Baltimore City Trying To Bring Back Charm Lexington Market Once Had
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- It's been a Baltimore staple since 1782. But in recent years, the Lexington Market has lost some of its charm due to drugs and other problems just outside its doors.
Monique Griego has more on how the city and its partners are trying to bring the market back.
Take a step inside, and within seconds, the smells and sounds are overwhelming. But over time, the world-famous Lexington Market--a Baltimore staple for more than 230 years--has lost some of its charm.
Bill Devine of Faidley's Seafood says things have changed over the years.
"Drastically. And it's up and down," he said.
While Devine has been at the market more than half a century, his wife's family had the business for 126 years. Back then, Faidley's was part of a bustling market.
That atmosphere is what the city and several community partners are trying to bring it back to.
"Trying to redesign it to a way that really speaks to Baltimore," Mayor Rawlings-Blake said. "We want to see more vendors that are unique to Baltimore and we really want to make it into the destination that we know it can be."
Devine agrees.
"The old gal," as he refers to the market, "may need a little facelift and we need a better merchant fix."
While inside there are already a lot of great vendors, you can't improve things for them without acknowledging the problems on the outside.
A haven for drug dealers, this block of Eutaw Street doesn't always attract the right types of customers.
"We have some social partners that are working to bring services to people who are in need in this community, and we've made changes to improve public safety and even the streetscape," the mayor said.
For vendors, fixing that seems to be the first step toward making the market the destination it once was.
The city is asking for the public's input on what they'd like to see happen at the market. To chime in, click here.
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