MICA & the surrounding areas (Baltimore, Mount Vernon: apartment, crime, homes)

[HeadingToArtSchool!]

Hi! I'm looking to go to art school, and I found out about MICA and it really got my attention, I've never been able to visit Baltimore, so I'm hoping that maybe someone will be able to tell me what the area around the school is like. This is the address of the school if it will help you recognize the area:
1300 Mount Royal Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21217

Thanks in advance!

[emsgoof]

My sister attends there. The campus itself is relatively safe, but students are warned about going off campus after dark by themselves. Campus security is available to escort, but I don't know how far they go.
Be warned, the school does not have enough student housing!!! After your freshman year, you'll have to find a place on your own most likely!!!

[drew127]

The general rule of thumb is to stay on the same side of North Ave. as the school. Otherwise chances of being murdered rise significantly. I mean, it's baltimore so there is always that chance anyways.

[jonjj]

Don't forget to mention that one of the most expensive neighborhoods in the city happens to be right next to it. Bolton Hill. Also, it is relatively close to downtown. My nephew attended there and after his first year, found an apartment in Hampden and took the light rail one stop to the college. He enjoyed the school and the experience.

[bawlmer]

Originally Posted by emsgoof

My sister attends there. The campus itself is relatively safe, but students are warned about going off campus after dark by themselves. Campus security is available to escort, but I don't know how far they go.
Be warned, the school does not have enough student housing!!! After your freshman year, you'll have to find a place on your own most likely!!!

Considering during much of the school year (fall and winter) it gets dark before 6 pm, that a lot of time locked down on campus. Read between the lines of these posts Moderator cut: personal attack and take heed. School is difficult enough without spending time calculating your chances of being murdered. Look at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem. A friend attended there and loved it. She didn't even have to stay on campus after dark!

[Tallybalt]

If he's an artist, he will be spending most of his nights in the studios in the first place.

MICA is in a perfectly fine area. If you stray too far to the northwest you will run into troublesome areas. But the actual site of MICA: adjacent to Bolton Hill and Mount Vernon, near downtown and Hampden, and off I-83 is as safe as most urban areas. Some street-smarts late at night, yes, but has a MICA student ever been murdered in or off campus?

There's a large community of artists and art students in the vicinity.

As an added bonus, MICA is in a handsome area. Great architecture.

Originally Posted by bawlmer

Considering during much of the school year (fall and winter) it gets dark before 6 pm, that a lot of time locked down on campus. Read between the lines of these posts Moderator cut: personal attack and take heed. School is difficult enough without spending time calculating your chances of being murdered. Look at North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston Salem. A friend attended there and loved it. She didn't even have to stay on campus after dark!

[amelluz]

i used to live in that neighborhood, right on mt. royal ave and never had a problem. a neighbor had his car window smashed in and someone took his cd's. that's the extent of the problems me or my friends ever had in the area. i was right out of college at the time. the dorms were right down mcmechen and we would pass by all the art students walking home after class. usually they walked in small groups, i never saw anyone hassle them. truth be told, you probably wouldn't want to go north of north ave, but unless you decide to live up there, there really isn't any reason to go there. nothing interesting, just homes. also, not everyone is afraid to go out after dark in baltimore. please don't think you can't. mica is right next to university of baltimore which has lots of grad students and if you go south on mt. royal to charles st. area you will end up in mt.vernon which has some good places to eat and hang out. and you can walk there, even when it's dark outside. we used to do it all the time. i wouldn't late at night as a lone female, but with my roommate or my boyfriend it was perfectly fine. also, during the summer, right along mt.royal there is a fabulous festival called artscape that someone else had mentioned in a recent thread. it's great fun, lots of music, art vendors, food, performances, etc. also, my favorite dive bar in all of baltimore is right there, mt.royal tavern, full of art students and used to be smoke (the ban just started) and the ceiling is painted like the ceiling of the sistine chaple. cheap cheap cheap with an interesting crowd. good luck in your art school search.

[Streetchie]

Be careful. A friend of mine was nearly beaten to death in the alley behind her home in Bolton Hill during daylight hours. MICA is a cool school and Bolton Hill is a beautiful neighborhood, however, the crime can't be denied. My advise would be to visit the campus, walk around during the day and drive back through at night....... see for yourself. Lock your doors.

[bawlmer]

IKB: Use caution around Howard St. Walking to Bolton Hill is ok during the day, but a night jaunt without a dog or friends to B Bistro (a REALLY great place in Bolton Hill) is not recommended- although the Armory is across Howard and armed guards are usually present...


Better get a good map to plot your safe routes.

[jonjj]

This is a picture of Howard Street. It is very walkable and I do just that everyday: