Olive Street Block Party: Paving the Way for Connections in Your Very Own Alley

Soon after my partner and I bought our house in Federal Hill, Baltimore, our elderly neighbor (who we had not had a chance to meet) passed away. Her family then sold the property to developers. Demolition quickly began for a gut renovation…and then crickets. 

Or should I say rats. 

You see, the pandemic had just shut everything down, drove everyone indoors, and skyrocketed prices for building materials.

And so could the dead rats, as I quickly realized standing over a mysterious bucket swarming with flies and labeled poison in my alley, Olive Street. 

My shriek sent Marley, a neighbor two doors down, running to our alley. We had never met. In a very-Baltimore fashion, we immediately bonded over our mutual disgust and sleeve-rolling for a community hazard that had to be resolved quickly. “Teamwork makes the dreamwork,” as the nonprofit adage goes.

For the rest of quarantine, our two households developed a friendship over al fresco dinners with only charcoal smells wafting our way. RIP “rat bucket.”

Fast forward to 2025.

Until I meet Sarah, who lives directly across from us on the other side of the alley, and has been here almost as long as we have.

“Why is it so hard to meet neighbors?” We rant. “We need to throw a block party!”

We muse…and then we actually do it.

Within a month, we rope another neighbor into the unofficial host committee, set a date, throw together a cute flyer*, and spread the word.

I expect maybe 6 households total to attend.

This past Sunday at 4pm, with the sun shining brightly, albeit over potholes, more than 30 neighbors filled our Olive Street alley.

We ate, drank, played with our dogs/kids, and learned so much about each other’s families, life stories, and ideas for improving our neighborhood.

At the end of the simple community event, we FINALLY shared contact information via a newly created WhatsApp Neighbor Group.

Already, we are planning a July 4th Block Party to keep the momentum going.

Our humble alley may not look pretty, and often does not smell pretty, but it is now a “third place” connecting neighbors from 3 bordering streets and across different generations, races, and family structures. 

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*design credit: Sara Jane Baublitz