Carnegie

“There’s so much history here. This is where Dundalk started.” 

What’s Great About Carnegie

• Historical importance
• Panoramic skyline of the Marine Terminal
• Best view and immediate access to I-695 and the Key Bridge
• Minutes from Dundalk retail 

Boundaries

• Broening Highway (east)
• I-695 Beltway (south)
• Belclare Road (north)
• Patapsco River (west)

Overview

While Carnegie Plat occupies only a small piece of land south of the Dundalk Marine Terminal, it carries more than its weight in historical significance to Dundalk. A long-established community, it was home to the famous Old Mill Tavern and other attractions. Carnegie is an enclave of established neighbors who take real pride in their community.

Housing Choices

Carnegie Plat options in housing reflect the historic significance of the neighborhood. Older single home dwellings dot the streets in view of both the Dundalk Marine Terminal and the Francis Scott Key Bridge. 

Attractions

Carnegie Plat has much to offer in historic significance, but also offers convenience for its residents. Nearby are quality public schools and numerous houses of worship. Nearby Logan Village shopping center provides a modern supermarket and other stores. Other retail options are just minutes away on Merritt Blvd., or via nearby Baltimore Beltway, I-95 and convenient access to Highlandtown and Canton.

Neighborhood and Civic Organizations

• Dundalk Eastfield Recreation Council: 7601 Dunmanway, (410) 887-7155
• Dun-Logan Community Council: President Warren Fluck

Schools

• Dundalk Elementary School: 2717 Playfield Street, (410) 887-7013
• Dundalk Middle School: 7400 Dunmanway, (410) 887-7018
• Dundalk High School:  1901 Delvale Avenue, (410) 887-7023
• Community College of Baltimore County: 7200 Sollers Point Road, (443) 840-2222 

Faith-Based Organizations

• Dundalk Church of the Brethren: 2660 Yorkway
• Our Lady of Lavang Church: 335 Sollers Point Road, (410) 282-1496
• St. Rita Roman Catholic Church:  2907 Dunleer Road, 410-284-0388
• St. Georges and St. Matthew Episcopal Church: 2900 Dunleer Road, (410) 284-6242
• Dundalk United Methodist Church:  3 Mornington Road, (410) 284-4818
• Dundalk’s First Baptist Church:  100 St Helena Avenue, (410) 282-4256
• St. Luke’s Evangelical Lutheran Church: 1803 Dundalk Avenue, (410) 633-5374

History

Carnegie Plat retains much of the historical footprint of Dundalk. Colgate Creek, just on the other side of the adjacent Dundalk Marine Terminal, was the site of one of the first homes in Dundalk.

Henry McShane’s bell foundry in Baltimore, built in 1856, had become world famous. The foundry’s church bells rang out across nearly every state and across the world. When part of the foundry burned in 1893, McShane decided to relocate in a wilderness area off the Patapsco River. He built his foundry, along with a grand summer vacation home, near Carnegie Plat, on what is now the site of American Legion Post 38.

The railroad line followed the foundry to the area in 1895, and officials told the McShanes that they must choose a name for the railroad stop. William James McShane, Henry’s son and the vice-president of the foundry, wrote Dundalk, the name of his father’s hometown in Ireland, on a board and nailed it to a tree near the railroad. The town, with only a few farming families to claim as residents, was born.

What is now the Dundalk Marine Terminal has been known by numerous names. In 1929 Baltimore Municipal Airport was built on the manmade peninsula next to Carnegie Plat, and Pan American Airlines made the location a seaplane facility, used until 1941, when the U.S. Army took over operations and re-named it Baltimore Army Airfield for the duration of WWII. Winston Churchill flew out of the field following secret meetings with Franklin Roosevelt, while other famous aviators used the site regularly.

Following the war, the airfield was named Baltimore Municipal Airport, followed by a re-naming as Harbor Field from 1950-60, when air traffic slowed drastically because the site could not accommodate larger planes.

In 1960 the field closed for good and was re-tooled into a marine terminal, establishing not just Dundalk, but the entire region, as a deep-water port to be contended with on a national scale.

While the area lost its significance for air travel, it has greatly exceeded that value with port operations that will provide for the region long into the future.