Union Square, Baltimore
Union Square - a thriving SoWeBo community steeped in history and art.
Named for the graceful park at its center, Union Square is a diverse urban setting - home to art galleries, artist studios, H.L. Mencken’s life-long residence, and spacious three-story Italianate and Victorian rowhouses. On the historic ground of Southwest Baltimore known to locals as Sowebo, Union Square is less than a mile from Camden Yards - the finest baseball stadium in the land – this community is within walking distance of the Inner Harbor, B&O Railroad Museum, Ravens Stadium, and University of Maryland-Baltimore. The state-of-the-art UMB Biotech Park is a recent addition, with portions still under construction. A public golf course is nearby, next to the newly-renovated Montgomery Park office building. Access to I-83, I-95 and the MARC commuter train to Washington D.C. are minutes away.
On the Square and on nearby streets, spacious three-story rowhouses predominate. Most are pre- and post-Civil War Italianate in style, but there are many examples of Early Victorian Greek Revival and Late Victorian Romanesque Revival. A majority of the homes have ten- to fourteen-foot ceilings, tall distinctive windows, wood floors, and plaster walls. Exteriors are brick and mortar facades with attractive cornices and marble steps. On the side streets and alleys there are an additional variety of charming two-story and two-story-with-attic rows. House prices range from $40,000 to $400,000.
An uncommon synergy prevails in the neighborhood as residents, both longtime and newly-arrived, work together through various committees and forums to enhance the area’s quality of life. Toward that end, Union Square is also actively engaged in outreach with other nearby neighborhoods and non-profit groups. This historic neighborhood, one of Baltimore’s friendliest, is marked by classic architecture, period street lamps, brick sidewalks and stately row homes.
An annual arts festival, called the Sowebohemian Arts Festival, is held in the streets around Hollins Market on the Sunday afternoon of the Memorial Day weekend.
A vital part of the community, Hollins Market was built in 1838 and is Baltimore’s oldest home to food merchants. Also in the Union Square Historic District, attractions include annual events such as the Union Square Christmas Cookie Tour plus the Black Cherry Puppet Theatre, the H. L. Mencken House, the Southwest Baltimore Charter School, the H. L. Mencken Memorial Fountain (1976), the Enoch Pratt Free Library No. 2 Branch (1886), Union Square Park with its Greek Revival Pavilion (1847), and Sowebo Arts, Inc. Other nearby sites of interest include the Lithuanian Hall, Carroll Park, the Mount Clare Museum, the Babe Ruth Museum, the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Memorial Museum, and the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum.
The District is bounded by South Fulton Street to the west and South Schroeder Street to the east, with north and south borders of West Baltimore and West Pratt Streets. Union Square proper, just west of the Market, is bounded by South Carey and South Fulton Streets from the east and west respectively, and by West Baltimore and West Pratt Streets to the north and south. The area is built on a grid street system which conforms to the original 1818 layout of the area.
The Union Square / Hollins Market District is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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