Brewers Hill: Exploring Baltimore’s neighborhoods
Driving on I-95 just north of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, you cannot help but notice the grinning, mustachioed cartoon character that appears to be winking at you. Though National Bohemian hasn’t brewed its beer at the intersection of O’Donnell and Conkling for 35-plus years, the company’s iconic mascot remains a ubiquitous reminder of this city’s industrial past.
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- Looking west at one of the Brewers Hill neon signs, just south of the Natty Boh tower. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- The back-side of the Natty Boh Tower, one of Brewer’s Hill’s most iconic sights. A neighborhood landmark is the illuminated Mr. Boh sign that hangs high above the old National Bohemian brewery established in 1885. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Fait Avenue, Brewers Hill. The neighborhood’s architecture includes a variety of houses built between 1915 and 1920 as the city expanded eastward. The housing includes traditional Baltimore rowhouses built of redbrick and formstone. Many of the older houses have original architectural features, such as marble steps and porch fronts. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- An aerial shot of the Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- The Natty Boh Building; formerly Gunther Brewing Company, at the corner of O’Donnell and South Conkling streets underwent renovation to transform it into some of the 737,000 sq. ft. of office and warehouse space that’s planned in the Brewer’s Hill project. This project, which includes an efficient design and use of recycled materials, is among the first in the state to apply for the new Maryland Green Building tax Credit program. Pictured is some of the renovation work on the building as viewed from Dillon street. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun/March 22, 2004)
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- Obrecht Commercial Real Estate Inc. is converting the old Gunther Brewing buildings into apartments and retail space. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun/Sept. 20, 2013)
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- The back-side of the Natty Boh Tower, one of Brewer’s Hill’s most iconic sights. A neighborhood landmark is the illuminated Mr. Boh sign that hangs high above the old National Bohemian brewery established in 1885. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Brewers Hill neighborhood. 700 block of Fagley St. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Brewers Hill neighborhood’s architecture includes a variety of houses built between 1915 and 1920 as the city expanded eastward. The housing includes traditional Baltimore rowhouses built of redbrick and formstone. Many of the older houses have original architectural features, such as marble steps and porch fronts. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- The Brewers Hill neighborhood’s architecture includes a variety of houses built between 1915 and 1920 as the city expanded eastward. The housing includes traditional Baltimore rowhouses built of redbrick and formstone. Many of the older houses have original architectural features, such as marble steps and porch fronts. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- Icon Mr. Boh, the cartoon character who has long represented once-local beer National Bohemian, atop the the old brewery in Brewers Hill, Baltimore. (Gene Sweeney Jr/Baltimore Sun/March 6, 2006)
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- An aerial shot of the Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- An aerial shot of the Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- An aerial shot of the Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- The old Gunther Brewing buildings, Brewers Hill neighborhood in Baltimore, Md. (Credit: Obrecht Commercial Real Estate)
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- Brewers Hill housing complex where 600 new units were built. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 25, 2012)
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- Brewers Hill housing complex where 600 new units were built. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 25, 2012)
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- The neighborhood’s architecture includes a variety of houses built between 1915 and 1920 as the city expanded eastward and warehouse space with modern redevelopments. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- One of the walkways connecting the former Gunther Brewing Company buildings. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Sacred Heart of Jesus, Foster Avenue and Conkling Street in Brewers Hill. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Looking south on Conkling Street in Brewers Hill, Baltimore, Md.. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Brewers Hill, Baltimore, Md. The housing includes traditional Baltimore rowhouses built of redbrick and formstone. Many of the older houses have original architectural features, such as marble steps and porch fronts. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Brewers Hill, Baltimore, Md. The housing includes traditional Baltimore rowhouses built of redbrick and formstone. Many of the older houses have original architectural features, such as marble steps and porch fronts. Few streets in the neighborhood have covered porches like these seen on Grundy Street. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Decorations outside a home on Conkling Street in Brewers Hill, Baltimore, Md. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
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- Looking west to the old Gunther Brewing buildings. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
Brewers Hill
» Brewers Hill boundary: Eastern/Haven/Conkling/O’Donnell
» Neighboring areas: South of Highlandtown, east of Canton, and north of Canton’s industrial area.
» Latest Brewers Hill news
Brewers Hill – the home of “Mr. Boh” and the former National Brewing Company – is a neighborhood that celebrates the commerce and production it was known for in a bygone era, while embracing development and growth. It’s an eclectic mix of young professionals new to the city, and older residents whose rowhomes have been passed down from one generation to the next.
Jason Lancaster falls into the former category. The 32-year-old engagement director at Mindgrub Technologies in Catonsville grew up in Parkville but rarely ventured into the city. In the late 1990s, a high school-aged Lancaster got a job in The Broom Factory on Boston Street and began familiarizing himself more with the area. When he decided to buy a house in 2002, Brewers Hill was an obvious choice for its location, its affordability, and its everyday conveniences – particularly compared to its neighbor to the west.
“I mainly chose [Brewers Hill] for the parking. I had worked in Canton, on and off, since 1997, and I just knew how parking had changed this entire area,” Lancaster said. “I knew that I did not want to be in the heart of Canton, coming home at 9, thinking, ‘Where am I going to park?’”
The Fait Avenue home Lancaster eventually selected “had a lot of potential” and was “on the cheaper end of the spectrum.” From the exterior, it is a fairly nondescript brick structure with stain-glass above the front door and front window. The interior, meanwhile, called for a full-scale renovation, something Lancaster said was “unusual” at the time in Brewers Hill.
“We were one of the first houses in Brewers Hill to fully renovate,” said Emily Lancaster, 32, Jason’s then-girlfriend and now wife. “There were others, but when you would talk to people, it was like, ‘Oh, really?’ Now every few months, there are more.”
A walk through the neighborhood with Jason, Emily and their 18-month-old son, August, reveals a hint of the development – both residential and commercial. On Conkling, Blue Hill Tavern and Of Love And Regret stand out as relatively new, trendy bar/restaurants that draw young families like the Lancasters and other Canton-area professionals. The neighborhood is also marked by old-school Baltimore corner bars, like Grundy’s and Knotty Pine.
“The interesting thing is sometimes those places have their regulars, but there’s a lot of crossover, too,” Emily said. “You don’t end up drawing the same types of people. Yes, they have regulars, but [there’s a mix of the neighborhood]. That’s what I think is cool about some of these older areas. … You do get a blend of people from a lot of walks of life.”
Other neighborhood highlights for the Lancasters include Baltimore Threadquarters (a fabric and fiber arts supply store on Conkling and Eastern) and the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s Southeast Anchor Branch, located right across the street. With plenty to do in the neighborhood, plus much-needed quiet and a relatively low crime rate, the Lancasters are considering staying in the area for awhile.
Jason, Emily and August Lancaster in Brewers Hill. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
“A lot of our friends [have] stayed in the area,” Jason said. “They’re all kind of young, [and] everyone’s looking for that hipish thing of living in the city and having that city life. For the most part, we just keep getting more and more friends” in the neighborhood.
A few remaining plants and warehouses still dot Haven Street, making the neighborhood’s eastern border a somewhat anachronistic answer to everything on Conkling. With the Natty Boh tower as its anchor, and a healthy mix of history and evolution, Brewers Hill remains an attractive Southeast neighborhood for Baltimoreans young and old.
This is part of an ongoing series from The Baltimore Sun about the history, culture, and future of Baltimore’s neighborhoods. Have a suggestion for what neighborhood to explore next? Let us know.
Around the web
» Gunther apartment building in Brewers Hill goes from beer to blight to restored beauty
» Live Baltimore: Brewers Hill
» Jacques Kelly: Watching Baltimore transform
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