Kitsch King of Baltimore: Hampden

Hampden, Maryland. If your train isn’t headed here than holler up to the conductor and tell him to make a stop, or at least jot down the word “Hampden” in your iPhone notes to look up later.

Hampden, Baltimore is the kitsch center of Baltimore, or “Bawlmer,” if you ask a native. Don’t be surprised by a “Hey Hon” greeting, hole-in-the-wall antique shop or an impenetrable accent if you’re ever so lucky to find yourself in this part of town.

No other neighborhood in America can boast both the city’s best “adult store,” seven years running and also clinch most elaborate, well-decorated, family-friendly Christmas event of the season. If you’re not yet convinced Hampden is a study in contrasts, swing by Old Bank Barbers and grab a “Natty Boh,” as you wait for the snapback wearing, tightly trimmed bearded and elaborately tattooed barber to call you up for a new dew. The motto is, “If it grows and needs cutting, we’re happy to oblige,” so have some fun with your new look.

Hampden wasn’t always an oasis of highly appreciated uniqueness. It was originally settled by many of the mill workers who worked along Jones Falls. Cotton mills and gristmills sprung up along the Jones Falls, an 18-mile-long stream that starts North of Baltimore and runs through to the Inner Harbor. The hilly topography of Hampden allowed for hydropower to be capitalized on but also provided a desirable incline for natural pathways that developed into roads and railroads. These cotton and gristmills were the center of Maryland’s economic industry from the 1850s to the late 1880s. Even today, they comprise the second most intact set of early industrial buildings in the United States.

The primarily white and working class demographic of Hampden didn’t begin to shift until the early 1990s. The original building units were small, two story houses made out of brick or stone. Many of the millworkers’ families were housed in these complexes and professionals in higher positions of management or ownership lived in large stone houses scattered throughout the neighborhood. What marked a distinct change in the culture was the development of, “The Mill Centre.” The Mill Centre originally manufactured fabric later to be sewn into sails for the ships sailing in and out of Baltimore. In 1987, the factory was renovated with modern amenities. With convenient proximity to both Johns Hopkins and the downtown area, artists began claiming areas of Hampden for their own, starting with The Mill Centre. Today the Mill Centre houses over 70 tenants who comprise an array of professions. Ranging from craftspeople, to painters, designers and architects, the concentration of creative minds allows for many joint ventures and collaboration between tenants.

Since The Mill Centre development, a unique Hampden culture developed and can be best captured by a stroll down 36th street, or what has come to be known as “The Avenue.” The Avenue houses many boutiques, antique stores, restaurants, art galleries, yoga studies, a wine bar and a selection of specialty shops. Just a few blocks over on 34th street during wintertime, one can find the “Miracle on 34th Street.” Homeowners here decorate their houses with a multitude of lights and Christmas decorations. This spectacle not only invites local residents but also attracts tourists internationally.

The rich character of Hampden comes out in each of its residents. Take a peek into Sixteen Tons for instance. Sixteen Tons operates on a motto that seems to reflect a general sentiment in Hampden: “…we recognize that enduring styles don’t need improvement and that sometimes less is more.” The classic watches, or timeless leather jackets neatly hanging among the wracks are all selected by Daniel Wylie, a Baltimore Native and now over a decade resident of the Hampden neighborhood. Wylie describes the Hampden of today as being in the top 15 neighborhoods internationally. He said, “More people in the world want to come to Hampden than to Baltimore.” These words were especially true for Wylie who himself grew up in Baltimore, left for 20 years and returned to pour all his efforts into not only his store, sixteen tons, but into the greater Hampden community.

Having grown up in Baltimore, Wiley remembers the days when 36th street had boarded up storefronts and the streets were filled with “crack addicts, cokeheads, skinheads and hookers.” Wiley stares out of the storefront window as he recalls the history of his home. “The downfall of Hampden was the loss of jobs.” During the mid-sixties, Hampden was headed downhill. Unemployed mothers and fathers turned to substance abuse and could no longer support the retail businesses of Hampden. If the factory working, homeowner phase was the “Old Hampden,” as Wylie coins it, this was the ‘’Middle-old” time period. Middle-old Hampden was “desolation alley” and its residents sat waiting for the day retail would come back, and luckily it did, in the “third phase.”

If you take a break from the gentlemen’s boutique for a minute and stroll down just a few storefronts you will be quite surprised by the juxtaposition. Here you will find a, “Lesbian owned, multi-gender operated, for profit, mission driven sex toy store,” called Sugar. Sixteen Tons is an anachronism next to modernized, liberal sex shop – and oh by the way in between buying a suit and your adult-toy paraphernalia, there are actually three dining options so hold onto that appetite for a snack after shopping.

The proximity of retail stores, though unusual, demonstrates exactly the flexibility Wylie mentions in his interview. Wylie described how Hampden might be one of the last neighborhoods in the city where one can get just about everything without leaving the community.

Though selling entirely different products, Jacq Jones of Sugar, is also a ten-year storeowner in Hampden. She worked in reproductive healthcare for many years and wanted to focus on the pleasure side of sex by opening a store that offers courses in sex education and promotes a sex positive message. In Hampden, she was able to accomplish just that, and Sugar’s business is doing better than ever. Jones acknowledges there are many new residents moving into luxury condos in the nearby apartment complex, the Rotunda. The young, modernized “yuppies” seem to be adjusting just fine to the neighborhood but Jones does acknowledge the shortage in parking. Wylie sees the miniature “gentrification” as a positive, “Because of the nature of Hampden, people are moving in and staying, money gets invested and things like the quality of schools goes up.”

Jones and Wylie are just two examples of the unique network of Hampden. Both belonging to the Hampden Village Merchant’s Association (the largest in the city), both merchants share a genuine love for the neighborhood. Despite having “shitty stories” surrounding theft or vandalism, Wylie says the members of the merchants association all share an “underlying love and respect for the neighborhood.”

When asked about a changing dynamic with the influx of millennials moving into the very attractive neighborhood, Wylie commented that the neighborhood will never really lose its character, “the families have been here for one hundred years and ownership of their real-estate assures they aren’t going anywhere anytime soon,” in other words Hampden kitsch will be preserved with its people for the foreseeable future.