There was a time, especially during the first half of the 20th century, when East Baltimore simply exploded with Jewish life and culture.
Shuls, shops, schecters (ritual slaughterers), schools, delicatessens, bakeries, bargain houses, vegetable and fruit stands, Judaica stores and peddlers seemed ubiquitous in what was then frequently called “Jewtown.”
“There have always been two Jewish East Baltimores,” writes Gilbert Sandler in “Jewish Baltimore: A Family Album” (Johns Hopkins University Press). “The first was the East Baltimore of tenement housing, teeming streets, poverty, and the harsh life immigrants grinding out a living. The other was … of rich Yiddishkeit, the haunting smells of grilling hot dogs and bologna, warm rye bread, coddies and mustard, and the carnival incandescence that lit up the long-ago Saturday nights on Lombard Street.”
Those days of “carnival incandescence” are now long gone, of course. But the next time you’re in the old Jewish section of East Baltimore, check out the new “Lombard Street Mural” adorning the south wall of what was formerly Jack’s Corned Beef and Lenny’s Deli at 1150 E. Lombard Street.
The mural — which is 77 feet long and 15.3 feet tall — was designed by Naomi Weintraub, public art coordinator for the Jewish Museum of Maryland. It was painted and produced by Upright Entity, a Baltimore-based mural business known for creating public art.
Inspired by research artifacts and historical images in the JMM’s archival collection, the vibrant, whimsical mural features ritualistic Jewish life — a Havdalah setting, a sukkah full of food and wall art (as well as a resting feline) — along with items related specifically to Bawlmer history, such as Old Bay Seasoning, lemon sticks (long associated with the Flower Mart) and the long-defunct Hendler’s ice cream brand logo (“The Velvet Kind”).
In the top center of the mural is the phrase “L’dor V’dor,” from generation to generation, and images of old Jewish Baltimore, such as Brotman’s Meat Market & Poultry on Lombard Street, circa 1923. There is also a generic rendering of a classic deli with a wheelbarrow brimming with produce and a live chicken pecking along a sidewalk.
“The design highlights the role that food plays in Jewish ritual and traditions,” explains the JMM’s website. “At the museum, we wanted to create a mural that educates and inspires our neighbors and people who come to visit!”
The mural is part of an extensive makeover of the JMM Herbert Bearman Campus after an 18-month renovation. The updates reflect the JMM’s commitment to being a participatory museum and creating an immersive, engaging space for learning and discovery.
“This transformative project ensures that the museum’s architecture and technologies align with evolving practices in the field,” Sol Davis, the JMM’s executive director, said last January before the museum’s reopening. “The project represents a substantial investment in historic Jonestown, and it creates the setting for the next generation of Jewish life and culture to flourish in Baltimore City.”
At the heart of the museum’s transformation is the David M. Rubenstein Exhibition Arcade. The arcade, slated to open in early 2026, will offer an immersive space in which to engage with Jewish stories in dynamic and interactive ways. The arcade will be lined with custom-designed display cases combining collections materials with interactive technologies.
Other highlights of the reopening included a new state-of-the-art audio/visual production studio; additional rotating gallery space to present exhibitions, serve as a black box theater and multi-purpose program space ensuring visitors always have something new to discover; and an immersive video display array that will support the presentation of a wide variety of video content with multiple display configurations.
Located at 15 Lloyd Street in East Baltimore’s Jonestown community — and flanked by the historic Lloyd Street Synagogue and B’nai Israel Congregation — the JMM is an agency of The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore.
For information about the mural, visit jewishmuseummd.org/projects/lombardstmural.
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