Baltimore Neighborhoods

Accession Number P75-54-0908g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The neighborhoods of Baltimore between the Wars went through a change to more modern homes and were a precursor to the suburbs we see today. But these neighborhoods also reflect the history of racism and segregation in Baltimore. Prior to the annexation, Baltimore had a massive population increase in the nineteenth century. The new population arrived during Baltimore’s industrialization. Between 1880 and 1890 the population increased from 332,000 to 509,000, as the manufacturing centers increased forty percent. Many of these newcomers came from rural Maryland and states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania. The influx of people also changed neighborhoods as the number of housing units increased dramatically by seventy-six percent. As Baltimore began to modernize its industry, new residents settled as the parents of the Baltimore residents that changed the neighborhoods after 1918.

Baltimore Diversity

Accession Number P75-54-0905ag, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Baltimore experienced a flow of immigrants to the city yet their experience was not as severe as for example New York. In New York, masses of immigrants from Europe moved into the city causing major overcrowding. The new immigrants were forced to live in deplorable conditions in tenement housing. There were neighborhoods in Baltimore in poor condition, but they did not experience the overcrowding of New York. Many immigrants such as the Polish, Irish, and Germans rented and bought homes in places such as Fells Point and Jones Falls.

Modern Neighborhoods

Image Number Neg Z9. 269. PP8, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society

The annexation provided more opportunity for builders to change what was considered a “neighborhood” in Baltimore. Their creations led to “White flight” in Baltimore well before the widely known period after WWII. This period in Baltimore shows not only the shift toward contemporary housing but also a focus on housing reform. Organizations such as the Baltimore Housing Authority formed during this time, showed both a city and federal focus on state of housing. It is important to acknowledge that the slum clearance program was meant to fix housing but more important contain the poor, specifically Black residents. After WWII, the Housing Authority planned for the creation of high rise apartments to control the poor population. The expansion of Baltimore neighborhoods between the wars initiated issues still battled today, as many cities see middle class families move away to upscale secluded suburbs, leaving exposed poor conditioned neighborhoods within the city.

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