Is Better Waverly really better?

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by picardlx

Isn't the York RD Partnership an example?

Yes.. but often times these types of organizations are focused on a business or commercial district that borders the neighborhoods moreso than the neighborhoods themselves. If there are several neighborhoods that are adjacent to one another and not tied together by some commercial district its often harder to pull them togehter. One of the few examples are the neighborhoods of NW Baltimore. Mt. Washington, Glen, and Cross Country I believe work togehter as part of a "Strategic Neighbrohood Action Plan" (SNAP) and over in west Baltimore several smaller neighborhood associations/block clubs around Union Square, Franklin Square and Hollins Market/Poppleton now seem to be pulling together...so its seems to be slowly changing....

[ToneGrail]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

Part of the image problem for BW is simply bad maps ... south of Exeter Hall Ave, where the bulk of the shootings occured, is actually in Harwood. Some of the Baltimore maps place it there, but the "official" one the newspaper goes by calls it BW. It's a real nitpicky thing, I know.

BTW, the way I understand it about the "Better" part of better waverly - back in the 70s, a seperate community organization emerged for the area south of 33rd street, something to the effect of "The Organization to Better Waverly." Over the years it was truncated.

Harwood is west of Greenmount Ave. "Better" Waverly is east of Greenmount Ave.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by ToneGrail

Harwood is west of Greenmount Ave. "Better" Waverly is east of Greenmount Ave.

It actually extends east to Mathews St. Note also the "Harwood" sign on the east side Greenmount at about 26th.

Live in Baltimore - Harwood

The original home of the Orioles was in Harwood, near the southeast corner of Greenmount and Exeter Hall.

[Tallybalt]

Anti-semitism was prevalent in Baltimore back in the day, perhaps more so than in any other city. Jews were legally prohibited from buying houses in many city neighborhoods. The deed on my house expressly prohibited sales to Jews (and blacks among others). Even after the Supreme Court ruled that deed restrictions were unconstitutional a gentleman's agreement among realtors kept Jews out of prime neighborhoods in North Baltimore. It must also be said that most Jews weren't interested in buying in North Baltimore or Ruxton because they didn't want to live in a place that restricted against them.

Most private schools didn't accept Jewish students until the 1960s. Friends and Park are the two exceptions and Friends first allowed Jewish students in the early 20th century while Park had them since its founding (by secular Jews).

While Jews weren't banned from hotels or shops in downtown Baltimore there were a number of privately run recreational parks that banned Jews. The Meadowbrook pool complex off I-83 had signs prohibiting Jews well after WWII, which my neighbor remembers as he was often mistaken for a Jew due to his German surname and a supposedly "Jewish" face.

As Barante will point out it was a time of discrimination. Germanic Jews discriminated against Eastern European Jews. Ethnic groups discriminated against other ethnic groups. It wasn't pretty but despite the discrimination the Jews in Baltimore largely thrived.

Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes

Geriatric White guy here. I continue to be surprised by the notion that antisemitism was widespread in Old Baltimore (although according to Barante a lot of this was Jew against Jew). I went to a city school early on, which was neighborhood-based and therefore had no Jewish students in those days, but I graduated from a WASPy private school that had plenty. There was not the slightest hint of antisemitism at the private school. Quite the contrary. The Jewish kids were among the best students, and the non-Jewish whites had great respect for them. One Jewish kid I knew fairly well was the son of a prominent Rabbi who was, in my estimation, a great man. As to housing discrimination -- we would have dearly loved to have had the Rabbi and his family as our neighbors. Talk about a man you could learn from!

All told, I think that the notion of antisemitism in Old Baltimore is greatly exaggerated (although I am sure that contradictory anecdotes can be found). The real animosity was toward Blacks.

[Hamish Forbes]

Originally Posted by Tallybalt

Anti-semitism was prevalent in Baltimore back in the day, perhaps more so than in any other city. Jews were legally prohibited from buying houses in many city neighborhoods. The deed on my house expressly prohibited sales to Jews (and blacks among others). Even after the Supreme Court ruled that deed restrictions were unconstitutional a gentleman's agreement among realtors kept Jews out of prime neighborhoods in North Baltimore. It must also be said that most Jews weren't interested in buying in North Baltimore or Ruxton because they didn't want to live in a place that restricted against them.

Most private schools didn't accept Jewish students until the 1960s. Friends and Park are the two exceptions and Friends first allowed Jewish students in the early 20th century while Park had them since its founding (by secular Jews).

While Jews weren't banned from hotels or shops in downtown Baltimore there were a number of privately run recreational parks that banned Jews. The Meadowbrook pool complex off I-83 had signs prohibiting Jews well after WWII, which my neighbor remembers as he was often mistaken for a Jew due to his German surname and a supposedly "Jewish" face.

As Barante will point out it was a time of discrimination. Germanic Jews discriminated against Eastern European Jews. Ethnic groups discriminated against other ethnic groups. It wasn't pretty but despite the discrimination the Jews in Baltimore largely thrived.

Looks to me like our main point of disagreement would be in the meaning of the word "anti-semitic."

Yes, there were various covenants and agreements with the intent of maintaining separation. Such applied to other ethnic groups, perhaps more so, and also across economic classes, for example by mandating minimum square footage and prohibiting certain kinds of dwellings.

However, this kind of thing contrasts quite markedly with anti-semitism as it has been traditionally practiced for millennia across the world. Germany in the 1930's was anti-semitic; Baltimore in the 1930s was not. But today we seem to have lost track of this kind of distinction in our determination to make everyone into a victim of something or another.

By the way, there were other long-established private schools in Baltimore that admitted and encouraged Jewish kids before 1960. I know this for sure, as I graduated from one.

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes

Looks to me like our main point of disagreement would be in the meaning of the word "anti-semitic."

Yes, there were various covenants and agreements with the intent of maintaining separation. Such applied to other ethnic groups, perhaps more so, and also across economic classes, for example by mandating minimum square footage and prohibiting certain kinds of dwellings.

However, this kind of thing contrasts quite markedly with anti-semitism as it has been traditionally practiced for millennia across the world. Germany in the 1930's was anti-semitic; Baltimore in the 1930s was not. But today we seem to have lost track of this kind of distinction in our determination to make everyone into a victim of something or another.

By the way, there were other long-established private schools in Baltimore that admitted and encouraged Jewish kids before 1960. I know this for sure, as I graduated from one.

So the threshold for the appropriate use of the term "anti-semetic" is the Holocaust? Anything less is ... what exactly? Run of the mill discrimination? Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but this is curious.

[Hamish Forbes]

Originally Posted by HandsUpThumbsDown

So the threshold for the appropriate use of the term "anti-semetic" is the Holocaust? Anything less is ... what exactly? Run of the mill discrimination? Maybe it's just a matter of semantics, but this is curious.

I don't really get your point. Yes, I would characterize the treatment of Jewish people in Baltimore as a mild case of what you call run-of-the-mill discrimination at most. As has been mentioned repeatedly, a good bit of this was Jew-against-Jew activity. According to one of my Jewish friends from the Bronx, NYC had much more overt discrimination vis a vis hotels and department stores. Bottom line: There was nothing special going on in Baltimore.

[Hamish Forbes]

Regarding Friends school -- in the late 1960's, the Cathedral of Mary our Queen put a sign near its Charles Street entrance announcing "Established in 1959." Within a month or two, Friends had its own sign up, also right on Charles Street, announcing "Established in 1784."

[HandsUpThumbsDown]

Originally Posted by Hamish Forbes

I don't really get your point.

Mere curiosity.