Map showing isolation of Westport in the early 20th century.  Source: DPW Bureau of Highways.

Westport at Mid-20th Century

At mid-20th century, the area retained many industrial concerns.  Westport housed the Westport Paving Brick Co., S.A. Ripple Bros. Broom Factory, C.O. Wurzberger & Sons lumber mill, Andorfer-Long Co. Paint Mfgrs, Maryland Veneer & Basket Company, a scrap metal yard, a vending machine repair operation with paint spray booths and a candy warehouse, and a metal cabinet manufacturer.

South Baltimore children pose for the Junior Victory Army, June 20, 1942. 

In 1945, plans were finalized to construct the Baltimore Washington Parkway (MD-295), changing the geography of Westport.  The limited access, four lane highway connecting downtown Baltimore with Friendship Airport was completed in 1952, effectively splitting the neighborhood.  A footbridge over MD-295 was built to provide students on the east side of the parkway with pedestrian access to the Westport School on the west side, and automobile traffic snaked along Waterview Avenue and Hollins Ferry Road near the southern edge of the neighborhood.

By 1951, Westport was home to some 2,000 voters, virtually all of whom were “good Democrats.”  The Swindell Memorial Methodist Church remained the dominant religious institution, boasting 287 families under the ministry of Everett G. Miller.  Known for its friendliness, Westport was characterized by its long-time police officer Henry Glover as “the quietest place I know.  Never any trouble down there.  A real friendly place.”

Annapolis Road became a bustling “ Main Street,” including an automobile repair shop, a hardware store, a notions shop, a building supplies store, two candy stores, a grocery store, a tailor, a barber, a bank, a drug store, a movie theatre and more.

After the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education mandated integrated schools, the city Housing Authority opened Westport Homes, a housing project between Hollins Ferry Road and Norfolk Street for African-Americans.

Starting in the late 1950s, the increasing use of plastic products started to hurt the factories lining Westport’s waterfront, and the neighborhood began to decline.  In 1957, the Westport Theatre shut down.  In 1961, the Enoch Pratt Free Library branch closed, for having “many years shown the smallest book circulation in the entire city library system.”  And the other businesses began to follow suit.

End of the Industrial Era

In the 1970s and 80s, while the city was focusing on the Inner Harbor renaissance, the factories along the western shore of the Middle Branch began to shut down. When Carr Lowrey Glass Company, the last operating factory and largest employer in Westport, closed its doors in 2003, neighbors lost their jobs, homes were abandoned. The neighborhood quickly fell into poverty and disrepair. Today, an estimated 37% of Westport’s families are living below the poverty level.  But a new chapter in the evolution of the neighborhood of Westport is about to begin.

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