Hello, Neighbor: Butchers Hill

LIVE
Tucked between Johns Hopkins Hospital and Patterson Park, Butchers Hill—so named for the meat salesmen who once lived above their stores—is a timeless Southeast Baltimore rowhouse locale. Of the 1,000 or so brick houses built between 1850 and 1915, most are well preserved today, and many have undergone rehabilitations. With some exceptions, the street grid guides the hierarchy of sizes and scales, with grand, three-bay-wide Victorian rowhomes on east-west streets, two-to-three-story houses on smaller lots along north-south streets, and interspersed blocks of cozy alley homes.

ARTS/CULTURE
Catch rotating exhibitions at MaxGallery, artist Maxine Taylor’s live-work space converted from an old arabber stable, and endless concerts and cultural events at Patterson Park and the Creative Alliance. Butchers Hill also has its own bi-annual flea market and craft fair every spring and fall and, of course, don’t miss the Great Halloween Lantern Parade & Festival every October.

PLAY
Patterson Park’s northwest corner, with its iconic Pagoda, borders the neighborhood’s eastern side, providing regal views and a gateway to 133 acres of the so-called “best backyard in Baltimore.” Family-friendly areas within the neighborhood include Castle St. Park playground on Fairmount Avenue and Charles M. Halcott Square’s sitting garden with picnic tables, trees, bursts of springtime blooms, and community gathering space.

DINE
There’s plenty here to please everyone, from barflies to foodies. Within Butchers Hill, there’s Argentinian fare (La Barrita), house-made pastas (Marta), and everything from breakfast to pierogies (Charmed Kitchen). In Upper Fells, just around the corner, are chef Sean Guy’s beloved seafood specialties (Water for Chocolate), burgers and cocktails (Bar 1801), beers on tap in a regal old church (Ministry of Brewing), and reliable dives (Mary’s Tavern, Butts and Betty’s).

NEIGHBOR SPOTLIGHT
Martha Simons, mixed-media artist and Butchers Hill resident of 30 years

“What drew me here was these really big, beautiful old houses that were very close to Fells Point without having all of the shenanigans that go on down there, and these beautiful views of downtown and the harbor and near Patterson Park. It just seemed like the perfect place. It has changed quite a bit. Just about all the homes now are rehabbed.

 

Butchers Hill is the only neighborhood I’ve lived in in Baltimore. The only other city I’ve ever lived in is Philadelphia, and this is just such more of a small-town feel than Philly ever was. It’s very much a city of neighborhoods, where you feel like it’s your own little village in the city. I love the walkability. I’m retired, but I use my car like once a week now, because I can walk pretty much anywhere I need to go.”

NEIGHBORHOOD STATS

Population: 2,122 Occupancy Rate: 89% Owner/Renter Split: 51 percent / 49 percent Median Home Purchase Price: $262,950 Estimated Rent: $1,595 Estimated Mortgage: $1,794

*Sources: Live Baltimore, The Baltimore Department of Planning