Highlandtown, Baltimore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Highlandtown is a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, United States.
The area currently known as Highlandtown was established in 1866 when the area known as "Snake Hill" was established as a village outside of the Baltimore city limits. The first settlers of the community were primarily German Americans. In 1870 residents renamed the neighborhood "Highland Town" because of the views it offered over the city. The neighborhood was made part of Baltimore city in 1919.
The neitghboorhood today is bounded by Haven Street to the East, Baltimore Street to the North, Clinton to the West, and Eastern Avenue to the South. The long stretch of Eastern Avenue that runs through the neighborhood is notable as the Highlandtown's main commercial thoroughfare. The area has been designated as a "Main Street District" by Mayor O'Malley, seeking to promote commercial revitalization through economic incentives from the National Main Street Program.
Highlandtown is one of Baltimore's traditional blue-collar neighborhoods. In Baltimorese the neighborhood is pronounced "Hollantown". Historically one of the city's main commercial and industrial hubs, the neighborhood suffered a period of decline beginning in the 1970s, as the manufacturing sector declined and large numbers of city residents joined in the nation-wide "white flight" to the suburbs.
Modern Highlandtown is in transition. The long-established Polish, Italian, and Irish population are being augmented with a growing Latino community.
[edit] External Sources
- Southeast Community Development Corporation
- Greetings from Highlandtown
- Highlandtown Arts
- National Main Street Program