Category Archives: 1930s

After Nearly 80 Years, Maryland Polka Hall Prepares For Last Dance

By Tara Boyle (WAMU, 1/17/2014) On a Sunday afternoon, George Ward is out on the dance floor at Blob’s Park, a Bavarian beer garden and polka hall in Jessup, Md. He’s been coming here a long time — since 1958. “There’s … Continue reading

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The Importance of Being “Gently Stewed” – Mencken, Governor Ritchie, and Prohibition

The Importance of Being “Gently Stewed”: Marion Elizabeth Rodgers on Mencken, Governor Ritchie, and Prohibition By Sara Witman, 3/14/2011 Research Librarian Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander At the start of her lecture to a packed room at the Baltimore … Continue reading

Posted in 1910s, 1920s, 1930s, Baltimorons, Beer, Bootlegging, Booze, H.L. Mencken | Leave a comment

Pictures at an Ecks-ibition

By Tom Warner (Baltimore Or Less) Johnny Eck – the legendary hometown “Half Man” sideshow performer, Hollywood actor (Tod Browning’s 1932 “Freaks“) and latter-day screen painter – will soon be the subject of an upcoming exhibition at the Maryland Institute … Continue reading

Posted in 1930s, Art, Baltimorons, Celebrities, Highlandtown, Museums, Neighborhoods, Roadside Attractions | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Young boy in Baltimore slum area” smoking a cigarette, July, 1938

Click for larger image Via Shorpy.com. Found on Baltimore Reddit.

Posted in 1930s, Smoking | Leave a comment