As I made my way into Baltimore City on a recent summer morning, I couldn't help but notice the many peculiar sights that greeted me along my way. It was reminiscent of a gritty drama that you might see on late night TV. But, aside from the occasional "will work for food" panhandler, there were no actors here. This was real life....
As I approached the city/county line, I noticed a guy walking with a sign in one hand and a leash in the other. The sign read "Free To Good Home" and the other end of the leash was a attached to a large pit bull. The guy seemed oblivious to the traffic as he and the dog walked effortlessly between the moving cars.
As I passed Gonce's Funeral Home, two cars ignored the lane directions and proceeded to cut me off as I made my way onto Hanover Street. There was a time that I would have flipped them or unleashed a profanity-laced tirade. But over the years, I've learned to take the "no harm, no foul" approach on these things. It's just not worth it....
A few seconds later, I pass the former site of Gunning's Crab House. Once a bustling restaurant that supplied steamed crabs to the masses, it has since been demolished. In a brief moment of nostalgia, I fight the urge to roll down the window to catch the scent of Old Bay coming off of the steaming crabs. But all that remains today are the memories and an empty lot on which Brooklyn's iconic crab house once stood.
As I move along, I see an open-air drug market in full action. It makes me think of the HBO series "The Wire" which was actually based on Baltimore's illegal street activity. Gathered on the stoop of a corner row-home, a group of young men tend to their customers. Cars pull up to the house like it was a McDonald's drive-thru. Everyone involved in the transaction seems to be oblivious to the passing traffic and other activity around them.
About a block ahead, I see what appears to be a prostitute trying to catch the attention of passing motorists. The woman, whom I guess to be in her mid-40's, flashes a half-smile which reveals a set of of neglected teeth. Using her body to raise money for drugs, which in turn will destroy her body, seems like a cruel twist on the cycle of life. But nonetheless, she eventually finds a potential customer. She jumps into the passenger seat and the car turns onto Patapsco Avenue where the two will ultimately find a romantic spot to consummate their business transaction.
Sitting at the red light at the intersection of Hanover and Patapsco, I glance across the street to see what used to be a corner market. It is now a vacant building that keeps company with the adjacent abandoned structures on the block. Next door used to be a shoe store (Allen's Shoes?). This place remained there for much of the neighborhood's downturn. But like most other Brooklyn staples, it left only an empty shell of itself behind.
Across the street on the other corner is a large building where Sunny's Surplus once conducted business. It now appears to be a take-out place that supplies fried food to the community. There is a large sign on the building which says "Chicken Fish N' Chips". It seems to be a popular place as I can see people munching on various fried items as they gather at a nearby bus-stop. Responsible trash disposal appears to be optional as I see a woman casually toss a greasy paper bag onto the sidewalk. Ironically, there's a trash can just a few away from where's she's standing.
As I near the end of my drive and prepare to turn onto Maude Avenue, I glance up at the old Brooklyn Bowling site. It sat atop the large Shiller's Furniture store. You entered the bowling alley on the street level and had to walk up several flights of stairs to get to the lanes. It was a place where neighborhood kids would gather on weekends to converse and compete in a few games of duckpin bowling (it's a Baltimore thing). I am still friends with many of the people that I used to bowl with here. So, it always holds a special place in my childhood memories.
The only two sites that are still operating at they did 40 years ago are two bars, one next door to the bowling alley entrance and the other across the street on the corner of Hanover and Maude. I guess bars and liquor stores are a bit like cockroaches in the sense that they'll always be the last thing standing, no matter how bad things get.
Over the past few decades, things have changed dramatically in this area. Hanover Street, in particular, used to be a bustling area with thriving small businesses. It had all the things you would expect on an American "main street". There was a hardware store, a movie theater, two crab houses, sub/pizza shop (with pinball machines), two bait/tackle shops, a shoe store, a bank, a Chinese carry-out and, of course, several bars. It was never a rich neighborhood but it was working-class proud. Sadly, as I witnessed first-hand on my ride through, it has since been replaced with images of abandonment and hopelessness.....
kw