Belair-Edison

Belair-Edison, located in Northeast Baltimore, features street after street of brick row homes that tend to attract middle and lower income families looking for decent, inexpensive places to raise their children. Originally named Georgetown for three prominent citizens who all shared the same first name, the community only became known as Belair-Edison after it was annexed into the city in 1918. In fact the neighborhood owes much of its existence to one of these men, George Brehm. Right after the Civil War, he bought a brewery in the area and put many returning soldiers to work making beer. Years later, during the Roaring 20s, his grandson expanded the company setting off a building boom in the neighborhood that saw it more than triple in size.
Many of the new homes were designed by well-known builder Frank Novak and are characterized by two story porches that gave families a cool place to sit during Baltimore’s sweltering summers. Though most of these homes are now air conditioned, the double porches still provide a shady spot for sitting and socializing during many months of the year. They also attract neo-traditionalists looking for classically style, cozy homes in which to raise their children.