Edith Massey in Elinor Cahn’s East Baltimore ’70s documentary photo
Edith Massey’s shop c. 1974 photo by Elinor Cahn
Elinor Cahn made a series of similar photos in the late ’60s early ’70s Baltimore Renaissance period. This time was marked by John Waters first film successes, downtown $1 homes, and a hipster migration to Fells Point that began its re-birth.
Sensing a monumental change, Cahn prowled the remaining ethnic enclaves of East Baltimore, Fells Point and Highlandtown and documented the people and their lives that were joined by bohemian artists who would eventually be displaced themselves by gentrification, gelato bars, and $1 million homes. I lived there at the time and these photos bring back vivid memories. So glad I stumbled on them.
See more, including a young and wonderfully fetching artist Sue Lowe in her Dallas Street home, which was just around the corner from mine.
http://www.mericansuburbx.com/series-2/e/elinor-cahn-east-baltimore-documentary-survey-project-1970s
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