Locust Point: Exploring Baltimore’s Neighborhoods
American flags affixed to the front of several rowhouses on Latrobe Park Terrace blow gently in the light breeze. The adjacent park on this 85-degree, mid-June afternoon is active – at the dog park, on the playground equipment, around Banner Field. We’re just a few miles from the heart of downtown, but everything about this scene in Locust Point feels suburban.
“We have a retired police officer on my street,” says Will Jovel, the Locust Point Civic Association’s design review chair, “and he said while he was on duty, they called [our neighborhood] ‘Mayberry.’”
- Latrobe Park Terrace (Kalani Gordon/Baltimore Sun)
- Dec. 1, 2003: View from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Dec. 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Cars parked at the Locust Point Marine Terminal on New Year’s Day 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- March 2000: With the influx of new high-tech businesses, real estate values of row homes such as these in Locust Point have been appreciating lately. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
- The Banner Route, a Charm City Circulator line, along Fort Avenue in Baltimore. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
- Shawn Reichenberg and Joe Kelly are pictured outside Haubert Street rowhouses in Locust Point on March 28, 1982. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
- Employees at Amstar Corp.’s Domino sugar plant on Locust Point picket during a wildcat strike on January 15, 1980. Workers returned to their jobs the next day. (Baltimore Sun photo by Walter M. McCardell)
- Nov. 2003: William Marshall of Marshall’s Contracting, works on a cornice in the 1300 block of Andre St. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun staff)
- Nov. 2003: This is an abandoned grain elevator which looms above homes at E. Clement & Towson St. Locust Point is an up-and-coming neighborhood, with high-end condo/townhouse development underway for several industrial refurbishments, including this elevator. (Algerina Perna, Baltimore Sun)
- Dec. 1, 2003: View looking north from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
- Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
- Dec. 1, 2003: View looking towards downtown from the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun)
- April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point. (Chiaki Kawajiri)
- Sept. 12, 2000: Developer Bill Struever kayaks from the Tide Point office complex his company is building in Locust Point to a meeting in Canton. (Perry Thorsvik/Staff)
- Nov. 20, 2003: Marvin Bohle sweeps the sidewalk in front of his home on Reynolds St. as his dog, “Angel” looks down the street from the porch. Bohle worked 33 years as a grain operator at the grain elevator company behind him, which has been closed about 3 years. (Algerina Pern/Baltimore Sun)
- Two Locust Point residents continue an anti-expressway campaign in front of City Hall on Feb. 11, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
- The Under Armour headquarters in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Pre-game ceremonies at Ole Reistad Field on Fort Avenue in Locust Point on May 30, 1950. (Baltimore Sun photo by Leroy Merriken)
- A look into Bethlehem Steel’s Locust Point ship building plant on June 16, 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- The dog park at Latrobe Park and Banner Field in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Banner Field at Latrobe Park in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- A Locust Point soccer team faces an Italian club on Feb. 11, 1963. (Baltimore Sun photo by Paul Hutchins)
- A view of a mammoth grain building in Locust Point that members of the civic association in 1974 said spoiled the view of Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A ship passes by Fort McHenry on March 13, 1954. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
- Drudging operations alongside the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on Sept, 12, 1958. (Baltimore Sun photo by Ellis Malashuk)
- Ships adjacent to SIlo Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, 2015)
- Jumping into the Patapso off Locust Point on Aug. 20, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Joe DiPaola)
- War of 1812 defenders at Fort McHenry. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Fort McHenry fireworks on Sept. 17, 1951. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert Kniesche)
- 2001: Fireworks mark the beginning of the year 2001 at the Inner Harbor. This view is from Locust Point. (Steve Ruark, Baltimore Sun)
- A crowd at Fort McHenry watches drills on June 9, 1968. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Seven waterskiing enthusiasts from Florida skim past Fort McHenry in one of a series of exhibitions they put on along the route to World’s Fair in N.Y., on Aug. 5, 1964. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Stacey Bruce, 17, shows off a McDonald’s crab cake served as the Fort Avenue location in Locust Point on July 9, 1992. (Baltimore Sun photo by Kim Hairston)
- Coast Guard members are on duty at Fort McHenry on April 2, 1942. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- An aerial view of Fort McHenry on August 26, 1975. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
- Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
- Flames sweep over an unused coal pier on the north side of Locust Point on Oct. 5, 1970. (Baltimore Sun photo by William Hotz)
- Remnants of a once-majority industrial area are still seen among residential areas in Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 17)
- A banner showcasing the neighborhood as ‘Locust Point’ overlooks Fort Avenue. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- The Locust Point fire house is pictured on July 6, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Robert K. Hamilton)
- March 31, 1998: Freight cars in Locust Point bask in the late afternoon sun on Thursday. The photo was from an aerial perspective. (Doug Kapustin, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Silo Point at Locust Point. (Kalani Gordon, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- The Locust Point firehouse is reopened on Aug. 15, 1984. (Baltimore Sun photo by Lloyd Pearson)
- Sept. 14, 95: Pictures at the Procter & Gamble Locust Point plant which is being shutdown after 65 years of operation. (Lloyd Fox, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Mar 4, 2000: Locust Point has coexisted with heavy industry for decades. (David Hobby, Baltimore Sun)
- June 26, 2002: Zack Sinsky fishes with friends on a beautiful sunset evening at Tide Point pier. (Monica Lopossay Riesser, Baltimore Sun)
- April 2003: The 297-foot tall grain elevator at the tip of Locust Point, converted to luxury condominiums offices under a plan by local developers. (Chiaki Kawajiri, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Dec. 1, 2003: View of Ft. McHenry and the Key Bridge from the top of the 29 story grain elevator in Locust Point. (John Makely, Baltimore Sun, June 2015)
- Scenes from the Locust Point Festival at Latrobe Park on Sept. 12, 1977. (Baltimore Sun photo by Carl D. Harris)
- The Locust Point Marine Terminal South is pictured on April 21, 1988. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- Welder Bill DiDomenico and helper Keith Horton work in the first Fort McHenry tunnel section at Locust Point. (Baltimore Sun photo by Weyman Swagger)
- An aerial view of the B&O at Locust Point on Sept. 27, 1946. (Baltimore Sun photo by WM Klender)
- Below deck, loaders carry bananas to the cranes at the Fruit Pier at Locust Point on February 22, 1959. (Baltimore Sun photo by Richard Stacks)
- A ship is abandoned on the sand bar at Locust Point on Aug. 10, 1930. (Baltimore Sun photo by A. Aubrey Bodine)
- A truck leaves Locust Point on Feb. 3, 1983. (Baltimore Sun photo by Irving H. Phillips Jr.)
- A view of American Sugar Refining Co. in Locust Point in 1941. (Baltimore Sun photo)
- A view of a grain elevator in Locust Point on Feb. 4, 1979. (Baltimore Sun photo by Jed Kirschbaum)
Locust Point
» Border streets: Lawrence Street, Patapsco River,
» Neighboring areas: Locust Point industrial area, Riverside
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In this idyllic South Baltimore community, the median home price is $349,000. More than 83 percent of the population – which also includes neighboring Federal Hill and Riverside – between the ages of 16 and 64 are employed. Five years ago, a national consumer-finance website named Locust Point the safest large neighborhood in Baltimore.
It’s home to Under Armour, Domino Sugar and Phillips Seafood. McHenry Row, Silo Point and other recent developments have drawn droves of young Baltimoreans to the neighborhood. Bars, restaurants and shops are spread throughout the area, but not ubiquitously so.
All of which begs the question: Does Locust Point have any problems?
“Parking, traffic, density,” says Greg Sileo, president of the Locust Point Civic Association. “When you have big developments that are being planned, the question is how is it going to impact parking and how is it going to impact traffic.”
Minor inconveniences aside, Locust Point stands out among Baltimore neighborhoods for its modern amenities and historical charms. Fort McHenry, located at the eastern-most point of the peninsula, is known for its defense of the harbor from British attack during the War of 1812, events which inspired Francis Scott Key to write what became “The Star-Spangled Banner.” The neighborhood’s public elementary/middle school is named for the composer.
Damian O’Connor, a history buff and LPCA board member, was drawn to Locust Point by the Fort, where he works. A year ago, he decided to move from Catonsville to the neighborhood. “I told people I’m moving to the city, and they said, ‘Oh, you’re going to be hearing police sirens all the time.’ You never hear police sirens. What you hear are train whistles and boat horns.”
Two marine terminals – South Locust Point and North Locust Point – call the neighborhood home, as does the Baltimore Museum of Industry on Key Highway. For decades, port workers and employees at factories like Domino Sugar and Bethlehem Steel settled on the local streets, many of which are named for War of 1812 figures.
The juxtaposition of Locust Point’s blue-collar roots and present-day wealth/gentrification present some challenges for Jovel when it comes to the aesthetic concerns of development. He’s played a key consulting and communications role in changes to Latrobe Park, acquiring funds from Under Armour and other organizations to beautify the area. Much of the work was done in advance of the Star-Spangled Spectacular.
The next bullet point on Jovel’s design-oriented agenda is replacing a historic-yet-dilapidated bath house near Banner Field with a “really nice field house that’s kind of looking forward and paying respect to what was there historically.”
“I think [the neighborhood] was in a transition when it went from post-industrial to where we are now,” Jovel says. “Now it’s continuing a transition. I think more and more, new is kind of bridging with the old, and we’re getting along better and better every year. The new appreciate everything that the old have to say. When people describe the old bathhouse to me and birthday parties they had there, stuff like that, [I think], ‘Man that’s great, I wish I had the same amenity for my kids.’ I think everyone’s learning a lot about the history and where Locust Point came from, but also where we go from here and maybe guide some of the growth.”
Sileo, meanwhile, is keeping busy in his role as LPCA president, working with community stakeholders, local businesses, politicians, concerned citizens and developers on a variety of projects. Having spent five years in the mayor’s office and another three with the Maryland Department of Human Resources, Sileo – a city council candidate in the 11th district – is particularly concerned during our tour about the proposal to eliminate the Charm City Circulator’s Banner Route.
“A lot of people in Locust Point are really dissatisfied that the Banner Route is something that needs to be cut,” Sileo says. “We think we’re really underserved in The Point. We have one MTA bus that comes down the peninsula. It’s really inconsistent and comes down infrequently. Having that connection to other sites [throughout the city] is vital for us.”
Less than three weeks later, Sileo’s wish is granted. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announces that the Banner Route will be saved.
Another win for a city neighborhood that seemingly has it all.