Quindecim

Issue date: 11/2/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: File Photo These rowhouses in the southeastern Baltimore neighborhood of Greek Town sell for about $55,000. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: stnicholasmd.org Dancers perform at the annual Greek folk festival at St. Nicholas Church. [Click to enlarge]

After an exhausting week of work, I had one more assignment: to visit Greek Town. No, I did not have to put a call in to fuel up the gulf stream for a blast over to Athens -- Greek Town is in Goucher's backyard. While my visit turned out to be brief, I did manage to get a feel for the thriving community.

Greek Town is located downtown. Greek is the predominate ethnicity, however, other ethnic groups thrive in this low crime neighborhood. Greek Town is the area enclosed by Lombard, O'Donnell, and Haven Street, while I-895 closes it off to the east. Eastern Avenue runs right through the middle.

This area of Baltimore has gone through phases of revival and subsequent decline. Currently, the neighborhood is on the up and up. Each chapter in Greek Towns 80-year history has brought about a new name for the neighborhood.

Those in the know are familiar with Greektown's historical name, "The Hill."

The Hill is the site of the annual Greek Festival and Parade, an event Baltimore residents look forward to each year. The festival has featured traditional dancing, Hellenic costumes and Greek cuisine since the mid 1970s.

The chief organizer of the festival is Saint Nicholas Church, which is the centerpiece of Greek Town. The church building is quite humble, but its parishioners make up for its lack of opulence with a lively sprit. The festival takes place in June and is an event you will not want to miss.

Greek Town is 5,104 miles away from Athens, but you would not know it when you eat at Ikaros. While the neighborhood does feature numerous coffee shops and restaurants with traditional Mediterranean cuisine, Ikaros, is the premiere Greek restaurant. Ikaros has been in business since 1969 and receives rave reviews from its patrons. The restaurant is named after Ikaria, the island the chef calls home, and the myth of Ikaros. In the myth,
Ikaros takes to the sky with wings made of wax and feathers. He flies too close to the sun and his wings melt at which point he plunges into the sea.

Like Ikaros flying too close to the sun, the chef hopes you have the closest experience to being in Greece when you dine at his eatery.

Greek Town is valuable real estate downtown. The area features two-story row houses with all-brick exterior, stained-glass inserts and large bay windows. The occasional house will possess a formstone facade or wooden cornice.

In keeping with southeastern Baltimore tradition, many houses have polished marble steps. These houses are sure to appreciate handsomely as their current price is modestly about $55,000. Johns Hopkins Bayview Hospital is within walking distance and the demand for these units should increase as Greek Town completes its current revival.

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