Baltimore Ghosts
Odds & EndsStreetlightsStreetcarsStreetsSigns & SignalsRailroadsBuildingsVintage Advertising
Email MeWhat's NewLinksForum BoardIntroduction

Streets
Kirby Lane
Photos by Adam Paul
Today, when one thinks of arteries following the Western Edge of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area, Rolling Road is most likely to come to mind.  Running from below Catonsville to North of Randallstown, aside from perhaps the Beltway, this thorofare is generally the most usable for those travelling between the Western suburbs.

But have you ever considered using Kirby Lane to get from one Western 'burb to another?  Very doubtful. 

Today, what's left of Kirby Lane sits in the heart of the inner city's immediate West Side, though in the mid-19th Century, it was a suburban street.  Likely little more than a convenient dirt road to the few people then living in the area, it predates both Fulton and Monroe Streets, between which it threads it's shortened course.

Initally, Kirby was a feeder road of sorts, leading from the scantly developed then-Western edge of Baltimore into the Liberty Turnpike, the winding, lost segment discussed here.  Twas never an official part of the turnpike, but instead a free road that offered a convenient connection to the few neighbors who were there at the time.

1869 Illustation of Kirby Lane

As can be seen in the "Bird's Eye View of Baltimore Illustation" of 1869, Kirby offered some particularly quaint surroundings.  Though basically bone straight, the illustation suggests a melancholy, tree lined artery far removed from the much more urban surroundings then existing just a mile or so to the East.

Kirby Lane Map of the 1870's.
Despite its gentle appearance, Kirby really did not fit in the rapid plan of expansion for the City of Baltimore.  The path which it followed was more of a true North bearing, unlike the slightly offset bearing of the city grid.  Thus it did not precisely parrallel the planned grid for its area.  In addition, the street sat at an odd distance out, lining up at a rather awkward spot that would disrupt the construction of Fulton and Monroe.  Thus, Kirby had to go.

Or did it?  By the time the expansion reached out to Fulton and Monroe around the turn of the 20th Century, a good bit of Kirby had already been settled.  Much of Kirby had seen dwellings constructed along it, while other pieces of property bordered on the already settled path of Kirby.  Thus, the strict parrallel grid had to yield to Kirby's cardinal path.

Kirby Lane Survey of 1897.
1897 City Survey Map of Kirby Lane from Franklin Street (bottom) to Lanvale Street (top).  Note how the street gradually eases closer to Fulton Avenue as it heads North.

Today, Kirby Lane generally remains between Franklin Street at the South and Mosher Street on the North.  An additional disconnected block of the artery may persist between Baltimore and Fayette Streets, though it lacks a name.  The old houses of Kirby have been demolished, replaced by parkland between Franklin and Edmondson, and a school between Edmondson and Harlem.  Still, the street that was never supposed to remain has indeed done so for more than a century.

Kirby Lane Street Sign
Despite its diminutive status, Kirby is entitled to a designation and street signs by the city.
Looking North from Franklin Street
Looking North above Franklin Street, Kirby is not allowed to be much of a street, with pylons blocking its through use.  Where old houses once stood, a playground now exists.
 Looking South from Lanvale Street
Looking South from Lanvale, old Kirby is not quite the scenic lane it once was, though abandonment and demolition have left it reverting somewhat more to nature.

SOMETHING MORE TO SAY? SAY IT!!!

See Also...
Windsor Mill Road

HOME