Ridgely's Delight is a historic residential

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Its borders are formed by Russell and Greene Streets to the east, West Pratt Street to the north, and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard from the western to southern tips. It is adjacent to the

University of Maryland, Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1807, it is the second oldest college in Maryland and comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, me ...

Oriole Park at Camden Yards Oriole Park at Camden Yards, commonly known as Camden Yards, is a ballpark in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Baltimore Orioles, and the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the ...

, and

M&T Bank Stadium M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It has been the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL) since its opening in 1998. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriol ...

. It is situated a short walk from MARC Train and the

Light Rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

Camden Station Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Street Station, Camden Yards, and formally as the Transportation Center at Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of South Howard and West Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, adja ...

, which has made it a popular residence of

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and suburban Baltimore commuters. It is within a 5-minute walk of both

and

and a 10-minute walk from Baltimore's historic

Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark in Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". The Inner Harbo ...

. The land tract of Ridgley's Delight was surveyed in 1732 for Charles Ridgley. In 1792,

James McHenry James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was an Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommendation ...

purchased a tract from Ridgely's Delight and named it Fayetteville in honor of his friend Lafayette.Bernard C. Steiner and James McHenry,
The life and correspondence of James McHenry
' (Cleveland: Burrows Brothers Co., 1907). With its name derived from

Charles Ridgely II Col. Charles Ridgely II, "Charles The Merchant" (1702–1772), of "Ridgely's Whim", was a Justice, planter, merchant, ironmaster, and member of the General Assembly of Maryland's lower chamber, House of Delegates and one of Baltimore County's comm ...

's plantation Ridgely's Whim, Ridgely's Delight was originally inhabited by craftspeople but later became home to affluent professionals who used their resources to make the rowhouses more ornate. Ridgely's Delight is the birthplace of

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

and home to the

Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is a row house located at 216 Emory Street, in Baltimore, Maryland, where baseball legend Babe Ruth was born. The property was restored and opened to the public in 1974 by the Babe Ruth Birthplace Foundatio ...

on Emory Street. Several bars and shops are located in the neighborhood.

References

External links

Ridgely's Delight Association"A revived charmer still a secret"
''

Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publish ...

'' *, including photo from 1984 an
boundary map
at Maryland Historical Trust
Ridgely's Delight listing at CHAP
includes map
Demographics from Neighborhood Indicators Alliance
{{Authority control Central Baltimore Neighborhoods in Baltimore Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore Baltimore National Heritage Area Ridgely family