Upscale neighborhoods also have upscale post offices. Who knew? The Roland Park USPS, located just…read moreoff of Roland Ave near to the public library, the elementary school, and a cute little shopping section with an Eddie's grocery, a Tuxedo pharmacy, and at least one children's book/toy store, is pretty much the embodiment of a small-town post office in the heart of leafy, comfortably middle-class North Baltimore.
It's an intimate, even cramped, space, but no one seems to mind. They are in Roland Park, after all! People smile, wait patiently in line, chat on cell phones, exchange friendly banter with the staff, and generally seem to enjoy their visit. Parking in the nearby garage is super easy, and you can even hit the Starbucks across the street for a post-postal caffeine fix.
This is the sort of USPS that Norman Rockwell would have loved. It almost doesn't seem real now, in retrospect, esp. after having been to so many alienating USPS branches with angry customers, long lines, and frazzled employees who never seem to wipe the permanent frowns from their faces.
Healthy neighborhoods need more than green lawns, good schools, and McMansions (those I could do w/out). They certainly can stand to lose a few of the gated communities and cookie-cutter FedEx/Kinko's stores that spring up like mushrooms after a fall or winter rain. Healthy communities need public spaces - green ones, of course - but also public services and well-run private islands of essential commerce. This part of Roland Park has such things: historic, exposed-brick houses, more excellent schools than you could ever imagine, great little tree-lined side streets where children, squirrels, and joggers play, and a really nice little post office on Deepdene Road. You could do much worse than to settle down here!