The 1950s had the lowest crime rates of any decade in the 20th century and the city had a population of 950,000 vs 630,000 today. Gwynn Oak and Ashburton were known not for crime but massive amusement parks. Of course all of this was built on the backs of a violently subjugated underclass and most people didn't have air conditioning, but still.. it's amazing to imagine what it must have looked like!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Baltimore to revert to 1950?
Jessamy: Bernstein will "set us back 60 years".
The 1950s had the lowest crime rates of any decade in the 20th century and the city had a population of 950,000 vs 630,000 today. Gwynn Oak and Ashburton were known not for crime but massive amusement parks. Of course all of this was built on the backs of a violently subjugated underclass and most people didn't have air conditioning, but still.. it's amazing to imagine what it must have looked like!
The 1950s had the lowest crime rates of any decade in the 20th century and the city had a population of 950,000 vs 630,000 today. Gwynn Oak and Ashburton were known not for crime but massive amusement parks. Of course all of this was built on the backs of a violently subjugated underclass and most people didn't have air conditioning, but still.. it's amazing to imagine what it must have looked like!
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6 comments:
The property tax was also lower back in the 50s. :)
If Pat Jessamy cares so much about poor black people then why is that that you saw Gregg Bernstein in the Perkins Homes last weekend, whereas our esteemed State's Attorney was nowhere to be seen? Sure Bernstein's walk through there was a political stunt, but at least he made the effort! Good luck finding PJ doing anything outside of a circle-jerk with the rest of Baltimore's useless political establishment.
no thank you for that mental picture.
Anyone interested in the history of Baltimore, and how, to a large extent, it got to be like it is, should read Antero Pietila's book: "Not in My Neighborhood".
As MJB points out, the Baltimore "niceness" was built on a substructure of segregation, redlining, and blockbusting. However "reported" crime was low. Of course, police did not always take reports from everyone; reports would often go into an officer's "hat"--unless a complaint was made.
However, I suspect Baltimore has always been a high-crime city, but for whatever reason, felt much safer.
The demise of the streetcars (which I rode to high school) is also documented in Pietila's book.
PP-You are correct, and that is why Buz is supporting Bernstein: it is clear that the criminal justice system in Baltimore is to a large extent broken. Instead of whining and pointing fingers, folks of importance in that system need to repeatedly meet to figure out what they can do better to fix it. And black people, particularly poor black people are much more victimized by the criminal element here than whites are--and are much more fearful of calling the police, reporting crimes, and especially prosecuting crimes by showing up as victims or witnesses.
Unfortunately, the antipathy towards the police in this town is also quite high.
Buz:
That book you cited looks interesting. Could you remind me what the name of that other book you mentioned to me at the meet & greet was? I've been meaning to check it out from the library, but I forget the title.
PP--The book i mentioned is, I believe: "Baltimore's Alley Houses: Homes for Working People".
Many of the glorified alley streets in Fells Point are mentioned.
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