Ellwood Park is a neighborhood in the eastern part of
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. It is named for a small public park with a playground between Jefferson and Orleans Streets. The neighborhood extends from Linwood Avenue and Haven Street, between Monument Street and Fayette Street. It is contained within the 21205 and 21224 zip code.
Architecturally, Ellwood Park is made up of
rowhouse
In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Sta ...
s constructed in the early 20th century. Most have front
porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
es and the white marble steps. It is a community of mostly
middle class
The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Com ...
to
low-income
Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little
residents. Neighborhood groups include the Ellwood Park Improvement Association and Family of Ellwood Park Community Association.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...
of 2010, there were 5,790 people living in the neighborhood. The racial makeup was 63.9% African American, 20% Hispanic, 9.6% white, 5.3% Asian, and 1% other. 61.6% of housing units were owner-occupied. 20.6% of housing units were
vacant
Within the context of building construction and building codes, "occupancy" refers to the use, or intended use, of a building, or portion of a building, for the shelter or support of persons, animals or property. A closely related meaning is t ...
.
Crime and urban blight
The northern part of Ellwood Park is one of the most dangerous parts of Baltimore, as based upon call volume to police and reports made. Seven percent of Ellwood Park homes are vacant. Nearly 30 percent of school aged children are chronically absent. Home ownership hovers at around 30% of the properties in the area.