For years, the peninsula on the west side of the Inner Harbor was best known as the place where Francis Scott Key's "Star-Spangled Banner" still waved after a night of heavy fighting. Today a new chapter is being written in the history of Locust Point -- one of residential growth and economic development.
Like Fells Point and Canton, the former working-class neighborhood of Locust Point is a model of public-private cooperation, with government and developers teaming up to renovate properties and reclaim homes from a state of urban decay. The formula is working here: Property values are skyrocketing as young professionals discover Locust Point, drawn by its corner bars and restaurants, and also by its cozy, stoop-sitting neighborhood feel.

When Struever Rouse Homes set out to build new townhouses in Locust Point, for instance, every one of the three-story brick-front homes was sold before the first phase of construction was completed, at an average price of $260,000 apiece.

A center point of revitalization has been the 400,000-square-foot Tide Point office and retail complex. Once a boarded-up Procter & Gamble soap plant, the newly restored facility is a popular business destination. City officials have heralded the complex as a shining example of their "Digital Harbor" vision, in which Baltimore's waterfront will eventually become a hub of high-technology enterprises.

The developers of Tide Point have made a visible effort to bring benefits to the entire neighborhood. They donated $100,000 to Francis Scott Key Elementary & Middle School for computer equipment and renovation of the library. They also donated time and materials to renovate the Locust Point Recreation Center, giving it its first major facelift in more than 30 years. The center features a range of youth programs, including computer classes, music and dance lessons, a summer camp and other activities throughout the year.
Many old-time locals have been surprised to see folks take such an interest in Locust Point, which for decades managed to remain relatively independent of the outside world. Like other working-class neighborhoods, Locust Point was the kind of place where people knew one another well. They worshipped in the local churches; they rode the streetcar to school and to work; they drank in the neighborhood taverns. Many of these families had been in Locust Point literally since they got off the boats: Before the factories were built and long before the young professionals arrived, Locust Point was a gateway for masses of arriving immigrants who came here from Germany, Poland, Ireland, Italy and elsewhere. (click to read the rest from the Baltimore Sun)