The Block, Baltimore

Baltimore's The Block is a stretch on the 400 block of East Baltimore Street in Baltimore, Maryland containing several strip clubs, sex shops, and other adult entertainment merchants. In the first half of the 20th century, it was famous for its burlesque houses. It was a noted starting point and stop-over for many noted burlesque dancers, including the likes of Blaze Starr.By the 1950s, the clubs became seedier, as burlesque was replaced by strip clubs and sex shops. The Block of that era is featured prominently in several films, notably Barry Levinson's Liberty Heights and Diner, as well as Steve Yeager's independent feature drama On The Block, with Howard Rollins.The decades to follow would bring a marked increase in general crime, prostitution, and drug dealing, an unusual situation considering the location of Baltimore's Police Headquarters and Central Police District House at the east end of the block. It has been suggested that the police, whose headquarters are located literally next to The Block, choose to contain the prostitution and drug dealing in that small section of Baltimore rather than combat it.