Brooklyn and Curtis Bay combine the advantages of living near the Inner Harbor with small town USA. The roots of both communities are tied to the industries that grew up around the peninsula. Conveniently located near the Inner Harbor with easy access to the harbor tunnel and the beltway, residents can easily commute to major employment and shopping areas.

There are numerous parks and open space. You can play tennis in the Garrett Park while overlooking the skyline of the City and the Patapsco River, play soccer at the indoor pavilion, fly a kite in the Farring Bay Brook Park or moor your boat in one of the close by marinas. Harbor Hospital is less than a mile from most homes. There is a branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, and several recreation centers where the young people can gather and play team sports or work on computers or craft activities.

There are two very active community associations serving residents directly: Concerned Citizens for a Better Brooklyn, historically active on environmental issues in Baltimore City; and the Community of Curtis Bay Association value the areas history and culture through various neighborhood improvement projects.

Like most Baltimore neighborhoods, there are rowhomes with stoops, but there are also rowhomes with front and back yards, duplexes, bungalows, ranchers and Victorian frame houses. Most of the homes were built in the 1920s and 1930s but there are also new single and row homes built in the 1990s. Prices range from $30,000 to $100,000. The Brooklyn and Curtis Bay Coalition is active in promoting home ownership.

The Brooklyn and Curtis Bay neighborhoods grew as the homes to workers in the many industries that lined the river and harbor. The first business to set up shop in Curtis Bay was the South Baltimore Car Wheel Company in 1887. Other "car shops" that made railroad cars and wheels followed along with smelting furnaces, manufacturers of bolts and hardware fittings, and canning and oyster packing houses. Brooklyn's development was given a boost in 1856, when the Crisp and Cromwell families cooperated to construct the Light Street Bridge in South Baltimore to Acton's Par in Brooklyn. (A history of Brooklyn and Curtis Bay, Brooklyn and Curtis Bay historical committee, September 12, 1976, p31-32)

The early settlers that settled in the neighborhoods were immigrants from Germany and eastern Europe. Many of their direct ancestor's still live in the communities. The area was opened up to many new residents and workers with the completion of the Hanover Street Bridge in 1917 who came to work in the factories and shops during World War I. On January 1, 1919, the communities were annexed into the City of Baltimore. One of the first benefits received from the City was the opening of the Enoch Pratt Free Library, which was built from funds donated by Andrew Carnegie.

There are three public elementary schools and one middle school. Additionally, there are two private schools plus an alternative youth program and a Career Center.
· Bay Brook Elementary School
· Marie Garrett Elementary School
· Curtis Bay Elementary School
· Benjamin Franklin Middle School
· St. John's Christian Day School (Grades 1-8)
· St. Rose of Lima School
· Chesapeake Center for Youth Development
· Chesapeake Center South Baltimore Career Center

This list may not include all schooling options for this neighborhood. For more information on Baltimore schools visit the LBMC School Directory