Hello, Neighbor: Howard Park

LIVE
Situated on Liberty Heights Avenue near the city line, Howard Park offers a wide array of largely stand-alone homes, from two-bedroom Cape Cods to spacious, three-story woodframe houses. Though just blocks from the Metro Subway, tree-lined streets and surrounding woods offer an air of suburban quietude.

SHOP
The 68,000-square-foot Howard Park ShopRite, Baltimore’s largest grocery store, has been a retail anchor in the community since its much-hyped debut in 2014, after considerable city incentives and lobbying. A neighborhood farmers’ market will return to the mix this year.

ARTS/CULTURE
Lively new public art outside the historic Ambassador Theater is a harbinger of great things to come. Minneapolis nonprofit Artspace is steering a multi-year, $20-million redo of the 1936 Art Deco landmark into a live performance theater with studios, galleries, and more.

PLAY
Wander Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park for winding trails and miniature trains, or hit the links (or the driving range) at Forest Park Golf Course. Lake Ashburton’s soon-to-be-restored loop and sprawling Druid Hill Park are just a few minutes’ drive east

DINE
Howard Park’s main strip on Liberty Heights includes Caribbean Heat and a handful of carryouts (Man Cheng, Rock Seafood, Fred’s). Get your summertime crab feast supplies up the road at United Crab & Seafood. A quick trip up to Pikesville’s Reisterstown Road brings Jewish delis and lots of options—everything from chains to specialty eateries for charbroiled chicken, Mexican, sushi, and more.

NEIGHBOR SPOTLIGHT
Christopher Ervin, a Howard Park resident of 20 years and chairman of the Howard Park Civic Association

“I’m originally from New York City. I’ve been to San Francisco, Berlin—I’ve been to different places, and communities usually have a fairly uniform construct. The backs of the houses, the sizes of the yards, the roof construction is all the same—there’s uniformity there. And for some reason, we don’t have that uniformity. It seems to be a feature that gives us a uniqueness that works for us. You could start a family and stay here. You don’t need to move away to get a bigger house or, as you get older, there are smaller houses when you want to scale down. It really is about the homes. There’s a wide variety of beautiful homes in and throughout this community.”

Neighborhood Stats:
Population: 5,057; Occupancy Rate: 88 percent; Owner/Renter Split: 65/35 percent; Median Home Purchase Price: $177,000; Estimated Rent: $1,370 Estimated Monthly Mortgage: $1,207; Median Household Income*: $50,992

*Includes Howard Park and West Arlington neighborhoods. Source: Live Baltimore, Baltimore Department of Planning, Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance