STUDY HISTORY: My home is located in Butchers Hill. A structural engineer informed me that our house was likely built in the 1870s, based on the joists and beams observed in the basement. We purchased the house in 2008 directly from relatives of the original owners and learned that the house had only ever been owned by that one family.

DESIGN CLASSICS: My interior spaces are inspired by both midcentury modern and Scandinavian design styles, combined with personal, eclectic, and unique objects, art, and furniture. I try to maintain bright, open areas that invite natural light, with warm, neutral tones complemented by pops of color throughout.

A PLACE FOR EVERYTHING: I prefer clean lines, functionality, and order, but not at the expense of creating a warm and welcoming space where friends and family can gather. Since this is not a large home, it’s important to be intentional about what I include, where I place it, and how it functions. I want friends and family to feel comfortable and at home when they visit, surrounded by interesting items to explore, but not so precious that they can’t touch, pick up, or engage with them.

DRAWN TO ART: I am currently the co-executive director of the new Center for Creative Impact at the Maryland Institute College of Art and have been affiliated with MICA for over 20 years. Being part of a school of art and design, surrounded by creative makers and thinkers among the faculty and students, provides me with a constant source of inspiration. My home is filled with art from MICA, including pieces created by former students, faculty colleagues, and even some of my own work from my time as a graduate student.

A VISIONARY: I think your home can be the ultimate expression of your personality. I appreciate artifacts that are unique in their form, function, and history. Personal stories hold great value for me. While I might initially be drawn to a piece of art or an object for its aesthetic qualities and raw beauty, I truly fall in love with it when there’s a unique story or personal connection attached.

FAVORITE PERCH: I particularly enjoy sitting on the couch and looking out the large picture window that faces the street. From this spot, I can see and hear passing cars, people walking their dogs, and kids running around. Sitting here always makes me feel connected to the block, the neighborhood, and Baltimore City—inside the house while remaining connected to the vibrant life outside.

[Editor’s Note 2/4/25: After we ran this review, it was announced that Palance would be temporarily closed while management “works through some important matters with our landlord.” Follow the restaurant on Instagram for further updates.]

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Walk into Palance Trinidadian Restaurant and Bar and the first thing you’ll see is a wall of rum. This is fitting, as owner-chef Sean Stephen’s Butchers Hill restaurant is an ode to his native Trinidad, an island well-known for its rum production and bottles.

You can happily grab a seat at the bar and settle down to watch a game on the giant TV while you explore the extensive rum-based cocktail menu and terrific Trinidadian food. But it’s also worth heading upstairs, where one of two dining rooms overlooks Castle St. Park, for a quieter dinner.

Palance—the name is a Trinidadian word for party time—inhabits a century-old rowhouse that was formerly the Life of Reilly Irish pub. Last summer, Stephen transformed the 3,000-plus square-foot location into a swank space, showcasing the exposed brick walls and opening the second floor up via two staircases to give it easier access. But the kitchen is where Stephen works his magic.

He’s currently the chef, though his business partner, LaRon Robinson, does some cooking and Stephen is looking for a sous chef, as he still has a day job with the State Department. When he’s not making callaloo, he’s a communications analyst at Andrews Air Force Base.

“I’ve always cooked, even when I lived in a barracks,” Stephen says.

He and his family moved from Trinidad to New Orleans; he joined the Army after high school and has spent his career stationed around the world. After continually cooking for area events for free, Stephen decided to start charging for his food. He searched for spaces closer to his home in Prince George’s County, then found Baltimore.

“Baltimore used to have a big Caribbean population; a lot of the immigrants came in through the shipyard,” says Stephen. He was drawn to the architecture and community of Butchers Hill, as well as the still-sizeable Caribbean community in the city for whom authentic Trinidadian food appeals.

Thus, the menu revolves around classic dishes like doubles, a street food featuring two turmeric-tinted flatbreads called barra topped with curried chickpeas; salt-cod croquettes called accra; and calaloo, the coconut milk-based stew named for the Caribbean greens (also called dasheen) that form its base.

“I try to stay true to Trinidad,” he says, returning frequently to see family—and to get a new jar of his aunt’s homemade hot sauce. That Scotch-bonnet-based hot sauce is doled out judiciously, a fiery but necessary addition to many of the dishes, adding both heat and depth of flavor.

Be sure to douse the excellent calaloo, as well as the brown stew chicken—a rich bowl of bone-in bird in a sauce made with caramelized brown sugar and ginger—and those doubles, all high points of the menu.

And if you need to quench the fire, there’s that wall of rum.

PALANCE TRINIDADIAN RESTAURANT AND BAR: 2031 E. Fairmount Ave., Butchers Hill, 443-601-5232. HOURS: Wed., Thurs. 3-10 p.m.; Fri., Sat. 3-11:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to closing. PRICES: Starters and sides: $3.30-11; entrees: $15.40-30.80; desserts: $7.70

LIVE
Tucked between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Patterson Park, Butchers Hill—so named for the meat salesmen who once lived above their stores—is a timeless Southeast Baltimore rowhouse locale. Of the 1,000 or so brick houses built between 1850 and 1915, most are well preserved today, and many have undergone rehabilitations. With some exceptions, the street grid guides the hierarchy of sizes and scales, with grand, three-bay-wide Victorian rowhomes on east-west streets, two-to-three-story houses on smaller lots along north-south streets, and interspersed blocks of cozy alley homes.

ARTS/CULTURE
Catch rotating exhibitions at MaxGallery, artist Maxine Taylor’s live-work space converted from an old arabber stable, and endless concerts and cultural events at Patterson Park and the Creative Alliance. Butchers Hill also has its own bi-annual flea market and craft fair every spring and fall and, of course, don’t miss the Great Halloween Lantern Parade & Festival every October.

PLAY
Patterson Park’s northwest corner, with its iconic Pagoda, borders the neighborhood’s eastern side, providing regal views and a gateway to 133 acres of the so-called “best backyard in Baltimore.” Family-friendly areas within the neighborhood include Castle St. Park playground on Fairmount Avenue and Charles M. Halcott Square’s sitting garden with picnic tables, trees, bursts of springtime blooms, and community gathering space.

DINE
There’s plenty here to please everyone, from barflies to foodies. Within Butchers Hill, there’s Argentinian fare (La Barrita), house-made pastas (Marta), and everything from breakfast to pierogies (Charmed Kitchen). In Upper Fells, just around the corner, are chef Sean Guy’s beloved seafood specialties (Water for Chocolate), burgers and cocktails (Bar 1801), beers on tap in a regal old church (Ministry of Brewing), and reliable dives (Mary’s Tavern, Butts and Betty’s).

NEIGHBOR SPOTLIGHT
Martha Simons, mixed-media artist and Butchers Hill resident of 30 years

“What drew me here was these really big, beautiful old houses that were very close to Fells Point without having all of the shenanigans that go on down there, and these beautiful views of downtown and the harbor and near Patterson Park. It just seemed like the perfect place. It has changed quite a bit. Just about all the homes now are rehabbed.

 

Butchers Hill is the only neighborhood I’ve lived in in Baltimore. The only other city I’ve ever lived in is Philadelphia, and this is just such more of a small-town feel than Philly ever was. It’s very much a city of neighborhoods, where you feel like it’s your own little village in the city. I love the walkability. I’m retired, but I use my car like once a week now, because I can walk pretty much anywhere I need to go.”

NEIGHBORHOOD STATS

Population: 2,122 Occupancy Rate: 89% Owner/Renter Split: 51 percent / 49 percent Median Home Purchase Price: $262,950 Estimated Rent: $1,595 Estimated Mortgage: $1,794

*Sources: Live Baltimore, The Baltimore Department of Planning

Local lore has it that the nickname “Charm City” dates back to 1975, when then-mayor William Donald Schaefer asked four of the area’s top advertising professionals to dream up a slogan that promoted the city’s appeal. A charm bracelet was even featured on the bottom of the new ads to convey the message visually.

Though residents have been embracing it for decades, recently, an influx of local restaurants have been taking inspiration from the moniker when naming their businesses. Aside from favorites like ice cream shop The Charmery and cat cafe Charmed Kitty, a new eatery called Charmed is expected to debut on North Calvert Street in Mt. Vernon next month—but it’s not to be confused with Charmed Kitchen, which is opening its doors in Butchers Hill this May.

“We kept playing with the word ‘charmed’ being that we’re Charm City,” says Christa Bruno, Charmed Kitchen’s executive chef. “But we didn’t want to be so blatant about it, so we added the ‘kitchen’ because with a kitchen you think of an all-day, busy place where the door is constantly open and people are coming in and out.”

The open-all-day approach is, in fact, a key part of Charmed Kitchen’s objective. Husband-and-wife owners—and longtime Butchers Hill residents—Lindsay and Andrew Crummey will head up breakfast and lunch service during the day, and Bruno will step in to helm the kitchen for dinner service.

“I’m not a morning person,” Bruno quips. “So having a more chef-inspired dinner worked out nicely.”

The owners bought the building—which previously housed bodega Ronnie’s Food Market and has two apartment units upstairs—on the corner of Chester and Pratt streets about a year ago. Originally, they didn’t plan to change much. But when Ronnie’s closed last year due to lack of business, the duo had to come up with a plan to utilize the vacant space.

“We wanted to keep it a neighborhood amenity,” Lindsay says. “We didn’t want to do what a lot of other developers are doing, which is that they turn these mixed-use corners into one big residential house. It was important to keep it an amenity, not only for our family, but for everyone else around us.”

The building is currently under construction, but on track to debut in May featuring a 35-seat dining room, custom cafe tables built with reclaimed wood from the original floor, and a brand new commercial kitchen.

Daytime service will include an array of coffees and teas, breakfast plates, grab-and-go sandwiches for lunch, and free Wi-Fi for residents looking for a place to work. There will also be a small selection of grocery items (think milk, eggs, and bread) for locals to purchase.

Bruno—a Baltimore native who previously operated now-closed Pazza Luna in Locust Point and currently works at Sotto Sopra in Mt. Vernon—will present a dinner menu that reflects her Italian roots with pastas, risotto, meats, fish, and local produce.

“My grandmother is from Sicily,” says Bruno, who recently traveled to the region to do research for the new restaurant. “So I was raised in kitchens and taught to cook from scratch. I want to bring that back to the table—the really fine essence, flavors, love, and attention to cooking.”

While Bruno is looking forward to the restaurant becoming a destination for diners from different parts of the city and county, the owners hope that the daytime cafe will be a staple in the community.

“Bringing a new spot to the scene makes me excited because it gives me another reason to want to stay here,” says Lindsay, who has lived in Butchers Hill for nearly eight years. “I hope this gives other families and young professionals a reason to stay, too.”

Admit it, that lonely geranium on the deck is looking pretty sad. And let’s not even talk about the eyesore that is the sun-baked concrete parking pad. If the little bit of outdoors behind your land-starved city home is that aesthetically depressing, why not consider a redo? After all, nothing is more soothing after a long day than relaxing in a lush, carefully planned garden. And, yes, even small spaces can yield big results. The proof? We found three city gardens that show all you need is a few stalwart plants, a hose, and a little imagination to transform a bland backyard into Babylon.

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City Stylish

When Ted and Emilie Carter moved into their Butchers Hill rowhouse in 2013, they took one look at the 600-square-foot backyard—little more than a deck, a patch of grass, and some ominous, overgrown cypress—and knew something had to be done.

But there was no cause to call in the experts, since they are the experts—Ted is the president of Pinehurst Landscape Co. and Emilie is a landscape designer at Design Collective.

“The environment doesn’t stop at the county line,” says Emilie. “If your backyard is nothing but concrete and furniture, think how much better it would be if you had a tree. We’re trying to make the environment a little bit better for our little part of the world.”

To create an entertaining space, the couple demolished the deck in favor of a stone patio and covered unsightly concrete block walls with wood fencing set horizontally for a more modern feel. An 18-inch wall offsets the patio from the larger garden, where a stone path meanders, giving a sense of motion and space that is surprising in the tight urban setting.

Mostly, Ted and Emilie agreed on the structural decisions. But when it came to plants, the conversation got tricky.

“We both have our favorites,” says Ted. “And I’m used to working with clients in the county where you have more flexibility. In the city, every square foot counts.”

Because of the urban heat-island effect, they avoided delicate flowers. Working with the long, narrow space and an existing maple tree, they planted for year-round interest. The flora explosion begins in March in shades of green, white, and purple, with daffodils, peonies, salvia, and alliums, and becomes more robust in summer as the hostas fill the shady areas. Then the hydrangea, coneflower, yarrow, and red-and-yellow daylilies come into bloom. In the fall, the camellia blooms and, in winter, the beautyberry brings color to a stark landscape.

To make the most of the space, the couple trained a crepe myrtle up a concrete wall and did the same with clematis and climbing roses. They also added a holly to create a habitat for birds.

Like all good gardeners, the Carters are never truly finished. They plan to add a container vegetable garden and are even kicking around the idea of a green wall.

“People don’t realize how rewarding it can be to grow something,” says Emilie, “whether it’s flowers you put in a vase or two good tomatoes.”

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Hanging Gardens

Christian Roth says he’s not a particularly whimsical person, but there is something decidedly fanciful about the garden he shares in Bolton Hill with his partner, Brian Causey, and their two British shorthair cats. The walls are hung with inventive bits of artwork, much of it collected on the couple’s annual spring pilgrimage to New Orleans. Little glass mushrooms peek out from shrubs and two water fountains burble pleasantly. And then there are the terraces.

Each of the home’s three terraces is bedecked with pots, hanging baskets, and window boxes overflowing with marigolds, petunias, geraniums, begonias, hibiscus, and herbs. But most striking is the wisteria, which has been trained up the three-story spiraling iron staircase, its branches thick as an arm, twisting around each curve.

“The back porch is a little Swiss Family Robinson,” Roth concedes.

When the onetime suburbanites made the move to the city rowhome in 2000, they decided to remove a cracked car pad and create a flagstone patio and flower beds. “In removing the car pad, it felt good, putting earth back where there was concrete,” says Roth, who is co-president of the Bolton Hill Garden Club.

After laying the new patio, the couple used the brick from the old car pad to create a path leading back to the alley, flanked on both sides by lush greenery. Three iron urns create a focal point in the very back of the garden while a Japanese maple gives the rectilinear space some height. Over the years, the garden has become dominated by perennials—ferns, hostas, lamb’s ears—with annuals thrown in for color, like the variegated coleus in the iron urns. “We wanted to evoke a woodland,” Roth says.

While there is an elaborate system of hoses and timers to irrigate the garden (Roth swears by Terra-Sorb crystals and gel mats for helping containers retain water in summer), the garden has become less maintenance and more oasis as it has matured. With the exception of the occasional police helicopter overhead, it’s easy to feel transported from the city.

“Don’t let yourself be limited by concrete,” Roth advises. “You can do a lot with containers or build a rectangle and fill it with dirt and go for it.”

And it hasn’t been just about the back of the property: Never ones to pass up a gardening opportunity, the couple recently ripped out the concrete pad at the front of the house and put in a new flower bed, along with another huge urn overflowing with flora.

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Constant Gardener

Roberta Hahn was tired of mowing grass, which is why she traded a large country home for a tiny plot in Bolton Hill. Now she gets her large-garden fix as a volunteer at Cylburn Arboretum and at her second home in New Orleans, where she spends the winter. But she was not going to live entirely without a garden in Baltimore.

When she purchased her home in 2002, the existing space was two straight flower beds running with military precision down either side of the yard, ending at a 40-year-old Japanese maple sitting on a brick terrace. It was also mostly shaded by neighbors’ trees, until, one by one, they started to come down. She planted a zelkova, a fast-growing, urban-friendly tree, to restore some shade, and ripped up the boring beds in favor of ones with organic shapes, reworking the original brick path into one that hugs the new beds.

“Having a meandering path is always more interesting, even in a tiny space,” she explains.

Describing the garden as a “plant zoo,” the avid horticulturalist introduced almost exclusively low-maintenance perennials and natives to the space: Joe-Pye weed, black-eyed Susan, coneflower, golden ragwort, bleeding heart, and azalea.

“I have one of everything,” she says.

Now she puts in the plants she likes, moving those that need to be moved, and giving away the flops to friends in the Bolton Hill Garden Club. She gets unique ferns and hostas from a friend who propagates them for fun. She planted deutzia simply because she loves it. Her spring-blooming hellebores are so happy, she splits off the babies and gifts them to fellow gardeners.

There’s always something going on in her “zoo”: Each spring, an espalier forsythia blooms beautifully; come autumn, the clematis along the back wall does the same. The constants in the garden are the birdbath (a rat-proof alternative to a feeder) and the angel sculpture created by a found-object artist in South Carolina.

“Gardeners are always trying new things, new plants, or plant combinations,” she says.

Perhaps her most ingenious decision was to remodel the back of her home with accordion doors that fold open to a screen porch, blurring the line between inside and out.

“It can be quite quiet back here,” she says. “Now, with my porch, I can watch the O’s play from the garden—without being eaten alive by mosquitoes!”

Jen Burke, full-time mom and part-time lab tech: “It’s got to be Rodgers Forge with its row homes and lots of young families.”

Shannon Nickey, bartender, Holy Frijoles: “Violetville is a safe, family-oriented neighborhood, and the police are prevalent to make sure there are no troublemakers!”

Helene Luce, senior director, educational initiatives, Community Law in Action: “Patterson Park is pretty amazing. There have been tons of kids born the last couple of years, and the families have stayed.”

Beth Laverick, owner, B Scene Events & Promotions: “In Butchers Hill, a lot of local families meet after trick-or-treating for a community potluck. Parents get to enjoy festive food and drinks while kids tear into their Halloween treats.”