Arcadia Neighborhood Association Website 

Beverly Hills Neighborhood Association Website

• National Register of Historic Places - 12/23/2004

Description

The Arcadia/Beverly Hills historic district is a residential community divided into approximately 30 irregularly-shaped blocks in northeast Baltimore. The neighborhood is located directly north of Herring Run Park, and is bounded by Harford Road, Belair Road, and Moravia Road. The district is a cohesive residential suburb comprised of 900 buildings primarily freestanding masonry and frame houses set back from the streets with small front yards. Early 20th century suburban architectural styles represented in the district include foursquare, bungalows, early suburban villas, Colonial Revival, Tudor Revival, and Pueblo Revival. There are also a few row house groupings and duplexes along the edges of the community. In addition to the residences, two churches, a 45 acre cemetery, and a variety of commercial buildings along Harford and Belair Roads, major traffic arteries, define the northwestern and southeastern boundaries. Moravia Road, secondary artery, borders the northeastern edge. Herring Run Park provides a wooded park setting for the community at the southwestern boundary. The conditions of properties are generally very good, except for some vacant and boarded buildings primarily in the southeastern edge of the neighborhood.

Significance

The district is architecturally significant under National Register Criteria C as the neighborhood embodies the distinctive characteristics of an early 20th century suburb on the outskirts of a row house, urban, central city area. The district retains excellent examples of residential housing types of the era, ranging from large suburban villas to modest 1 ½ story high bungalows, as well as a few row house groupings and duplexes. The area is also historically significant under National Register Criteria A for its association with the suburban development of Baltimore City and the role that community associations have played in shaping the environment of neighborhoods in the early 20th century. The inclusion of two churches and some older commercial buildings signifies that early Baltimore suburban communities, especially those close to the center city, were not merely bedroom suburbs but full neighborhoods with convenient shopping and places of worship.