Is Dundalk deserving of its reputation? (Baltimore, Towson: section 8, houses, neighborhoods)

[D-Towner]

Is Dundalk deserving of its reputation? It seems like this bayside town gets a reputation as an uneducated, lower class community and I was wondering if this is indeed internet jabber that speaks negatively about a nice Baltimore suburb.

[Lumerian Feast]

When you say "bayside town," it sounds like you're talking about somewhere pleasant and bucolic like Palo Alto, CA or Tilghman Island, MD. That ain't Dundalk. And if you say "nice Baltimore suburb," people will think Catonsville, Towson, etc. No one will think "Dundalk."

Unfortunately, the way you've seen Dundalk described is largely correct. There are certainly some okay areas (my sister lives in one, actually), and there can be a decent bit of "hon charm." But the okay areas are never what you would call pretty or even particularly nice. Much of Dundalk is very industrial, with lots of big trucks rolling around. Very flat. The rowhomes don't have the charm of rowhomes in the city or even in some other suburban neighborhoods; they mostly range from nondescript to crappy. Lots of strip malls. There's not really anything of interest there, except for a couple of Polish cemeteries (and that's only interesting if you have Polish relatives buried there). It's pretty much just "blah," kind of depressing, with some areas getting a little ghetto-y.

Yes, there are many uneducated, lower class people there. Some of them would be called "blue collar," and are good, hardworking people that have a lot of Baltimore character. And then many of them are just redneck idiots or skinny thug wannabes.

[barante]

Lumerian Feast's description is largely correct. Dundalk thrived while Bethlehem Steel was going strong. It was a real steel town, where taverns along North Point Boulevard did brisk business every morning at 7, when steelworkers ending their shifts got drunk. The nicest areas are a bunch of Roland Park Co.-built individual redbrick homes around the old shopping center in the heart of the town. The only other area that has debatable charm is on the water near the Sparrows Point Country Club.
Economically, today's Dundalk is struggling. That can be seen from the poor selection of shops in the endless strip shopping centers along Merritt Boulevard.
I have to take exception to something Lumerian Feast said. The cemetery scene is truly interesting and varied. For example, at the very end of Boston Street on the other side of Dundalk Avenue (coming from the city) is the Workingmen's Circle Cemetery. Arbeiter Ring, as it was called in Yiddish, was an influential socialist organization of Eastern European Jews. Going through the cemetery is like going through the who's who in radical Baltimore. I went there for a friend's burial a few years back; it was exceptional in the sense that a rabbi was present. Many others buried there were not religious at all. When I asked for Arbeiter Ring records at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, they produced several, including a card catalogue but everything was in Yiddish which no one could translate.
I'm not that intrigued by cemeteries but I spent some time several years ago visiting them in Dundalk -- and there must be a dozen or so. They range from tiny burial grounds that have been partially eaten by I-95 to huge cemeteries.
Many in Dundalk (or Dumtalk, as some claim) are conscious of their community's image. I believe a subscription society still exists that sponsors a concert and theater season. Fourth of July is always big in Dundalk, with well-known performers at the two-day festival.
Several years ago when I looked out of curiosity, I found no bargains among the limited number of desirable homes near the old town center. Lots of people, it seems, thought Dundalk was hot. St. Helena, on the city side and arguably near water, went totally crazy with prices of ratty rowhouses increasing tenfold (the starting point was $12,000).

[bowian]

Having spent much of my childhood in Baltimore and being familiar with Dundalk, I'm ITA with the PPs.

[jonjj]

What amazes me about Dundalk is the lack of trees in that area. There are a lot of spaces for them, unlike the city, yet the area goes bare. I think that would help a lot. I do like that little downtown area they have. There is a lot of potential in that space.

Now the classic joke, (Please don't be offended. It's been around for a long time)
Question: "What's the best thing to come out of Dundalk?"
Response: "An empty #10."

[kinkytoes]

Originally Posted by bowian

Having spent much of my childhood in Baltimore and being familiar with Dundalk, I'm ITA with the PPs.

I have to PP too

[upinflamezzz]

I don't live in Dundlalk, but visiit the area from time to time and can honestly say that I'd rather live there than in most parts of the city. Also, Catonsville is not as exceptional as mentioned in the above post.

[Tom Lennox 70]

I work in Dundalk and have a quite positive impression of the area, honestly more so than Baltimore City, Towson, Hunt Valley or some other suburbs. People there are very friendly and down to Earth and Dundalk seems to have a small town atmosphere more like the Eastern Shore than the more elite Baltimore suburbs and especially Montgomery County. Its still the kind of the place where people grow up and live their their whole lives and family roots run deep unlike the rootless, soulless society America is more and more becoming which is regrettable. The people I work with who are from there say they still regularly see people they know whenever they go to Mars or Walmart or wherever and you basically know most people your own age group. it is definitely a classic blue collar all-American town, same with Essex and Sparrows Point. I prefer the locals there any day over the yuppie type folks that are buying up Fells Point, Fed Hill and other downtown areas. Dundalk and the rest of the southeast county feels more like the real Baltimore where people have the local accent and call you hon and sweetie. Owings Mills or Towson just feels like any other plastic big city in America. It is a shame that a lot of young people no longer have the local accent, both here in this area and in other parts of the country.

i think there are a lot of cute, well kept homes in the area, like the area down Wise Avenue past the CVS and Mars, plenty of pleasant communities on the waterfront. Parts near the city line can be ghetto as well as Turners Station, I think its because of Section 8 housing and undesirable people moving out from the inner city which is a concern in other suburbs as well.

It always surprises me that with its miles of shoreline on the bay Dundalk and Essex are not the most glamorous Baltimore suburbs compared to Cockeysville or Timonium or Howard County. I don't have much faith in Catonsville as it borders on many of the worst parts of West Baltimore and it is not easy to contain the ghetto.

[415_810]

Originally Posted by Lumerian Feast

When you say "bayside town," it sounds like you're talking about somewhere pleasant and bucolic like Palo Alto, CA or Tilghman Island, MD. That ain't Dundalk. And if you say "nice Baltimore suburb," people will think Catonsville, Towson, etc. No one will think "Dundalk."

Unfortunately, the way you've seen Dundalk described is largely correct. There are certainly some okay areas (my sister lives in one, actually), and there can be a decent bit of "hon charm." But the okay areas are never what you would call pretty or even particularly nice. Much of Dundalk is very industrial, with lots of big trucks rolling around. Very flat. The rowhomes don't have the charm of rowhomes in the city or even in some other suburban neighborhoods; they mostly range from nondescript to crappy. Lots of strip malls. There's not really anything of interest there, except for a couple of Polish cemeteries (and that's only interesting if you have Polish relatives buried there). It's pretty much just "blah," kind of depressing, with some areas getting a little ghetto-y.

Yes, there are many uneducated, lower class people there. Some of them would be called "blue collar," and are good, hardworking people that have a lot of Baltimore character. And then many of them are just redneck idiots or skinny thug wannabes.

Actually palo alto is a few miles inland and across the freeway of the bay. Dundalk seems to be a nice little town. It is certainly better than east palo alto which was the murder capital of the usa in 1992.

[gr8doglove]

I live about 15 miles from Dundalk and, for the most part, it does live up to it's reputation. The smell from the waste desposal plant will gag you on a hot day. The fumes that come from the 'Cadbury Eggs' is disgusting. Between those fumes and emissions from the factories in Dundalk, I think many who live there suffer from brain damage. Drugs, trashy people abound there. Not to say there aren't some decent, hardworking people who live there, it's just that they are in the minority. Dundalk does put on a decent 4th of July Parade. Hubby and I go every year (unless I have to work). The Heritage Festival used to be nice, but the rowdy's have taken over. Nearby neighborhoods like Sparrows Point and Millers Island are pretty nice.

Back in the 70's and 80's I remember a mysterious white ash would fall over Dundalk ..... get on everything. That was really weird and never fully explained. Reminded me of the stuff that fell on Dorothy in the field in the Wizard of Oz.