Falls Road Laundromat
By Sarah Beck
14 May 2008
I consider this essay more of a collection of evidence, or maybe multiple images of things that describe a place in time. Falls Road is the central of Hampden, an area of Baltimore where hipsters and poor white people pool together and live. There are multiple points of entry to this area, but I wanted to pick an area that was neutral, or not more hipster or more white trash. I wanted to find a place where everyone was just a person and existed in a space, despite their socio-economic or cultural background.
Hence the laundromat. Owned by an Asian man and his family, it is one of the few places in Hampden that I believe is truly in limbo- people come and go as they pleased, there to wash the dirt away and spin dry to perfection.
I see the people and objects in this story as small details that create a whole place, rather than separate odes to each person or thing's meaning.
So enjoy. Look around. And bring your quarters.
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