Irvington gets its name from founder Irving Ditty, a lawyer and former Confederate cavalry officer-turned-businessman who married into the wealthy Schwartze family and later redeveloped their estate into a railroad suburb community. In the last 150 years, Irvington has taken shape as a charming pocket in Southwest Baltimore with greenery and a diverse mix of housing—from standalone Victorians to newer multi-level apartments to porch-front rowhomes—that draws in families who tend to stay awhile.

SHOP: Close-by grocery stores include Giant and Weis off Wilkens Avenue, plus Save-a-Lot over the county line in Arbutus and Shoppers, Great Wall, and others in Catonsville. For shorter notice shopping, Frederick Avenue has a few small convenience shops and chain dollar stores.

DINE: The main drag of Frederick Avenue offers breakfast, chicken, quesadillas, and other comfort eats from Sugar Mama’s, Chinese carryout (China House), or pizza, wings, and other snacking things (Ravens Icon Pizza, Pizza Hub). A short drive west puts Atwater’s, State Fare, The Beaumont, Doozy’s Diner, Ships Cafe, and other Catonsville favorites on your menu.

PLAY: Irvington Park, abutting Beechfield Elementary/Middle School, has acres of greenery to enjoy, including a soccer field and baseball diamond. Explorers will relish the ecological regrowth and programming at Stillmeadow Peace Park, just a mile west on Frederick Avenue, or the sprawling stream valley trails of the 1,216 acre Gwynns Falls/ Leakin Park to the north.

ARTS/CULTURE: Historic draws include the 173-year-old, nearly 500-acre Loudon Park Cemetery, St. Joseph’s Monastery off Old Frederick Road, and the National Historic Register-listed Schwartze Mansion, once home to slave-owning textile industrialists who sold their estate to Ditty (who then redeveloped it into Irvington). In recent decades residents have developed heartwarming festive traditions like an annual Thanksgiving dinner and a neighbor-to neighbor Christmas basket delivery.

Neighbor Spotlight 
Dorothy Cunningham, 68, has lived in Irvington for three decades and served as president of the Irvington Community Association since 2005.

“When I first moved here, the neighbors were so generous and came and introduced themselves. I felt the warmth, I felt welcome, I felt all that. I started attending the community association meetings, then I got voted in as vice president and then as president.

“For the last 20 years, I have been developing relationships with the city agencies. You have to have a strong leader to get anything done. And you have to be consistent. I started doing community cleanups and working with the developers that want to come into my community. I do Thanksgiving dinners every year—I get donations and my family helps me a lot—but I cook all the food myself. Last year we fed 125 people.”

Neighborhood Stats
Population: 4,224; Occupancy Rate: 87 percent; Owner/Renter Split: 39 percent/ 61 percent; Median Home Purchase Price: $220,000; Estimated Monthly Mortgage: $1,902; Estimated Rent: $977; Walk Score: 67; Bike Score: 37; Transit Score: 53

Straddling the city-county border, Overlea combines suburban comforts, space, and greenery with city living, including a Main Street feel on Belair Road. This community, grounded in a proud multigenerational residential heritage for many families, is conveniently just inside the Beltway and supported by MTA bus lines moving to and from White Marsh and downtown Baltimore. Housing options are wide-ranging, with regal Victorians, Cape Cods, newer mid-century builds, and more.

Shop: Belair Road has a plethora of grocery and big-box chains to choose from, including BJ’s, Weis, Giant, Lidl, Aldi, and Food Lion, among others. For hyperlocal goods, there’s the Overlea Community Association’s biweekly farmers market (June-October, now in its 10th year) with farm-grown produce, local makers, and more for sale.

Dine: Enjoy a slice of Americana (and a milkshake) at the neighborhood’s namesake Overlea Diner, local crustaceans and other seafood from Skipjack’s Crab House, or a whole pie from the no-frills, time-honored Frank’s Pizza and Pasta (of recent Dave Portnoy fame).

More international flavors within a short drive include Caribbean (Lindo), Pakistani (Tikkaville), Japanese (Arigato, Yama), and Mexican (El Salto). And don’t forget the reliable watering holes of Buck Fowler’s Tavern and the City Line Bar & Grill.

Play: Holt Park and Center for the Arts is Overlea’s recreational centerpiece with 16 acres of woods, meadows, and open space to explore via walking trails, plus an outdoor amphitheater and historic cabins. Ballfields, athletic courts, and other play spaces are within reach at surrounding parks, among them Keyes Field on Moyer Avenue and Linover, Fullerton, Belmar, and Double Rock parks.

Arts & Culture: The Holt Center hosts low-cost or free educational and arts workshops where you can learn to make Halloween fairy houses and glass jar pumpkins or nature-inspired wreaths before Christmas. The Overlea ArtsFest at CCBC-Essex has celebrated community artistry since 2016 with juried exhibitions, workshops, and more, and this month, the community college will host the Overlea ArtsFest Short Films Festival.

Neighbor Spotlight

Doris Franz-Poling, 69, an Overlea native, is a board member for the Overlea Community Association, and board trustee for the Natural History Society of Maryland, located in the neighborhood.

“My parents moved here in 1955 from Bayonne Avenue in [nearby] Raspeburg with four kids—I was the bonus baby. I was born and raised on Manor Avenue and went on and had kids and a husband. The house I live in now we bought in 1991 and it’s one street over from where I grew up.

“You know, I could be at the age where we could be looking at [a retirement community] and all of that. But it’s so heartwarming to be able to go out onto your porch and talk to your neighbors and they know you and you know them. It’s really very much a community. I just love knowing people here. They’re my neighbors.

“We love Overlea and we want people to know about it. That has been our mission for more than 15 years, [to share] that this is a great place to come and live and know your neighbors.”

Neighborhood Stats 
Population: 797. Occupancy Rate: 88 percent. Owner/Renter Split: 81 percent/19 percent. Median Home Purchase Price: $332,500. Estimated Monthly Mortgage: $2,874. Estimated Rent: $1,578. Walk Score: 44. Bike Score: 35. Transit Score: 49.

*Includes only Baltimore City. No statistics available for Baltimore County residences in Overlea. 

—Sources: Baltimore City Department of Planning, Live Baltimore. 

Italianate and Federal-style rowhomes constructed decades before and after the Civil War largely define this historic Southwest Baltimore neighborhood’s residential fabric. Large, gracefully restored three-story dwellings line Union Square Park and surrounding streets, while blocks of smaller rowhomes—erstwhile workforce housing for the railroad and factories—emanate in all directions. Neighbors boast of their community’s sense of safety, racial and cultural diversity, and easy access to downtown and highways.

Shop: Hollins Market’s new grocery stall fills a gap for fresh produce and household staples within walking distance, or you can go fill up a shopping cart at Jumbo Fresh Supermarket at Mount Clare Junction. A one-of-one stop for fashionable streetwear is City of Gods in Hollins Market, a fixture since 2009.

Dine: Hollins Market, just a few blocks east, is Southwest Baltimore’s foodie hub with staples including Neopol Smokery, French- inspired Rooted Rotisserie, Zella’s Pizzeria, and the Back Yard across from the B&O Railroad Museum. The market building itself is getting a makeover, with new food stalls forthcoming. Other choices include Jamaican (HeyDaddy’s), seafood (Sea Pride Crab House), and assorted pizza and chicken carryouts dotting West Baltimore and Pratt streets.

Play: The 2.5-acre Union Square Park features its signature Greek Revival Pavilion and fountain at center, built atop a natural spring in the 1840s and ’50s. The park is a regular gathering space for residents (dogs included) and serves as the community’s nucleus. Other play spaces nearby include Vincent Street Park (basketball court, playground) and 117-acre Carroll Park with its nine-hole golf course, skatepark, ballfields, and more.

Arts & Culture: Union Square’s annual holiday cookie tour draws visitors into the homes of proud residents every December (not to mention a new Christmas market, added to the mix just last year). The park often hosts concerts, including weekly jazz and the monthly Sunday Sounds in the Park series from April through October. Historical attractions include, among others, celebrated journalist H.L. Mencken’s house and museum on Hollins Street and the B&O Railroad Museum.

Neighbor Spotlight 

Debra Rahl, 70, and her husband, Francis, have lived in their Union Square rowhome for 45 years. Rahl was a founding member of Union Square’s famous cookie tours.

“My husband and I were looking to buy a house in the city back in 1979. We used to just drive around, and one night we happened to drive by Union Square and we thought, ‘Well, this is pretty, what park is this?’ Our real estate agent suggested we come look at this house on Stricker Street across from the park. We came over and fell in love with it.

“It’s a really diverse community age-wise, and everyone is included in events around the neighborhood. If our neighbors see my husband and me doing something stupid, like trying to carry something heavy into the house, they’re right there to help us.

“Same way with shoveling the snow. When we first moved in, we shoveled the snow for our elderly neighbors. Now when I look out the window, I see someone shoveling snow and I just tell my husband, ‘Step back, we’re the old people now.’ Everyone looks out for each other.”

Neighborhood Stats
Population: 1,011 Occupancy Rate: 75 percent Owner/Renter Split: 37 percent/63 percent Median Home Price: $244,950 Estimated Monthly Mortgage: $2,117 Estimated Rent: $1,081 Walk Score: 86 Bike Score: 57 Transit Score: 77

—Sources: Baltimore City Department of Planning; Live Baltimore 

LIVE
This treasured enclave near downtown’s west side, formerly Baltimore’s French Quarter, is a tight-knit rowhome community situated around St. Mary’s Park, named for the historic Catholic seminary dating back to 1793. (The first of its kind in the U.S.) Most residences are small, well-preserved two- or three-story gabled rowhomes, with larger exceptions from the early-to- mid-1800s. Close proximity to Light Rail and bus lines adds convenience and walkability, and brick sidewalks, hearty street trees, and a varied cadence of rowhome façades amount to rustic urban charm.

ARTS/CULTURE
Few neighborhoods have such easy access to live theater (Arena Players, Everyman Theatre, Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick Performing Arts Center), art and history museums (The Walters, Maryland Center for History and Culture), and live music or other performances (Le Mondo, Current Space, Eubie Blake Cultural Center). Spiritual history is enmeshed via the central placement of St. Mary’s Seminary Chapel, a 216-year-old Neo-Gothic sanctuary, and the adjacent Mother Seton House, formerly home to the country’s first American-born Catholic saint and now serving as a museum.

SHOP
Walkable grocery options include Garden Produce at Lexington Market, Save-a-Lot in Bolton Hill, and Streets Market downtown. Various streetwear and natural goods shops have popped up around Lexington Market along Howard and Eutaw, and Benedetto Haberdashery is a trusty men’s fashion go-to on Park Avenue.

PLAY
The community tends dutifully to St. Mary’s Park, a 6.5-acre, triangular green oasis with gently sloping tree-shaded lawns, a fountain, and walking paths. The park holds space for all, from morning walkers to warm-weather picnickers to cyclists convening for the lively Baltimore Bike Party launch point. Social canines will also appreciate the nearby Howard Street Dog Park.

DINE
Trinacia, the 116-year-old Paca Street Italian deli/market, is the neighborhood’s pride and joy for sandwiches, pasta, cookies, and assorted kitchen goods and Italian delicacies. Within a 10-minute walk are dozens of stalls at Mount Vernon Marketplace and Lexington Market, coffee and artisanal teas (Dear Globe, Ceremony Coffee, Cuples Tea House), vegan ice cream (Cajou), Ethiopian (Addis, Tabor), and more on downtown’s west side and in Mount Vernon.

Neighbor Spotlight
Karen French, art conservator at The Walters Art Museum, president of the Seton Hill Association, and a neighborhood resident of 27 years.

“I love the fact that I look out of my window and I’m looking at trees. St. Mary’s Park is basically my yard. When you look in the park, it’s like a little European enclave, but then you look in the background and see the modern city. Both my husband and I could walk and cycle from the neighborhood, and that was a huge appeal.

“At the time when we had kids, very few people had children here. Now there’s a lot more people having young children. I knew the neighbors; the kids knew the neighbors. The kids went to climb the trees in St. Mary’s, and they would ride their bikes in the park. Even though we’re in the heart of the city, we have that intimacy. The neighbors are across the street, and you can keep an eye on them. We look after each other, which is a nice thing in the city that I think doesn’t always happen everywhere.”

Neighborhood Stats

Population: 1,129 Occupancy Rate: 89 percent Owner/Renter Split: 15 percent/85 percent Median Home Purchase Price: $91,000 Estimated Monthly Mortgage: $621 Estimated Rent: $1,270 Walk Score: 91 Transit Score: 100

—Sources: Baltimore City Department of Planning, Live Baltimore 

You’ve likely been to Baltimore’s beloved Squeakness during the annual Pigtown Festival, but these days, the Southwest Baltimore neighborhood is much more than tiny porkers running around a racetrack. Pigtown, also known as Washington Village, is quickly becoming a hip place to be thanks to affordable housing, easy parking, and proximity to downtown and major highways. 

Best of all is its community feel. Long-time residents mingle with young families and local students. Old barbershops, hair salons, and liquor stores live on, and a new batch of businesses fills Washington Boulevard with a fresh bustle of foot traffic. Now’s the time to head to SoWeBo, because this small ’hood might just be the next big thing.

1. Culinary Architecture: This adorable market-café-caterer is a one-stop shop for all things delicious, with local food goods for sale, slam-dunk sandwiches for snacks, and browse-able cookbooks for your inner epicurean. 767 Washington Blvd.

2. Ebenezer Ethiopian Restaurant: Rated by Yelp as the best Ethiopian restaurant in Baltimore, and even recently visited by the one and only Queen Latifah, this tiny ethnic eatery where you can dine in or carry out is free of frills but full of rich African flavor. 821 Washington Blvd.

3. Nick’s Rotisserie: This soul-food mainstay is the place to go for saliva-inducing Southern staples such as slow-cooked chicken, macaroni and cheese, and savory collard greens. 813 Washington Blvd.

4. Café Jovial: This cozy coffee shop is a neighborhood favorite for handcrafted espresso drinks, comforting breakfast options (hello, Belgian waffles), and a front window for reading the paper and watching the world go by. 784 Washington Blvd.

5. Suspended Brewing Company: We’re proud to welcome this new addition to Baltimore’s booming craft beer industry. Starting this fall, suds lovers can expect creative microbrews in a beautiful former church. 912 Washington Blvd.

6. B&O Railroad Museum: Learn all about trains, tracks, and technology at the B&O, best known as the birthplace of American railroading. 901 W. Pratt St. 

7. Enoch Pratt Free Library: At the Pratt’s Washington Village Branch, check out books, sit in on discussions, and bring the kids for after-school activities. 856 Washington Blvd.

8. Carroll Park: Soak up the sun in Baltimore’s third-oldest park, equipped with rolling green hills, a skate park, a golf course, and the historic Mount Clare estate. 2100 Washington Blvd.

9. Ripp’d Canvas: This brand-new tattoo parlor and gallery space is the South Baltimore spot to admire local art or even get a work of your very own. 801 Washington Blvd.

10. Mobtown Ballroom: This 19th-century church-turned-concert hall is a hoppin’ home to swing dances, burlesque performances, and jazz concerts with an old-time feel. 861 Washington Blvd.

11. Lithuanian Hall: On first Fridays, the basement of Lith Hall, located just a short scramble north in Hollins Market, turns into a funky get-down during its Save Your Soul dance parties. 851 Hollins St.

12. Pigtown Horseshoe Pit: This pocket park comes with a pair of metal stakes for rounds of horseshoe (though you have to BYO shoes). Join a tournament and admire the rowhome mural featuring three men engaged in the old-school game. 1217 Bayard St.

13. Thrift: Between Housewerks Salvage and Second Chance, bring Architectural Digest and your dream home to life at these treasure-trove warehouses filled with reclaimed home goods, overlooked antiques, and forgotten art. 1415 Bayard St. & 1700 Ridgley St.

14. Sports: Whether it’s the high heat of summer or dead cold of winter, head east to Camden Yards or M&T Bank Stadium to support our boys in orange and purple. 333 W. Camden St & 1101 Russell St.

15. Pigtown Ale House: With local beers and an upcoming burger bar, this new watering hole is sure to become a staple, located just a stone’s throw from Carroll Park. 1415 Washington Blvd.

First, there was Hampden. Then, there was Woodberry. Now, Remington is all the rage. The northern neighborhood is in the midst of a major renaissance, evolving from gritty streets and vacant houses to a vibrant community with new businesses, warehouse apartments, and a fast-growing food scene. With a bevy of things to eat, drink, see, and do, there’s no better time to visit the 21211.

Eat

Clavel: When you need a getaway, this hipster-chic Mexican taqueria (above) is a must for its minimalist aesthetic, homemade tortillas, and spicy mezcalitas. 225 W. 23rd St.

New Wyman Park Restaurant: Eat cheap and cure your hangover at this classic, no-frills greasy spoon. Pro tip? The scrapple. 138 W. 25th St.

Papermoon Diner: With Pez dispensers in the windows and mannequins on the walls, this Technicolor cafe is quintessentially weird and wonderful, with must-have milk shakes. 227 W. 29th St.

Parts & Labor: This meat mecca by Woodberry Kitchen’s Spike Gjerde offers one of the city’s best happy hours with bargain beers, wine, and drool-worthy snacks.
2600 N. Howard St.

R. House: Get to know 10 city chefs, like Café Cito’s Dave Sherman, hawking his badass breakfast sandwiches, and former Encantada chef Melanie Molinaro, bringing the
farm to your fork with her vegetarian cuisine. 301 W. 29th St.

Sweet 27: This little corner eatery offers a creative menu for every need, with wholesome cooking featuring plenty of gluten-free, soy-free, vegetarian, and vegan options. 123 W. 27th St.

Drink

The Baltimore Whiskey Company: Stop in for distillery tours and take-home hooch like Shot Tower Gin. 2800 Sisson St.

The Dizz: This neighborhood bar is the go-to spot for juicy burgers, cold drafts of Resurrection, and local sports on the tube. 300 W. 30th St.

Long John’s Pub: Don’t fear the Formstone exterior and bawdy barkeeps. This dimly lit dive bar is a disappearing breed for shots of Pikesville, rounds of darts, and, if you’re fearless, karaoke.
398 W. 29th St.

W.C. Harlan: The older sister of Clavel, this Prohibition-style speakeasy offers a step back in time with killer craft cocktails and candlelit conversation. 400 W. 23rd St.

See

Alligator mural: With its mouth ajar, the colorful reptile in this street-side painting (by longtime local artist John Ellsberry) can make for a great optical illusion. 600 W. 28th St.

Drawn Metal Studios: HBO doesn’t have the only wire in Baltimore. Swing by the studio of Devin Mack and admire his whimsical wire sculptures. 315 W. 31st St.

Single Carrot Theatre: Let out your inner thespian at this small innovative theater, now in its 10th season. 2600 Howard St.

Hear

The Ottobar: At this beloved rock venue, hear some of the best music in town on any given night, be it local talent or national acts. 2549 N. Howard St.

WrightWay Studios: Whether you’re making your own music or listening in from the street, this small studio space has cut albums for the local likes of Celebration, Arbouretum, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. 425 Fawcett St.

Shop

Charm City Cakes: Learn how to bake from the pros with cooking classes by this Food Network-famous cakery. 2936 Remington Ave.

Mill Valley General Store: Move over Whole Foods. This sparse warehouse sells all the farm eggs, fresh produce, local meat, homemade bread, and bulk coffees and teas you could need. 2800 Sisson St.

Remington Row: Beneath its industrial apartments, this ground-level retail space will feature pharmacies, dry cleaners, hair salons, and even acupuncture. 2700 Remington Ave.

Do

Charmington’s: With a strong cup of Counter Culture coffee, finish your homework in the Barack Obama-approved chair, where the president sat and sipped during a visit last winter. 2601 N. Howard St.

Gather Baltimore: Feeling philanthropic? There are many ways to volunteer at this 4-year-old nonprofit, which aims to reduce food waste and bring healthy local produce to Baltimore’s food desert. 2800 Sisson St.

Wyman Park: Bring Fido for the lush grassy lawns and shaded walking trails of this 16-acre public park. Wyman Park Drive at Sisson Street.