the community to provide easy transportation in and out of the area. This bus route connects to the Light Rail and the Subway. You can also walk several blocks in any direction to connect with other bus lines. Additionally, the Sun Cab Company is headquartered at the southern end of the community. You can easily go without a car in the neighborhood.

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Woodberry
Woodberry is located in the Jones Falls valley in Baltimore. The area is isolated from the rest of the city by Druid Hill Park and the Jones Falls expressway, which helped to create a sense of community among its residents and preserved its industrial roots.

During the 1800's, Woodberry was home to many flour and textile mills because of its proximity to the Jones Falls river. During the 1890's, the various mills were employed about 4,000 people. Many of these mills have been converted into studio and office space, and are still in use today. In the 1950's, Woodberry became the neighborhood of choice for a new Television industry because of its high altitude. WBAL, WJZ, Fox, and the WB networks all call Woodberry home

Woodberry is a neighborhood surrounded by nature. Druid Hill Park, a 700-acre park, borders Woodberry to the south. Cylburn Arboretum, a 176 acre park and tree conservatory, is just minutes north of Woodberry on Greenspring avenue. New proposals for Woodberry include a Greenway that will create nature trails in Woodberry that will connect these two parks, providing recreational space for residents, and preserve Woodberry's forests, and getting part of the area listed on the National Historic Register.

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Greenspring Trails
Greenspring Trails of the Woodberry watershed forest has what people seek when they move to settle down and invest in a place to call home. This is a quiet, clean, secure neighborhood with lots of green open spaces. The community is very close to all the amenities of urban living with the look and feel of life in the countryside. It has native trees and wildlife, clean air and spring-fed streams. The residents live with nature and they work to preserve an ecological balance between the built and natural environments.

The Greenspring Trails Neighborhood is an integral part of the Woodberry watershed forest, an Olmsted greenbelt connection between Druid Hill Park and Cylburn Park. The neighborhood is close to private and public schools, colleges and universities. It is a 3-minute drive to shopping centers, an 8-10 minute drive to downtown Baltimore and its cultural attractions. Plus it’s only a short walk or bike ride through the woods to the MTA light rail and its connection to the train station or airport.

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Guilford
Guilford is a residential neighborhood with 680 single-family dwellings ranging from modest houses to stately mansions, many with swimming pools. The area boasts extensive landscaping, street trees, and even old-fashioned streetlights.

The residents of Guilford are the proud owners of Sherwood Gardens, a six-and-a-quarter-acre park between Highfield, Stratford, Greenway and Underwood, which is known for its spectacular display of tulips that brings thousands of Baltimoreans to the park in late April and May. Also belonging to Guilford are Gateway Park, at Greenway and St. Paul Street; Little Park, further north between Greenway and St. Paul; and Sunken Park, at the corner of Charles Street and Overhill Road. Annual neighborhood events include moveable feast, Easter parade, wine tasting, Christmas tree lighting, and family activities.

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Homeland
Located in northern Baltimore City, Homeland is a neighborhood rich in architecture and landscape design. A variety of building styles give the neighborhood its special aesthetic appeal. Every home, from the most grand to the more modest, demonstrates the qualities that have made Homeland an enduring neighborhood for over seventy-five years.

The planners of Homeland took advantage of the local topography, designing homes to fit sympathetically into it. This is in no special measure due to the skill of the Olmstead Brothers, designers of New York’s Central Park, who laid out the neighborhood and created the common areas and special features such as the six decorative lakes located in the center of the neighborhood.

Homeland remains as beautiful today as it was seventy-five years ago because the covenants contained in the deeds of all properties in Homeland require homeowners to maintain their homes and to obtain written approval from the Homeland Association for all exterior modifications.

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Lake Evesham
Until the 20th Century, Lake Evesham consisted of large parcels of land with sparse development. The first homes were constructed in the 1900s, with a construction boom occurring after World War I. Most of the homes and streets were in place by the 1930s. Northern Parkway was constructed in 1973, eliminating houses on the south side of Evesham Avenue.

Lake Evesham is located in northern Baltimore City, a couple of blocks south of the City/County line. The neighborhood contains about 250 households, and two small apartment complexes. The citizenry is diverse, with new families moving in regularly, next door to long-time residents. This is a community that cares about its people, and they show it with increased involvement in local issues.

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Tuscany - Cantebury
This is a quiet residential neighborhood, consisting of townhouses, single-family homes, some apartment buildings, and a few small businesses. Tuscany-Canterbury is bordered by Johns Hopkins University Homewood Campus on the south, and tucked between Roland Park and Guilford.

This small community of perhaps one thousand families owes its name to the roads which bisect it. Bounded on the north by Warrenton Road, the east by Charles Street, the south by University Parkway and the west by Linkwood Road, Tuscany-Canterbury is located just north of The Johns Hopkins University and west of Guilford. Tuscany-Canterbury is predominantly a neighborhood of apartment buildings -- garden variety, Tudor-style mid-rise, and high-rise -- which have been built throughout the twentieth century. Distinctive brick Tudor group homes are clustered in the west along Tuscany and Ridgemede Roads, while more traditional American groups have been built in the east on Canterbury and Cloverhill Roads, below West Highfield Road.

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Waverly – Better Waverly
This community is historic village in the heart of Baltimore. Waverly is a safe, culturally diverse neighborhood with an active community life, innovative schools, affordably priced housing, and a strong sense of community. Conveniently located near I-83, York Road and major bus connections, Waverly provides easy access to downtown Baltimore, Towson, and the beltway.

Waverly has an active civic life. The two community associations include the Better Waverly Community Organization (below 33rd Street) and the Waverly Improvement Association (above 33rd Street). Through their sponsorship comes the gardening club, neighborhood cleanups as well as annual holiday parties and historic tours. The community also has excellent governmental relations – resulting in such successes as the Waverly Community Housing Program and the upcoming renovation of the Eastern High School building.

The area known as Waverly lies north or above 33rd Street and Better Waverly lies south or below 33rd Street. Residents of Waverly enjoy the only year-round farmers' market in the city. Located on 32nd Street, one block west of Greenmount, it is open every Saturday at 7 am. Children have many resources in the neighborhood, including the Waverly Family Center. Waverly is also home to the “Stadium School,” the first parent-teacher run school within the Baltimore City school system.

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