History

Most of the homes in Cedarcroft were built in the 1920s by the Cedarcroft Land Company. In 1885, Philip E. Lamb purchased 25 acres (100,000 m2) fronting York Road north of the rural village of Govanstown. On the property was a house that had been built in 1846. A few years later, he bought an additional 20 acres (81,000 m2). He called his estate Cedarcroft, and in 1886 built a frame house which still stands at 6204 Sycamore Road.
The Cedarcroft Land Company was formed about 1910 by Philip and George Lamb, along with George Van Holland, William McGeen and C.L. Applegarth. Later they were joined by Frank A. Warner, Jr., and Edward L. Palmer, the architect credited with the design of the development, which was between York and Bellona, Lake and Gittings.
Episcopalians living nearby met in makeshift quarters and were anxious to build a church. In 1911, the diocese bought land on the southwest corner of Cedarcroft and York Roads for $5,000. The church was dedicated in 1913. Ten years later, it was moved a few hundred feet on soaped beams from the center of the lot so that a parish house could be added.
The Cedarcroft Land Company was liquidated in the early 1920s when all the lots had been sold. The Cedarcroft Maintenance Corporation was chartered and the Cedarcroft Improvement Association formed. All of the covenants, restrictions and regulations made by the Land Company were incorporated in the Maintenance Corporation, still the governing body of Cedarcroft
. The early records of the corporation and improvement association are kept in a tattered loose leaf binder with the inked legend "Beginning 1926. But the first records date from 1929. The treasurer s report that year shows payments of $13 for cutting grass on vacant lots and $112.50 for top soil, hauling leaves and operating the snow plow.[3]
By 1921 only 30 houses stood within the neighborhood s boundaries, however all lots sold quickly. At the time lots sold for $1800, corner lots for $2000.[4] The rapid surge of immigrants and Baltimore residents moving north initiated the creation of Cedarcroft s Maintenance Corporation and Improvement Association. All restrictions and requirements set by the Land Company were preserved. These traditional codes governed the construction of single family houses of certain value, all built to neighborhood plan and color scheme regulations.[5]
In 1977 the Cedarcroft Maintenance Corporation s covenants remained firm. Plans, color schemes and renovations were to be submitted to the group for approval. Price floors were also introduced. Each house was required to cost at least $6000, yet most selling prices ranged from $40,000 to $60,000. Due to the larger size and higher values of Cedarcroft houses, the neighborhood saw a sizable number of young family groups moving in. These family units most often included professionally employed husbands and wives, and children who attended area private schools such as Bryn Mawr.[6]
In 2007, 11 units within Cedarcroft were sold. The average price of these sales was $528,591, the median being $505,000.[7] Aside from renovations to the houses of the neighborhood, Cedarcroft looks much as it did in the mid-1900 s. The distinguishing features of the area are its traditional Beaux-Arts Revival style houses, as well as narrow streets lined with arched trees, reminiscent of medieval arches.[8]
Located in City Council District Four, Cedarcroft has been registered as a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places.[9]
According to the 2000 Demographic profile, 97.8% of the houses in Cedarcroft are occupied. 75.6% of the houses are family households.[10]
All in all, Cedarcroft remains a calm and beautiful neighborhood despite its increasingly urban surrounding. The tight-knit community comes together naturally, celebrating October block parties, Halloween parades, and Christmas decoration contests together.[11] This historic district is quite simply a diamond in the rough of an evolving and progressing city