Gwynns Falls Park at Wilkens Avenue

Gwynns Falls Park at Wilkens Avenue. Gwynns Falls Trail. , Swimming pools and a basketball court were once located on the floodplain here along the Gwynns Falls. Now, trees stabilize the stream banks to help reduce erosion during periodic floods and restore the stream’s health. The basketball court was moved to higher ground. Nearby Wilkens Avenue is named for William Wilkens, a German-born entrepreneur who build a large factory complex in 1845 to the east where the Westside Shopping Center is located. His factory, which processed hair from slaughterhouses, often discarded waste into the stream eventually flowing to the Chesapeake Bay. , Study the Map , Before you start or resume your journey, study the kiosk map and determine your destination along the 15-mile Gwynns Falls Trail. From Wilkens Avenue, the trail heads north to Frederick Avenue (Trailhead 5). To go south to Carroll Park Golf Course (Trailhead 6), carefully cross Wilkens Avenue to the street light and head east on Wilkens Avenue over the Gwynns Falls. Get on the trail on the other side of the bridge and proceed south to Trailhead 6., (Inscription under the image in the upper right) , In 1910, when Gwynn Falls became too polluted for swimming, the City Public Bath Commission built swimming pools in this area with separate male and female sections., (Inscription above the image in the lower right) , Farmers drive pigs to the Union Stockyards slaughterhouse near the Gwynns Falls from the B and O Railroad’s Mount Clare Station.