North Baltimore

Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University

For the town of North Baltimore, Ohio see Van Buren

North Baltimore is a large section of the city sprawling north towards Towson, and is home to Johns Hopkins University's Homewood campus.

Understand

For visitors, chances are that all you will want to see is in two neighborhoods:

• Greater Charles Village is the collection of small neighborhoods along and around Charles St north of the Jones Falls Expressway, including the Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Charles St is lively, with lots of good dining options, bars, and other assorted shops and things to do.
• Hampden is Baltimore quirkiness at its most extreme. It is a singularly eclectic neighborhood, with an odd mix of gentrification, eccentric long-time residents, the occasional drunk, and hipster/artist arrivals dubbed locally as "Hampsters." What, exactly, is that distinctively quirky Baltimore element? Too eccentric to define, it is a weird combination of assorted beehive hairdos, offensive John Waters flicks, arcane local comic books, Bawlmerese, calling people "hon," assorted strange 1950s nicknacks, ice cream soda fountains, extremely gaudy glasses, and other assorted traditions one would not find elsewhere. If you would like to peer a little further into Hampden culture, John Waters' Pecker is basically a personal tribute to the neighborhood, and don't worry, it's one of his least-offensive flicks. The main commercial strip is on 36th St, known locally as The Avenue, and you will find virtually everything of interest here.

Get in

Train

Amtrak/MARC train

• 1 Baltimore Penn Station, 1500 N Charles Street. Amtrak trains run from Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Charlotte, and Miami. MARC, the regional commuter rail, has trains that run from Washington, D.C., and Perryville, Maryland. (updated Apr 2023)

By metro

• 2 State Center/Cultural Center302 West Preston Street Station, 302 W Preston St. M-F 5AM-midnight, Sa Su 6AM-midnight. The closest station to Charles Village on the Baltimore Metro is State Center, although it is a bit of a walk. $2. (updated Apr 2023)

By light rail

• 3 North Avenue Light Rail Station, 325 West North Ave (in Old Goucher). M-F 4AM–12:45AM, Sa 4:15AM–12:45AM, Su and major holidays 10AM–10PM. North Avenue station is close to Charles Village. $2. (updated Apr 2023)
• 4 Woodberry Light Rail Station, 3465 Seneca St (in Woodberry). M-F 4AM–12:45AM, Sa 4:15AM–12:45AM, Su and major holidays 10AM–10PM. Woodberry station is very close to Hampden. $2. (updated Apr 2023)

By car

• The Jones Falls Expressway (I-83; locally called the JFX) enters the area from the northwest.
• N Charles St (Route 139) enters the area from the north.
• W North Ave enters the area from the west.
• Belaire Road (Route 1) to E North Ave enters the area from the east and northeast.
• Calvert St (Route 2) enters the area from the south.

See

• 1 Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive (at N Charles St and 31st St in), ☏ +1 443-573-1700. W-F 11AM-5PM, Sa Su 11AM-6PM, M Tu closed. Fantastic collection of 19th century, modern and contemporary art. Free.  
• 2 Negro League Baseball Museum, 10302 Grand Central Avenue, Owings Mills (bear Owings Mill Metro Subway Station). M-Th 9AM-9PM, F Sa 9AM-5:30PM, Su 1-5PM. Free Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in the Owings Mills Library which is housed on 3 floors of the library and contains artifacts, photos and memorabilia from the Negro Leagues. It is open the same hours as the library. Free. 

Johns Hopkins University

The Gilman Hall cupola at the Johns Hopkins University.

• 3 Johns Hopkins University, 3400 N Charles St, ☏ +1 410-516-8000. Johns Hopkins University is a mammoth institution in Baltimore, and it is here that you will find its center on the Homewood Campus. The Homewood campus was a property purchased in 1800 by Charles Carroll, signer of the Declaration of Independence, as a wedding present for his son, who designed and oversaw the building of the outstanding federal style country house. The Johns Hopkins University was the first research university in the United States. Tourists will enjoy the Homewood House, a historic home built by Charles Carrol for his son, now a history museum, and the Lacrosse Museum and National Hall of Fame. (updated Apr 2023)
• 4 Homewood Museum, 3400 N Charles St, ☏ +1 410-516-5589, homewoodmuseum@jhu.edu. (updated Sep 2020)
• 5 Evergreen Museum & Library, 4545 N Charles St, ☏ +1 410-516-0341, evergreenmuseum@jhu.edu. (updated Sep 2020)

Other sights

• 6 Flying Spaghetti Monster Billboard, 3901 Falls Rd. A prominent sighting of the Pastafarian deity, right on the side of a devotee's house. If this didn't already indicate clearly enough to you that you are in Hampden, note the text below: "Believe your noodly master, Hon." The billboard was removed in 2014 when the building was sold. Sadly, this billboard has been removed by new residents. 

Do

Performances

• 1 Baltimore Shakespeare, 3900 Roland Ave (at W 40th St, in Hampden), ☏ +1 410-662-9455. $10-25. 
• 2 Everyman Theatre, 1727 N. Charles Street (cross street E Lafayette Ave, one block north of MARC Penn Station), ☏ +1 410-752-2208. 
• 3 Single Carrot Theatre, 120 W North Ave (at Howard Street, two blocks east of North Ave light rail station), ☏ +1 443-844-9253. 

Honfest

4 Honfest, along 36th St (the Avenue) (in Hampden). One weekend in summer (in 2023: Sa Jun 11 noon-9PM and Su Jun noon-6PM). Hampden's big neighborhood celebration, which grew over the past 14 years from a little pageant created by a few eccentrics on a lark to a major city festival that draws even international visitors. The "hon" is a certain local style of lady that developed in the early 1960s, featuring dresses with flamboyant prints, very large and brightly colored horn-rimmed glasses, spandex pants, leopard pants, heavy eye-shadow, and as-tall-as-possible beehive hairdos. If you have seen Hairspray in any of its incarnations, you know what the Baltimore hon looks like. 

• The name comes from a shortening of "honey", used as a friendly way of saying "ma'am". (This widespread usage reportedly came from desegregation, when white Baltimoreans wanted to evade calling black men and women a more formal "sir" and "ma'am".) Today, Honfest is full of hons in full costume (or just their everyday hon look), and features two main events—the crowning of "Miss Hon", success in which depends on your look, and your participation in the second event—the Running of the Hons. If you want to be a hon for the day, fret not, you can get your makeup and beehive do right on site during the festivities.

Miracle on 34th Street

The more tasteful south side of 34th St in December

• 5 Miracle on 34th Street, 726 W 34th St. Hampden's premiere attraction, bringing in suburbanites all throughout December, is the Miracle on 34th Street in Hampden—an out of control Christmas decorations bonanza, all just on one block of 34th. Strands of lights are strewn across the street from house to house, plastic and inflatable reindeer wander the lawns, and the glare from the displays turns the night sky orange. Over the top or not, it really is magical and worth whatever difficulty you have in getting here. Traffic around this block in December approaches a stasis, in which cars may approach or leave, but the ones in the center may not ever move. (updated May 2020)
• Baby New Years. New Years viewed through the warped lens of Baltimore's funkiest neighborhood approaches the bizarre in a way that any John Waters fan would recognize. The lights are still up on 34th St, and the block is packed with people waiting to see the ball drop and the "appearance" of Baby New Years. The ball is a lighted ball that someone somehow rigged up with a garage door opener to fall down a lamppost at midnight; "Baby New Years" is a large forty-something mustachioed man wearing nothing but a bonnet and a diaper, who comes out of his house to thunderous applause at the dawn of the new year. 

Buy

• 1 The Book Thing, 3001 Vineyard Lane (near Greenmount Ave/Route 45, take the 8 bus from Inner Harbor), ☏ +1 410-662-5631. Free books! Take as many as you like, leave as many as you like, do anything you like with them (except re-sell them). Boxes are provided. 
• 2NOT EXISTING LISTING IMAGE Bazaar, 3534 Chestnut Ave (Exit 8 for Falls Rd north on I-83), ☏ +1 410-844-3015, bazaarbaltimore@gmail.com. Noon-5PM, closed Tuesdays. Curiosity-themed gift shop with a wide selection of natural history gifts, including framed insects, taxidermy, antiques, jewelry, and home goods. (updated Oct 2023)

Eat

• 1 Golden West Cafe, 1105 W 36th St, ☏ +1 410-889-8891. M-F 10AM-3PM, 5PM-10PM; Sa 9AM-2:30PM, 5PM-10PM; Su 9AM-2:30PM, 5PM-8:45PM. The Golden West Cafe is very popular, and not without good reason. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable (and family-friendly), with almost beautifully tacky "golden western" decor. The "southwestern" food on offer is very good, even for the relatively high prices. The service is slow and inattentive—don't be shy about hollerin' at your server if he's ignoring you. The bar here is one of the better places in Hampden to enjoy a beer, and it's open Su-Th until 1AM, F Sa until 2AM. $8-15. 
• 2 Papermoon Diner, 227 W 29th St, ☏ +1 410-889-4444. M-Th 7AM-midnight, F Sa 7AM-2AM. A late night diner south of Johns Hopkins that can go head to head with any Baltimore establishment on funky decor—every non-food-related surface in and on this building is plastered with elaborate and brightly painted found/trash art (if you have been diagnosed with OCD, never come here). The colors of the place alone are worth a visit just to cheer up your mood. The food is basically what you would expect from large-serving diner-style comfort food, perhaps a bit more, and is served until late (despite that the management, in a fit of idiocy, decided the place would no longer be open 24 hours). Ultimately though, you come here because you can't find a place this authentically funky outside of Baltimore. 

Drink

• 1 Artifact Coffee, 1500 Union Ave, 1st Floor (Union Mill), ☏ +1 410-235-1881. M-F 8AM-3PM, Sa Su 8AM-4PM. Coffee shop with nice atmosphere and a light food menu. (updated Apr 2023)
• 2 Carma's Cafe (on 32nd between Charles and St Paul in Charles Village). Well-known for their sandwiches and excellent coffee, Carma's offers indoor and outdoor seating just blocks away from Johns Hopkins University and the Baltimore Museum of Art. 
• 3 Common Ground, 819 West 36th St. Coffee shop on The Avenue (36th St) in Hampden. 

Sleep

• 1 Inn at the Collonade, 4 West University Parkway, ☏ +1 410-235-5400. Classy hotel near the Johns Hopkins University. The hotel features a restaurant, cafe and a lounge. rates from $146. (updated Apr 2015)

Connect

Baltimore all around has internet access in most places.

Go next

• Towson and Cockeysville - Satellite cities of Baltimore on opposite sides of the Beltway, just north of Baltimore on route 45.

Routes through North Baltimore

Hunt Valley ← Timonium ←	N  S	→ West Baltimore → Downtown
END ← Timonium ←	N  S	→ West Baltimore → Downtown