It is a historically African American community composed of young professionals, retirees, and working people, where each block has its own character.

The neighborhood clusters around Mondawmin Mall, an urban shopping mall, and features schools ranging from elementary to four-year college, green space on wide boulevards and small streets, convenient small businesses, many active churches and dedicated neighborhood associations.

The neighborhood is five minutes by car from the nearest light rail station; the area is also served by the Maryland Transit Administration's Mondawmin Shuttle Bug bus.

Mondawmin takes its name from the estate owned by Dr. Patrick Macaulay (1795–1849), physician, city councilman, B&O Railroad director and patron of the arts.

Tradition relates that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow visited Dr. Macaulay, who asked him what to name his home, then surrounded by corn fields.

Many residents moved into the community in the late forties and early fifties as the area developed as the cultural and education center for African Americans.