The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached, or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Baltimore Magazine. We went in search of a dozen communities with unique personalities in and around the city.
Edited by Ken Iglehart. Illustrations by Danielle Dernoga. Neighborhoods offering the best bang for your buck? Check, done that. Most exclusive aka pricey? Fastest-selling based on days on market? This time, though, we got personal: Our editors went looking for the enclaves that we find most charming. We hope you find these neighborhoods as bewitching as we do. Yet plenty of people have never even heard of it. Nina Tou, a retired graphic designer, and her husband, Jacob Slagle, a semi-retired businessman, moved into their English-style country cottage 25 years ago.
But it was the sense of community that won the couple over. And people come from all over to walk, jog, and ride bikes around the lake. The group oversees a spring fling to benefit the community playground, annual bulb and tree planting, and welcome baskets for new neighbors. Back then, the neighborhood was inhabited by the families of old steel-mill and shipyard workers. But Gummerson has seen the area change as the old families have been replaced by young professionals.
When she moved in, she was one of the few people with a child in the neighborhood; now a new playground overflows with families. While the 18th-century port and shipbuilding district exudes new energy, it is still protective of its history and keeps its unique character with local shops, a farmers market, and flea markets. Gummerson says Fells Point is unique because it is so centralized, with all the businesses and restaurants and bars within a block or so of the central square and the waterfront.
The liveliness that originally attracted Gummerson and Earley is still evident. Its use as a passenger stop ended in , and, with the construction of the beltway and I, the line was closed in , after which it was converted to a residence. Most people think of Rodgers Forge as a haven for families with small kids. But when Michael Quasebarth, 55, moved to Baltimore for a job in sales nearly 18 years ago, he fell in love with the neighborhoodβwith nary a child in tow. He found the community beautiful, especially the mature trees, and he liked the character of the homes and the central location.
