Cedarcroft, Baltimore
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cedarcroft is a distinctive residential neighborhood located in the northern part of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Cedarcroft is bordered by Gittings, East Lake and Bellona Avenues and York Road. According to Baltimore City's Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation (CHAP), the houses in Cedarcroft are in the Dutch Colonial Revival, Federal Revival, Tudor Revival, Georgian Revival, Cape Cod Revival, Bungalow, and Italianate styles of architecture.[1]
[edit] History
Most of the homes in Cedarcroft were built in the 1920s by the Cedarcroft Land Company. In 1885, Philip E. Lamb purchased 25 acres fronting York Road north of the rural village of Govanstown. On the property was a house that had been built in 1846. A few years later, he bought an additional 20 acres. He called his estate Cedarcroft, and in 1886 built a frame house which still stands at 6204 Sycamore Road.
The Cedarcroft Land Company was formed about 1910 by Philip and George Lamb, along with George Van Holland, William McGeen and C.L. Applegarth. Later they were joined by Frank A. Warner, Jr., and Edward L. Palmer, the architect credited with the design of the development, which was between York and Bellona, Lake and Gittings.
Episcopalians living nearby met in makeshift quarters and were anxious to build a church. In 1911, the diocese bought land on the southwest corner of Cedarcroft and York Roads for $5,000. The church was dedicated in 1913. Ten years later, it was moved a few hundred feet on soaped beams from the center of the lot so that a parish house could be added.
The Cedarcroft Land Company was liquidated in the early 1920s when all the lots had been sold. The Cedarcroft Maintenance Corporation was chartered and the Cedarcroft Improvement Association formed. All of the covenants, restrictions and regulations made by the Land Company were incorporated in the Maintenance Corporation, still the governing body of Cedarcroft.
The early records of the corporation and improvement association are kept in a tattered loose leaf binder with the inked legend "Beginning 1926." But the first records date from 1929. The treasurer's report that year shows payments of $13 for cutting grass on vacant lots and $112.50 for top soil, hauling leaves and operating the snow plow.[2]
[edit] Demographics
97.8% of the houses in Cedarcroft are occupied and 91.1% of that number are owner occupied. According to the last census, 91.5% of the residents are white, 5.1% are black, 1.7% Asian and 2.5% are hispanic. 21.9% of the white residents are reported as Irish, another 16.7% English, 34.2% German and 14.9% Italian. The median family income is $99,389 with 0% of those in the workforce unemployed. 100% of the residents are high school graduates and 34.1% report having a graduate or professional degree.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ Historic Cedarcroft. Cedarcroft Community Website. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ History of Cedarcroft. Cedarcroft Community Website. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ 2000 U.S. Census Demographic Profiles. Baltimore Dept. of Planning. Retrieved on 2008-04-23.
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