Greektown: Exploring Baltimore’s neighborhoods
At its peak, Greektown was home to about 1,000 families. Now it’s around 600. People come and people go, mostly to the county. But the pull of this Southeast Baltimore neighborhood – particularly for Greek-Americans – remains strong.
“They come down to the restaurants, they come down to the little shops,” said Theo Harris, a Greektown resident and prominent local realtor. “Their weddings, their funerals, their baptisms, it’s all happening in the community. That’s really the bond.”
- 06/17/09: Eastern Av at Macon Street looking west from Greektown Wednesday, June 17, 2009. (Baltimore Sun Staff/Karl Merton Ferron)
- 5/1/08: A Greektown sign outside Samos restaurant. (Kathryn Whitney/Sun Photographer)
- Overlooking the east end of Greektown, from the rooftops of the Athena Square development. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)Overlooking the east end of Greektown, from the rooftops of the Athena Square development. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- Eclectic homes in Greektown. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- 03/25/12: Members of Baltimore’s Greek community joined the parade procession to celebrate the 191st anniversary of Greek independence. (Colby Ware/Baltimore Sun)
- Overlooking the east end of Greektown, from the rooftops of the Athena Square development. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- 4/8/03: Porches on Umbra Street in Greektown. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- 3/13/13: Athena Square, a new housing development at the south end of Greektown. (Kim Hairston/The Baltimore Sun)
- 6/10/12: Dancers from the St. Mary Magdalena and Markella Church in Dublin, Maryland (Harford County) perform at the St. Nicholas Greek Folk Festival in Greektown. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
- Greek Independence Day parade- Sunday , March 25 in “Greektown.”(handout scanned 3/17/01)
- 5/1/08: Window front in Greektown. (Kathryn Whitney/Baltimore Sun)
- Kentrikon, a Greek newspaper, media and gift shop and hosts of the Greek-American Radio Hour. (Kalani Gordon/The Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)Kentrikon, a Greek newspaper, media and gift shop and hosts of the Greek-American Radio Hour. (Kalani Gordon/The Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- 11/4/10 – Tina Bilis, in the midst of arranging to purchase gifts for her godchild’s christening, looks at a CD while the owner of Kentrikon, Nitsa Morekas, takes a phone call. (Jed Kirschbaum, Baltimore Sun)
- 8/11/04: Eastern Ave pictured out the window of Kentrikon, a gift store on Eastern Ave. (Lloyd Fox/Baltimore Sun)
- 8/4/08: Nitsa Morekas, owner of Kentrikon, a Greek themed gift and music store, in her shop on Eastern Ave. (Barbara Haddock Taylor/The Baltimore Sun)
- Good Friday at Saint Nicholas Greek Otrhodox Church on South Ponca. (Sun archives/April 1969)
- Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, a staple of the Greektown community. (Albert D. Cochran, Sun archives/Nov. 6, 1957)
- 4/14/12: Fr. Michael Pastrikos gives Communion as he leads Great Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil, “The First Liturgy of the Resurrection” on Holy Saturday Morning at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- 4/14/12: Fr. Michael Pastrikos tosses bay leaves into the air as he walks down the aisles of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. Pastrikos is leading Great Vespers and the Liturgy of St. Basil, “The First Liturgy of the Resurrection” on Holy Saturday Morning, the day before Easter. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- Saint Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, a staple of the Greektown community. (Albert D. Cochran, Sun archives/Nov. 6, 1957)
- The Greektown Square and Event Center, a central community event space for Greektown. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- 2/20/97: Odiseas Giftopoulos is the owner and operator of Souvlaki Restaurant. The restaurant specializes in Greek and Italian cuisine. (Hillery Smith/Baltimore Sun)
- 1/6/11: Ikaros, a classic Greektown restaurant, has changed its face several times over the years. (Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun)
- The Ikaros Restaurant in Greektown. (Sun archives)
- Ikaros, March 14, 1971. (Sun archives)
- 12/17/97: The north side of the 4700 block of Eastern Ave. is reflected in the display window of the Greek Town Bakery and Delicatessen stocked with a panoply of olive oils. (Jed Kirschbaum/Sun staff)
- Ikaros, May 10, 2981 at 4803 Eastern Avenue. (Sun archives)
- 11/30/10: Shown is the exterior of Samos’ Greek restaurant on Oldham street in Greektown. (Gene Sweeney Jr./Baltimore Sun)
- 5/1/08: The Acropolis Restaurant in Greektown (Kathryn Whitney/Sun Photographer)
- 2/28/02: In an effort to revitalize the Greektown community, John E. Gavrilis, exective director of the Greektown Community Development Corporation and former Baltimore City Police Col., has implemented a safety initiative that employs off-duty city police officers to walk foot patrols in the community until 10 p.m. Baltimore City Police Sgt. Bob Wehner, left, talks with Angelo Theofanidis, right, owner of Athena Fine Greek Imports, during patrol. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- 6/8/14: People enjoy food and beverages at the St. Nicholas Greek Folk Festival which was held this weekend on Ponca St. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)
- 5/1/08: The Ikaros Restaurant in Greektown (Kathryn Whitney/Baltimore Sun)
- 5/1/08: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Greektown. (Kathryn Whitney/Baltimore Sun)
- 5/1/08: Townhouses in Greektown. (Kathryn Whitney/Sun Photographer)
- 5/1/08: A beautiful mural in Greektown. (Kathryn Whitney/Sun Photographer)
- Eclectic homes in Greektown. (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun/Oct. 2014)
- 7/21/01: Thomas Green, a longshoreman who works nearby, walks by a new mural on S. Oldham St., which frames the lot for the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church. The mural, unveiled on June 11, was a joint project between the city and the Greektown Community Development Corp. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)
- 4/20/04: Shawn McRaney begins to paint a mural in Greektown on Oldham Street south of Eastern Avenue Tuesday, April 20, 2004. He and three other artists are participating in the mural. (Nanine Hartzenbusch/Baltimore Sun)
- 6/17/09: D. Christopher Ryer (glasses) of Southeast Community Development Association and Jason Filippou (darker hair), Executive Director of Greektown Community Development Corporation at the site of the proposed development on Eastern Av at Quail Street on the east side of Greektown Wednesday, June 17, 2009. (Baltimore Sun Staff/Karl Merton Ferron)
Greektown
» Border streets: Lombard, O’Donnel, S. Haven, I-895
» Neighboring areas: Kresson, Highlandtown, Brewers Hill, Highlandtown, Hopkins Bayvew
» More neighborhoods
The old-world charms are all around: restaurants (Akropolis, Ikaros, Samos and Zorba’s) and shops (Kentrikon, Athenaikon Music Center) along Eastern Avenue and side streets; the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, an anchor institution in the community for more than six decades; and the annual Greek Folk Festival, a four-day celebration of food, culture and music on Ponca Street.
What really excites Harris, though, is the potential for growth in Greektown. What has already occurred in Canton, Brewers Hill and parts of Highlandtown could be coming to this neighborhood soon.
“A whole lot of investors are coming into Greektown,” said Harris, who, in addition to his full-time job with Keller Williams Realty Baltimore, serves as a consultant for the Greektown Community Development Corporation. “The PEMCO plant right across from [Johns] Hopkins [Bayview Hospital], access to major highways, I-95, [all] just walking distances from here. We’re really excited about what’s going on with Greektown the past couple years. We just see progressively increasing values.”
Harris was born in Greece and came to the U.S. when he was 18. His aunt and uncle worked in advertising in Detroit, and eventually obtained exclusive franchise rights to Little Caesers Pizza in Baltimore. Harris came over and joined the family business before branching out into real estate.
He remembers selling homes for $14,000 in the neighborhood, but more recently recalls houses in the $400,000 range. There are still “traditional Greek, porchfront homes, combination of brick and stone” sold as shells for $80,000-$100,000 in the neighborhood. And there’s new construction closer to Boston Street, most notably the Athena Square and O’Donnell Square developments.
“The pieces are just falling right into place, which is really exciting,” Harris said. “It was kind of rough in the 80s … but we seem like we’re rising. We’re seeing a lot of investors, and then we see school teachers and firemen and policemen and regular folks that work 9-to-5 coming in and buying a home because it’s affordable. You can buy a renovated home in Greektown for $150,000.”
Affordability, safety and walkability are the traits Harris touts when extolling Greektown’s virtues. There’s room for more commercial growth, particularly between the Canton Car Wash and Canton Crossing off Boston Street. The proposed Baltimore Red Line would run through Greektown and be another game-changer for the neighborhood.
With more public transportation, Harris sees the potential for Baltimore to rival bigger East Coast cities, and Greektown to continue its growth.
“Personally what I’m really excited about is the young professionals coming in,” he said. “Because they’re bringing the culture about less is more, we demand more efficiency, we demand things to go further for less. … [I’d like to see a neighborhood] where people can literally actually walk. They can live in the same place and work, and play, and don’t have to hop in their car and pollute and burn gas and expenses. … I think change is cool.”
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.