Welcome to Hampden!
The neighborhood of Hampden has its own unique story within the larger history of Baltimore. This tour will use five of Hampden’s landmarks to show how Hampden has changed from a small cluster of buildings into significant neighborhood.
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Stories 5
St. Mary's Community Center: A Church-Turned-Community Center in Hampden
The story of Hampden’s name can be traced back to St. Mary’s Community Center. Originally established as St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, the congregation started meeting in Hampden in the 1850s. Under…
Hampden Hall: A Gathering Place Since 1882
Hampden Hall was an important part of Baltimore even before the neighborhood of Hampden was a part of Baltimore. Six years before Hampden was incorporated into Baltimore City, Hampden Hall was…
The Ideal Theater
In the Progressive Age (1890-1920), movie theaters were a new and popular form of entertainment. They were being built all over Baltimore, and Hampden was no different. In 1908, Marion Pearce and…
The Hampden Theater
For 50 years, the Hampden and Ideal Theaters operated within a few doors of each other in the 900 block of 36th Street in Hampden. Julius Goodman, who ran the Ideal for many years, described the…
Zissimos Bar: Where Lou Costello tap danced on the bar
Family-owned since 1930, Zissimos lays claim to being the oldest business in operation on the Avenue.Tour curated by: David Stysley