Even More Baltimore Stuff

Here’s a quick rundown of what’s available in Baltimore. We didn’t get to every location on our short trip, but you should know how much more there is to see.

Inner Harbor. Besides all I’ve written about in previous posts, you’ll find 17 stops on the Water Taxi that take you a host of sites:

• National Aquarium
• Harbor Place shopping/dining
• Science Center
• Rusty Scupper restaurant
• Little Italy
• Visitor Center
• USS Constellation
• Power Plant
• American Visionary Art Museum
• Museum of Industry
• Tide Point
• Fort McHenry
• Captain James Landing
• Canton

Camden Yards. The Orioles and Raven’s play just a few blocks west of the Inner Harbor.

Mount Vernon. This is a Baltimore neighborhood that is a National Register Historic District. It is a fashionable and flourishing area with architectural treasures, gracious urban living and it is a cultural center. You’ll find upscale shopping, the Walters Art Museum and theaters. Antique Row offers dozens of antique shops — on Read/Howard Streets, a few blocks west of Charles St. in the district. Mount Vernon is considerably north of the Inner Harbor, primarily along Charles Street. I recommend a taxi.

Irish and English Pubs. While at the Visitor Center, I noted that Baltimore had a considerable number of Irish and English pubs. Harbor East, Harbor Place, Canton and Fell’s Point.

Baltimore’s Underground Railroad. The waterfront around the Inner Harbor, including Fell’s Point, was a hot bed of Underground Railroad activitiy in the 1800s. Frederick Douglass lived here as a slave and worked in local shipyards. Harriet Tubman used Baltimore’s African-American maritime networks along the wharves and alleys to provide safety, aid and support to freedom seekers. Four sites are located around the Inner Harbor: 1) Frederick Douglass Freedom and Heritage Trail, 2) President Street Station, 3) Mount Clare, and 4) R. F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture. You can get an excellent brochure in the Visitors Bureau or visit National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program (www.cr.nps.gov/ugrr). This site is temporarily down; says it will be up by 1/31/07.