New residents can sign up for the Around Town Bus tour of Catonsville and Arbutus every month. Tuesday was our turn on the two hour tour on a Charlestown shuttle bus. A resident who grew up in Catonsville and who lived for 40 years in Arbutus was our tour guide. Although we lived in the area thirty years ago, there have been lots of changes.
Catonsville still has an old fashioned downtown with many new restaurants in addition to the old line stores. It is known as Music City because of the many music stores. One store, Appalachian Bluegrass Shoppe, specializes in bluegrass music.
On another trip I found Atwater’s Bakery, known for their organic, hand-shaped, naturally leavened bread. This is not cheap bread but the whole wheat bread I purchased was very good. In fact, they received Baltimore magazine’s best bread in Baltimore for 2012. They opened in 2009 and have expanded to include soups, coffee and sandwiches.
Arbutus is south of Catonsville with a new Baltimore County library with 25,000 square feet. It is a short drive from here. Next door is the Arbutus Memorial Park, a cemetery where a number of relatively well-known African-Americans are buried. Arbutus is a small unincorporated town close to the city with a rich tradition. We were told one restaurant is for Democrats and another for Republicans. We have to figure what which one is which. The nearest movie theater is in Arbutus as well as a post office with better parking.
Arbutus is home to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, known for its research and innovation. The Erickson School on Aging Studies is housed here. The Community College of Baltimore County, Catonsville Branch is located is also located in Arbutus.
We learned that the shuttle goes to several locations in the area for free.