Hampden is Baltimore's most characterful neighbourhood — working-class, weird, and fiercely independent. The 36th Street strip known as "The Avenue" is lined with vintage shops, independent restaurants, record stores, and the kind of establishments that defy easy categorisation. This is the neighbourhood John Waters calls home and the area that inspired his films.
The Christmas display on Miracle on 34th Street is a city institution — an entire block of rowhouses covered in an elaborate, slightly chaotic riot of lights and decorations every December. At other times of year, Hampden is most easily reached by driving or taking the bus north from downtown. It is the kind of neighbourhood where the locals are still the locals, despite gentrification pressures from Johns Hopkins and Charles Village to the east.