That is funny about getting out and moving to Columbia. My wife's grandparents moved from Towson, to just outside of what would be Columbia, in the late 1950s because she saw kids in the neighborhood smoking and said Towson was going down hill.
Those are some really good pictures. It's amazing to me that Joppa Road was built as a bridge right in front of Hutzler's. I'd love to know why they did that, the cost must have been astronomical.