Locust Point bridge gets colorful makeover and new neighborhood signs

A small span over Key Highway now does more than carry foot traffic between the 900 and 1000 blocks of East Fort Avenue. In Locust Point, the bridge has been repainted with bright blue, orange, yellow and aqua panels and fitted with “Locust Point” signage at the center, giving one of the neighborhood’s most visible crossings a far stronger identity.

The Locust Point Civic Association led the makeover on June 10 as part of an ongoing beautification effort, continuing the same place-making approach it used for earlier street banners. The work covered both sides of the bridge along the concrete ledges bordering the sidewalks, transforming a plain stretch of infrastructure into a gateway that is meant to greet residents and visitors rather than blend into the background.

Artist and former Locust Point resident Nicole Buchholz helped design the look, while volunteers handled the painting. That local, hands-on model matters because the project was not a major capital rebuild or a transportation fix. It was a neighborhood-driven intervention, built around visibility, stewardship and the way a corridor feels when people enter or cross it on foot.

The civic association has used its “My Locust Point” platform to organize that broader neighborhood identity work, pairing community news, events, history and resources with efforts that make public space more legible. In that context, the bridge project functions as more than decoration. It helps mark territory, improve wayfinding at a key crossing and signal that Locust Point is being maintained with care.

Buchholz’s background fits that mission. The Maryland State Arts Council describes her as an urban planner and muralist focused on joyful public space activation, and says she has co-led neighborhood pool transformations in Philadelphia and Baltimore. The council also notes that she has spoken about public engagement and co-design at Project for Public Spaces and City Parks Alliance conferences. In Locust Point, that experience was put to use on a smaller canvas, but one that many people see every day.

For Baltimore, the bridge is a reminder that neighborhood identity is often built in increments. A few painted panels and a centered sign will not solve bigger civic problems, but they can change how a place announces itself, and how carefully it is being watched over.