The Block (Baltimore)

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The Block is a stretch of East Baltimore Street in Baltimore, Maryland that is home to strip clubs, pornography shops and other adult entertainment venues.

In the first half of the 20th century, the Block was famous for its burlesque houses. It was a noted starting point and stop-over for many of noted burlesque dancers, including the likes of Blaze Starr.

By the 1950s, the clubs became seedier as burlesque was replaced by strip clubs and sex shops. The Block of that era is featured prominently in several films, notably Barry Levinson's Liberty Heights and Diner.

The decades to follow would bring a marked increase in general crime, prostitution, and drug dealing, an unusual situation considering the location of Baltimore's Police Headquarters and Central Police District House at the east end of the Block. It has been accused that the Police, who are located literally next door to the Block choose to contain the prostitution and drug dealing in that small section of Baltimore rather than combat it, as rampant prostitution occurs inside the strip clubs despite the heavy police presence.

The passing decades would also see a shrinking of the Block. Once several blocks long, stretching almost to Charles Street in the central part of Downtown Baltimore, today the Block only stretches about 2 blocks long from South Street to Gay Street.

Pollock Johnny's sausage restaurant was a local landmark of the Block into the 1980's.

In recent years, the Block has undergone a bit of a revival with the opening of Larry Flynt's.