Happy Holidays from Hampden

November 28, 2005 9:38 PM | | Comments (416) | TrackBacks (0)

Reading Kathryn's post on the "Christmas House" in her old neighborhood, I was reminded of a strange American tradition. In this day and age, it's somewhat amazing that so many people spend a significant part of their income on making a festive display for the benefit of the public. In Baltimore's working-class Hampden neighborhood, they don't screw around:

blogthis is just crazy.jpg

Every house on 34th Street is completely done up in holiday garb. Unlike McMansions in the burbs, a little creativity reflects the local environment and uses naturally-occuring materials, picked right from the ground:

bloghubcaptree.jpg

That makes me want to sing "The Circle of Life." Really, it's beautiful. However, the Hampdenites don't shy away from the tough issues. Here, Santa is getting threatened by a secret government agency interrogating him about unregistered flights over North America last December. He has yet to be charged with any crime:

blogsuicidal santa.jpg

(Photos taken in 2003.)

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416 Comments

By Kathryn on November 29, 2005 9:38 AM

Very nice work! "THE house" in my hometown keeps up a collection box for donations to be put towards their electricity bill for November and December. Apparently it costs tens of thousands of dollars to keep that sucker lit. You should see the parade of cars on their cul-de-sac. I'd never buy a house there in a million years, but god, do I love to drive by it a few times a season.

By rj3 on November 29, 2005 11:19 AM

If you're interested, I have a lot more pictures of this block on my Flickr page.

By WDC on November 29, 2005 1:45 PM

Nice timing. I woke up in the middle of the night this weekend wondering how long it would take to get to Angelo's.

Then I thought about Mamie's and cried myself back to sleep.

-Will

By rj3 on November 29, 2005 1:50 PM

I found a fingernail in an Angelo's slice once.

By WDC on November 30, 2005 8:10 AM

aaaand I'm cured.

Gah. That was worse than finding out your crush has VD.

-WDC

By rj3 on November 30, 2005 10:17 AM

The truth hurts.


But probably not as much as losing a fingernail in a pizza.

By WDC on November 30, 2005 12:14 PM

It was a *real* nail??
I thought you meant a fake press on nail. I'm going to go chug listerine for a while. Jesus, what are your nightmares like?

-WDC

By Amanda on December 10, 2005 3:45 PM

Fingernail in Angelo's - another fond memory of my youth, tarnished.

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