The Block would never exist even in its shattered form today had World War II not brought the overwhelming influx of government contracts to the city. 210,000 jobs became available during this time and housing was so tight for the immigrant war workers that housing trailers were visible in even the wealthy neighborhoods of the city.
Of course The Block was not churning out life vests or bombers, but the street definitely did their part to support the troops. The clubs were filled all night with sailors, soldiers and the war workers off for the evening. Clubs like the 2 O'clock Club served men with fine burlesque shows and girls with some dancing and performing experience. The Gayety burlesque theater filled their seats three shows a day for 25 cents. One reporter who spent some of his wartime life in the balcony of the Gayety described the smell to be a mixture of a horse stall and a filthy YMCA locker room. The girls the men packed in to see had just a few minutes on stage dancing to the terrible house band in between comics and vaudevillian skits. They rouged their nipples with lipstick and interacted coyly with the howling crowd of soldier boys and lonely war industry workers.
The city of Baltimore took care of the needs of the soldiers overseas with their mass productions of dials and gadgets for trucks and planes while launching Liberty Ships into the Patapsco bound for Europe. The Block workers took care of the boys at home by giving them a little hope that they would be destined back to America someday to live this colorful life once again.
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