Oak Street Garage

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The Oak Street Garage, constructed in 1924 and enlarged in 1927, illustrates the dramatic impact of the automobile. Built and operated by first-generation Italian immigrants, the Oak Street Garage reflects the far-reaching impact of the automobile on Baltimore's urban fabric and economic life.

The evolution of the automobile-related services that it housed and the controversy its construction generated illustrate the striking shifts in the urban landscape and economic fortunes it created in the boom years of the 1920s. The Piraino family owned the one-story storage garage through 1969 and actively operated it most of those years. Neely and Ensor Auto. Co., formerly a high-end carriage manufacturer, was the building's first tenant, occupying a portion of the original garage and all of its addition.