Iread Julianne Oktay’s commentary in The Baltimore Sun about how she fell in love with the city and it brought back old memories to me ( “How I fell in love with Baltimore,” Nov. 21). I will be 97 years old on Dec. 7.

We rode the street cars to downtown Lexington Avenue and shopped in Hutzler’s, the popular department store. Then perhaps a hot dog at a nearby five-and-dime store. Or a movie and a visit to Hippodrome Theatre. Every Sunday in the winter there was ice skating on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Little Italy was a must-stop for dining. I was well aware of the neighborhood as Italian families covered many blocks. My mother worked at the Emerson Hotel at Baltimore and Calvert streets and we would sit in fancy chairs and watch rich people go in and out.

Thanks again for the article. It

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