Abandoned Baltimore: Northside

by Christopher Hall

Baltimore, Maryland, is a city full of history and cultural diversity. However, through the years, the area has been plagued with poverty and forced gentrification that has left the once bustling city in a state of disarray. There are over 16,000 vacant rowhomes within Baltimore. Crime rate is on a rise while population is on decline. Through all the mayhem, many incredible places have been simply disregarded and forgotten about. Many streets that were once full of life now resemble an apocalyptic wasteland. The north side of Baltimore, away from the Chesapeake Bay and industrial side that the city is known for, is home to many interesting abandoned buildings, including schools, churches, asylums, and more. Through the lens, photographer Christopher Hall sets out to showcase and bring awareness to these incredible structures that have been forgotten. His work takes you inside the dilapidated places where few venture. Join Christopher on his visual journey through time as he explores what has been abandoned on the north side of Baltimore City.

Genres: Photography, Nonfiction

96 pages, Paperback

Published August 26, 2019

Reviews

[Alissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some really interesting photos of places in Baltimore, but also some that were very similar to ones that you have likely already seen.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting photographs, although quite a few of them lack context. There are essays at the beginning of each section that are poorly written, need some editing, and seem very amateurish. In one, the author makes a big deal of hiding the name of the location, where is clearly appears on a banner in a photograph. One or two seem well researched, but the rest seem like something written the night before a deadline, and often it isn't even clear how many buildings are being discussed. In most, there is a lot of speculation, where some basic research could have filled in information and filled in some important background. The captions on many of the individual photographs are terrible, either stating the obvious or making bad jokes.

[Hilary "Fox" · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is exactly what it says on the tin.

The collection of photos of abandoned buildings in Baltimore is beautiful, if a bit eerie. The book is organized into sections based upon the type of buildings being depicted. At the front of each section the author describes the sites you are about to see, complete with often moving histories of the buildings in question and how they came to fall into disrepair. The sheer number of places owned by the city or county that have plans to be improved but haven't been are downright depressing.

The photography is beautiful and moving, and altogether this is a nice little book. I'm curious to compare it to the Southside collection once I have a chance to find it. Baltimore is a great city, and even while showcasing its decay you can still see some of the beauty of it. I also am glad that some of the place remained undisclosed to ensure vandals have a more difficult time finding them. Some of the places, likewise, were popular urban exploration sites until they became used by homeless populations. It's interesting to see those transformations documented through photography as well.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really fantastic shots in here. Some of the captions were unnecessary and I ended up skipping a lot of them. The author/photographer chose some interesting spaces to photograph.