Hampden is a neighborhood located in northern Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Roughly triangular, it is bounded to the east by the neighborhood Wyman Park, north by Roland Park at 40th and 41st Street, west by the Jones Falls Expressway, and south by the neighborhood Remington. The Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University is a short distance to the east.
Named for English politician John Hampden, Hampden was originally settled as a residential community for workers at the mills that had sprung up along the Jones Falls; its first residents were in place well before the area was annexed to Baltimore City in 1889. Many of its residents migrated to the area from the Appalachian hills country of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Western Pennsylvania due to the mills’ abundance of jobs. For the following decades, this influx cemented the neighborhood’s image as primarily white and working-class. Before, during, and after World War II, many Appalachian migrants settled in Baltimore, MD, including Hampden. Appalachian people who migrated to Hampden were largely economic migrants looking for work.
Culture
Baltimore has, in recent years, embraced certain aspects of old Hampden’s traditional culture. The neighborhood is home to the annual “Hon Festival” (also called HonFest) and is named after the term “Hon,” a (term of endearment). Honest features attendees who tease their hair into the enormous beehive hairdos of the 1960s. The festival also features a contest to find the best “Bawlmerese,” a variation of Baltimore’s unique traditional accent. This accent is also more commonplace in areas like Dundalk and Essex. In March 2011, the Special English service of Voice of America broadcast Hey, Hon, Ready to Learn How They Talk in Baltimore? And An Extended Lesson in Bawlmerese by Baltimore native Steve Ember. Before the contest, the annual festival was known as the “May Fair,” lasting a week in early May. Bed Bug Exterminator Baltimore
Hampden’s 34th Street near the southern end of the neighborhood celebrates the Christmas holiday every year with the “Miracle on 34th Street,” where homeowners on both sides of the street decorate their houses with thousands of lights and Christmas decorations, attracting visitors from all over the world to see the spectacle. Another great Christmas street is Roland Avenue. One house, in particular, 3550, has an extraordinary “Nightmare Before Christmas” themed display with lights synchronized to music. This house is known around the neighborhood as “The Halloween House,” with the decorations up for the year.
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