Manicured lawns and Prius-filled garages make a Sunday afternoon stroll through Guilford more like Desperate Housewives d??ja-vu.
Heading north on St. Paul Street., the urban college town beat of Charles Village transforms into a suburban oasis. Ornate row houses evolve into brick palaces surrounded by vast yards, making the neighborhood look like an out-of-season Christmas decoration.
The tranquility of the area comes unexpectedly, given its proximity to industrial Baltimore. The gardens, with tulips wavering in the breeze as though Georgia O'Keefe had painted them herself, seem too stunning to be neglected. Only the crackle of leaves under the occasional jogger's sneakers or the distant ferreting of a squirrel claim noticeable presence in the vicinity.
Jane Reep, a Guilford resident of 45 years, was walking (now scolding) her deceivingly large puppy, Isabelle. An elderly woman with pepper-speckled hair, Reep said that Guilford has been a great place to live, commute to work, raise a family and now retire.
"My one daughter has a family of her own now, and they live in the next town over, so I get to see her and my grandchildren often, which is the most important thing to me," Reep said.
"When raising a family, though, there is a distinct lack of closeness within the neighborhood; most people keep to themselves, despite the few fraternity houses on the corner," Reep pointed to the end of the street.
"But the good news is that the crime has never been too bad, give or take a petty larceny from time to time, but nothing irregular."
Reep noted that it is rare for Guilford residents to venture into Charles Village, since the crime there is comparatively worse.
"Even with the universities in the area, crime in those areas is not good, so I really only go to Charles if I need to pick something up at Eddie's Market, or if we're going out to eat."
A police siren cut the calm ambiance, and Reep and Isabelle continued their walk. Ahead, near the blaring vehicle, one half-expected some form of grand theft auto, which turned out to be a mere speeding ticket.
Across the intersection, a congregation piled into the Second Presbyterian Church. The paint-chipped wooden door of the church opened to a group of boys ranging from third graders to college students sitting together in a circle.
A young man absently fastened the buttons of his patch-covered vest as he walked through the doors, "Scout meeting," he said with a hint of embarrassment.
Near the church, a hunched over, middle-aged man was hosing the front lawn of what looked like an old, abandoned home.
"Nope," Mike McDevitt, said. "We just moved in three months ago, and we're in the midst of renovation. The house was built in '57, and posed as an entry for immigrants in Baltimore, so there are all these small rooms with different keys throughout the house - it's going to take a lot of work."
McDevitt, who works at the Hopkins Medical Center and his wife, who works in a neighboring town, decided to move to Guilford from Holmdel, Md. in order to start their family.
"We wanted to move here a lot sooner, but it was just a matter of buying at the right time ... This property was actually being auctioned, so it was a lot more reasonably priced than it would have otherwise been on the market. That was really the only reason we were able to move here when we did, so I guess we were just lucky," McDevitt said.
Rated as one of Money Magazine's "Best Places to Live" in 2007, high property values are a common complaint among Guilford residents.
Steve and Julie Gilbert, who have lived in the neighborhood for 21 years, had a similar experience to McDevitt.
"At the time, we loved Roland Park and Guilford, but we couldn't afford either of them ... Fortunately our house in Guilford was going up for foreclosure auction, so we were able to make a deal out of it," Gilbert said.
"But it's a neighborhood with a definite community because it has sidewalks, so there are people out walking all the time," he said. "People walking their dogs, with their babies in carriages, or the kids are out scootering, or biking. It's easy to meet people, and when we moved in, we met people with dogs and when we had kids, we met people with babies to play with. Over time we had play groups with those people, and built friendships. In particular, Sherwood Gardens has been a gathering place for people in the community and there are events, and that has always been fun."
Mrs. Gilbert explained how living in such close proximity to universities such as Hopkins and Loyola not only made it easier to find babysitting, but also to take advantage of the public events on campus, whether they be concerts or plays.
"The development of the community around Calvert St., with the retail, it has become an asset to the community. For evenings we sometimes go to restaurants in that area and the always use the bookstore," she said.
Since there is no "town of Guilford," most children in the area attend private school.
"They're called the 'Roland Five.' They are five private schools in the area that kids in Guilford attend. There is a public school, but it is very large and not many people in Guilford attend," Gilbert said.
In regard to safety, community members take comfort in the child-friendly environment that Guilford offers, Mr. Gilbert said.
"Safety has gotten better over the years. Especially since we recently employed a private security company to patrol, which I think has really cut down on the little, incidental occurrences like a bicycle or lawn-mower theft out of a garage. I mean, that happens everywhere, but at least there's less of it now. There are always incidences that feel like a setback, but in general, it is a lot better," Mrs. Gilbert said.
The suburban refuge which Guilford offers in the midst of the Baltimore's metropolitan culture is a treasure, yet not one that many people have the chance to enjoy. The neighborhood provides an interesting contrast to the more urban feeling that defines most of Baltimore.
Nevertheless the initiatives within the Guilford community to unite against neighborhood crime are beneficial actions that perhaps other neighborhoods in Baltimore can learn from.
