Nature and Neighborliness in Howard Park

September’s “Love Where We Live” outing took the Live Baltimore team to Howard Park. Straddling Liberty Heights Avenue on the City’s western edge, this community is made up predominantly of single-family, detached homes with large yards and mature trees. A neighborhood of mostly homeowners, the median purchase price was $320,000 in 2025.

Neighbors Marilyn, Seema, and our hostess, Kaye, a small business owner, shared their insights on Howard Park living. They represent the area’s balance of long-term residents, many of whom have passed down their homes through generations, and newcomers looking for newly renovated houses. Howard Park’s sizeable homes can adapt to residents’ needs. When they were built a century ago, many large families resided here. Today, first-floor bedrooms can enable aging in place for older residents, and finished basement suites can provide an income stream as rental units.

“New neighbors are trickling in, but they have to wait for people like me to retire from the planet because we don’t want to go anywhere.” Said long-time Howard Park resident Marilyn. “We want to stay right here until the end. But you do see homes being renovated and new people moving in.”

Safe, Quiet, and Loving Residents

Kaye moved to Howard Park 12 years ago, after a decade of living in a high-rise. She was the first new resident to move onto that block in twenty years and immediately became embedded in the diverse community. She described some of the ways her neighbors look out for each other: she has taken her neighbor’s kids to school, her neighbors have driven her to doctor’s appointments, and one neighbor even loaned her their car when she had to get to work and couldn’t find her keys.

“For me, I was a single woman moving into this neighborhood…[I knew I would] be safe here because everybody’s watching. Everybody cares.”

–Kaye

Ms. Marilyn put down roots as a homeowner when she moved to Howard Park in 1979, falling in “instant love” with the trees and bees of this community. She describes Howard Park as safe, quiet, and loving. Neighborhood kids used to drop by Ms. Marilyn’s on Wednesdays for Spaghetti Night. The family-friendly vibe continues today. Some Howard Park children play in their front yards until they’re called home for dinner—as Kaye described, “like the ‘70s.”  She added, “the community expects us to look out for each other’s kids.”

Seema has been a Howard Park resident for five years and now serves as the President of the Howard Park Civic Association. She experienced a true Smalltimore moment when she realized a colleague had grown up in the home she bought. Seema appreciates that Howard Park participates in regional and citywide initiatives such as the Liberty Coalition of Neighborhoods and Healthy Neighborhoods, Inc.

Surrounded by Greenery

Proximity to green spaces—such as Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park, Druid Hill Park, and Forest Park Golf Course—is a big draw for the neighbors we met. They enjoy walking on trails and appreciate that nature is at their doorstep. Deer, rabbits, and foxes are often found in their yards. We encountered a groundhog and a snake on our walk.

Parkland doesn’t just come naturally in Howard Park. Seema describes Howard Park as a “community that knows how to get work done.” When a stalled housing development left a blighted vacant lot in the neighborhood, Howard Park residents partnered with Nature Sacred, Blue Water Baltimore, Mahan Rykiel Associates, and others to Adopt-A-Lot and turn this parcel into what’s now known as Serenity Park. They’ve cleared out invasive plants, installed a custom bench and walking trails, and lined up grant funding to maintain the grass. The Civic Association has begun hosting movie nights there.

Neighborhood Amenities and Accessibility

A major draw for neighborhood residents is that both the primary and secondary schools are housed in new buildings: Calvin Rodwell Elementary/Middle School serves students in grades Pre-K through 8, and Forest Park High School continues with grades 9-12. Howard Park is also home to places of worship and gathering, such as Concord Baptist Church and the Islamic Leadership Center of America.

Our tour guides touted Howard Park as easily accessible to many other destinations. It’s only 10 minutes away from I-695, which makes commuting to the DC area or shopping in the suburbs a breeze. The Metro stop at Rogers Avenue enables easy travel to Owings Mills or the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and MTA buses can transport residents downtown quickly. Sinai Hospital is only a few minutes away.

Howard Park residents don’t have far to go for groceries. International products can be found at nearby halal butchers and kosher grocers, and the relatively recent ShopRite supermarket offers all types of products. Kaye, Marilyn, and Seema said that the commercial corridor along Liberty Heights Avenue presents a ripe investment opportunity, as Howard Park residents would most certainly frequent sit-down restaurants if they opened there.

We hope you enjoyed learning about Howard Park. You can view more content from our tour on our Facebook Album. Learn more about Baltimore City’s 250+ unique neighborhoods on our Neighborhood Page. Want to give us a tour of your neighborhood? Email us at hello@livebaltimore.com to set up a Live Baltimore staff visit. We can’t wait to meet you!