Baltimore Skyline

Happy New Year to all of you in Baltimore, from all of us here at Baltimore Skyline! Hope you had a great 2008, and best wishes for a healthy 2009! We're outta here, heading to the New Years Celebrations, but we'll catch you in '09!

(*courtesy flickr member silentarchimedes ) As the second-to-last post of 2008, we'll recap some of the events that happened this year in Baltimore. 1.) Work finally started on the Legg Mason Tower and The Four Seasons down at Harbor East, finishing up the last of the open parcels down there. Look for more updates in 2009 as those buildings are completed and tenants move in. 2.) The DEIS was finalized for the Red Line and it looks like a light rail plan (4C) will be the one chosen. Next stop off to the Gov's office for the final say. Who knows when construction will start though 3.) Work on the Hopkins Medical Campus and East Side Redevelopment chugs along. The steel is done on the two new Hospital Towers, and one of the Bio Tech buildings is finished. Expect to see more work going on throughout 2009 and into 2010. 4.) MTA expanded its MARC schedule in January, and now a year later is reducing service to save cash. There goes any hope for weekend service on the Penn Line anyti...

Yippie! (*courtesy of The Baltimore Sun) Hot Diggity-Dog the Ravens are in the playoffs! That means another Ravens Festivus! Expect purple to light up City Hall, Penn Station, and the Inner Harbor in the near future, if the Ravens can make a run this postseason. The 27-7 drubbing on the Jaguars ensured a Wild-Card berth and a playoff date with the Miami Dolphins next weekend on the road. Once again everyone is Wacko for Flacco, who threw for 297 yards. In other NFL news my hometown Iggles ransacked the Cowgirls 44-6 on their way to the playoffs as well. They'll meet up with the Vikings in Minnesota in some Wild Card action. Hope the long weekend was good. Back to work!

(*courtesy of jpete flickr) * Miracle on 34th Street in Hampden * Santa's Christmas Palace at the Inner Harbor * Quad Lighting at Johns Hopkins * Snowflakes along Pratt Street * Christmas Village at St. Paul Place * The Washington Monument Lighting * Fells Point Christmas Trees * Campus decorations at Loyola * Festival of Trains at the B&O Museum * BSO Holiday Spectacular * Christmas Parade in Hampden Like all Christmas related things in Baltimore, we start and stop with Hampden. It's the wintry centerpiece of our fair city. Whatever you are doing for the Holidays we here at Baltimore Skyline wish everyone in Charm City a Blessed Christmas and Holiday Season!

Miss a deadline in college - lose a few points off your grade Miss a deadline in the real world - lose $2 million in FTA funding This is why deadlines are important people! The MTA missed a crucial deadline for earmarks adding up to $2 million for design and engineering program for the Red Line. Consequence? Bye-bye money. The Gov't giveth and the Gov't taketh away. Now, in all fairness the FTA didn't make it very easy to file the necessary paperwork, but if the MTA knew it was difficult, they should have worked harder. Especially if it is central to the planning and implementation of a major piece of transit! The Baltimore Examiner goes into a little more detail about it, which is worth taking a good look at it. I liked the Bush Bashing at the end. http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/121908redline.html

It doesn't look like Mark Teixeira will be wearing the Orange and Black next year. A 7-year $150 million contract just isn't enough of an incentive to play for Baltimore, in your home state of Maryland. Word on the street is the Red Sox are out in the lead with an even bigger offer. Why go play in Beantown in front of a packed crowd of Massholes in Fenway , when you can bask in the luster of Camden Yards in front of a homier, yet just as die hard fan base in Birdland ! (Hey remember when the Braves picked him up in '07 hoping he would catapult them into the playoffs, and then they finished in 3rd place?) Call me old school, but I sure wish there was still something called "team loyalty" in baseball. We haven't had a franchise player in Baltimore since Ripken, and I would hardly call B-Rob a long hauler. Anyways, back on track. The O's did pick up Cesar Izturis from the Cardinals for a 2-year deal. He's a career .260 hitter, which isn't bad. H...

I do...well vaguely. It seems hard to believe that there isn't a place to ice skate at the Inner Harbor. One would think that it would be a no-brainer. You have the promenade, the water, the skyline, it's a great place to have a public out-door ice skating rink. Well there was Rash Field until 2003, when the rink closed down after 10 years. I remember going by it a few times during the winter when I was in college, but never had the chance to actually ice skate. So why don't we have one anymore! We're missing on a great market here. New York has Rockefeller Center and Philadelphia has their River Rink, we need to bring it back! There are a few ideas on the table. One is a revamped Rash Field with a garage underneath. This, I believe, is still on option. The other would be on the other side of the Harbor, apart of the Pratt Street redevelopment. Part of the plan would be to rebuilt Schaefer Plaza/Sam Smith Park into a larger public space. One of the artists renditions in...

After 58 years the Fat Lady sings for the Baltimore Opera Company, and the Lyric will be a whole lot quieter. Sadly, they filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy and canceled the last two shows of their season. Unfortunately not enough people in Baltimore like going to the Opera. It's a major blow for the High Arts for this city, though at least there is the BSO and the theatre arts (like Center Stage and the Hippodrome). When Baltimore is trying to increase its image as an improving city, with a vibrant tourist scene, and attractive venues for its citizens, we go and let ourselves down by letting a culture scene die. Smothered like Desdemona in Othello by the pressure of the economy and other venues in the city. Now, I can never say I've actually been to a BOC performance, or any Opera at all, although I am a big fan of Center Stage, but the loss of this performing art just encourages the dissenter's argument that Baltimoreans are "uncultured" Here's hoping that t...

(courtesy of The Baltimore Sun) It's my favorite time of the year, especially here in Baltimore. The lights go up on Pratt Street, the neighbors hang wreaths and trim their trees. Most importantly is the annual lighting of the Baltimore...Monument. What a great tradition, instead of having a large city tree, we light up the most recognizable landmark in the city. So every year in early December, lights are strung up Washington's column, and are ceremoniously lit, accompanied by fireworks, music, and food. Unfortunately, this year I couldn't make it on Thursday, I was disappointed about that. I do enjoy seeing it from a distance, or driving by while sitting on the JHU shuttle. Kudos to the city for deciding to ditch the colored lights for clear this year. Call me conservative, but I never did like colored lights outside anyways. I remember throwing fits in suburban Philadelphia, at a young age, when stringing lights on the trees with the family, and insisting that not a sin...

As we reported on Baltimore Skyline back in October, the city is planning on it's own non-profit car sharing company, BaltimoreCarShare , to catch the market left by Zipcar, who did not want to enhance it's service in Baltimore Well apparently BaltimoreCarShare will start service in March. According to an article in the Sun , there will be a trial period in January and February, and then everything will be open at the end of March. No word yet on where car pods will be located, but that will probably be made public sometime in the future. If you ask me, they should definitely situate a lot of pods downtown, and at the public garages (Federal Hill and Fells Point to name two places). Penn Station, Camden Station, and BWI would also be key, to catch the commuters and visitors coming in town. Situating a few around the many college campuses (MICA, UB, Loyola, UMB, etc) would be great for letting students get around easier. As i mentioned in the previous post, the best idea would b...

I'm spending the holiday up in Philadelphia (go Eagles), but hope everyone in Charm City is enjoying their Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey and stuffing, but leave room for the pumpkin pie and football. Just think, only 33 more days until you get to see the whole famn damily again at Christmas.

Saw this typo on the way to work today. Somebody over in the Office of Transportation should make sure street sign hangers should either a.) have a spellchecker with them or b.) a Baltimore City street name reference guide with them to make sure they spell it right. Lest we have Packer fans coming to worship at Lombardi Street, or Belair Road really does become "Blair".

Woo Hoo! The light rail is back on track, but I wouldn't get too excited too quickly. There are still many trains out of service, and the MTA is still expecting crowded conditions. The problem isn't totally fixed yet (probably won't be for another few years), but a "temporary solution" has been found that should help the trains better negotiate the slippery rails. And just in time for snow and ice season! Let's all hope this is a bit better. Here is the update from MTA: Last updated: November 24, 5:31 AM Effective Sunday, November 23, all Light Rail trains will operate between Hunt Valley and Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie and BWI Marshall Airport. Trains will operate every 15 minutes between Linthicum and Hunt Valley and every 30 minutes from Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie and BWI Marshall Airport. Shuttle buses will continue to provide service to Penn Station from the Mt. Royal/UB stop until further notice. As wheel maintenance associated with fall and winter w...

(courtesy of The Baltimore Sun) Just posting a link here from The Baltimore Sun article about the design for the new University of Baltimore's Law School. The winning architect is Behnisch Architekten from Stuttgart, Germany who partnered with Baltimore's Ayers/Saint/Gross. Construction is expected to start in 2010 and be completed by 2012. It would be interesting to see if they are planning on reworking the off-ramp from the JFX. Has anyone heard anything about that? Let me know! http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/college/bal-te.law18nov18,0,640719.story

If you are familiar with the Great American Streetcar Scandal, then you'll understand why the government should just let GM go bankrupt. Why you ask? Because you could say they (among with Firestone and Standard Oil) are the reason why you have to drive to work everyday and that Baltimore transit is lacking. Baltimore used to have one of the most extensive streetcar systems in the United States, up until the mid 1940s when GM conspired with Standard Oil and Firestone to buy up streetcar lines across the country, dismantle them, and replace them with buses. The conspiracy was brought before the US Supreme Court in 1947, GM was fined $5,000 and the heads of each company a whopping $1 each! I hope that didn't hurt them too much. By this time, many of Baltimore's streetcar lines were scrapped, and by 1963 they were all gone. Why blame GM then? Now we don't have a great, integrated, clean, and smooth transit system anymore. Today many people complain that buses are dirty, no...

With the major foul up with the Light Rail because of "slippery season" and broken wheels here are a few slight chances: - you'll make it to work under an hour late. - you'll see service continued above North Ave. in the next month. - you'll find a seat on a train. - that this problem will be fixed anytime soon. - that the overnight power washing will keep the leaves at bay - you won't see a Light Rail train packed to the gills passing you by. - you'll keep your patience with MTA. - they'll get this right when the trains are overhauled in 2011. - you won't be driving to work for a while.

(Nick Markakis and Adam Jones - Courtesy of The Baltimore Sun) Hey Orioles, you're looking snazzy in your new set of clothes! Today at the Gallery at Harborplace the Baltimore Orioles displayed their new uniforms for 2009. Maybe now, they'll have the same success as the Rays after they dropped "Devil"....eh we'll see. There are a lot of subtle changes including the addition of an orange stripe on the sleeves, a new patch on the left sleeve that incorporates the Maryland flag design (altough I do like the swinging bird better), and a revamped oriole bird on the hat. The biggest and most noticeable change is on the road uniform where it now says "Baltimore" in the usual O's script. Fancy that! The road uniform hasn't mentioned the name of the city since the second Washington Senators moved to Texas. They figured without the city designation on the uniform they could draw the Washington crowd. Now with the Nationals down there in D.C. the O's ...

Yes, I was very happy with myself for coming up with that title. Anyway, if you're into the Finer Arts, you should check out the The Raven , tonight or tomorrow at the Meyerhoff at 8pm. Guest conductor Leonard Slatkin, and the BSO, are performing The Raven, a musical accompaniment to Edgar Allan Poe's poetry. The performance also includes narration of five of Poe's poems by legendary actor, and Baltimore native, John Astin (you know Gomez Addams). Sounds like a great time. Tickets range between $20-$60, which you can order online. http://www.bsomusic.org/ If you are looking for something to do outside of Baltimore this weekend, you know spice it up a bit, the National Portrait Gallery is opening a new exhibit on Lincoln called, One Life: The Mask of Lincoln. They have over 30 portraits and photographs including Alexander Gardner's cracked plate photograph that was the last photo ever taken of Lincoln before his death. The crack cuts across his head, coincidence? http://...

You have go to be kidding me. Up in Charles Village last night 16 people were arrested by the BCPD after election celebrations carried over into the streets. Overreaction reigned supreme in something that was nothing more than a showing of support for the candidate they were glad to see elected. I can see why the BCPD asked the crowds to move along, and understandably people got too enthusiastic, but arrests and tasers in response? It made for a sorrowful juxtaposition. The Baltimore Sun had an article today about the incident. Hopkins students talked about getting tased, being shoved by officers, and camera phones being tossed. One student reported that a girl, after mentioning to a police officer that she had the right to assemble peaceably, was promptly thrown to the ground and arrested. Those arrested were not charged with any crimes, but spent the night in Central Booking Their crowd control policies should seriously be reviewed. I am extremely ashamed of the BCPD for this one....

(courtesy of The Baltimore Sun *) Dad: "That's a long line" Baby: "I just pooped" Woah, the polling places are packed! Even with future voters. I went out to my polling place at Commodore Rodgers Elementary at 7:30am and i stood in line for an hour and a half! An HOUR AND A HALF! just to cast my vote. I knew I probably should have showed up earlier, but I like my sleep. We all know it slows down around 10am unil 4pm, and then picks up after that because all of the work force, but apparently the lines are longer than ever this year. Maybe it's because you want change, or doing your civic duty, you just like chatting it up wih the nice sweet old Election Judges, or you are sick and tired of hearing Yes or No on Question 2 and want to get it over with, people are out there at the polls. Luckily I got it done early today, because I would not want to be standing in line there now after spending all day at work. Let's hope for no hanging chads this year!

Get out there and VOTE Baltimore! You have until 8pm to get to the polls.

It's November, so a new months bring us some new building updates at Baltimore Skyline. Down in the spot of the Baltimore waterfront between Harbor East and Fells Point, aptly named Harbor Point by the developers (luckily they didn't go with Harbor Fells), the first building in what is supposed to be a large venture is going up. The Thames Street Wharf, designed by Ayers Saint Gross, is a $22.8 million, 240,000 square foot mixed use office/retail building that is going up at the far end of Thames Street. Scheduled to be open sometime late in 2009, one of the major tenants, according to the Baltimore Business Journal, is Morgan Stanley. They already have offices in the Bond Street Wharf Building (convenient for happy hour at DuClaw), and are interested in expanding to the new Thames Street offices. The Harbor Point development will be the final connection along the waterfront between the offices and condos of Harbor East and quaint historic rowhomes of Fells Point. Hopefully it ...

(*courtesy CB Richard Ellis) There was an article a while back about the Gateway at Washington Hill project, I think it was in the Baltimore Sun , but I can't be for certain. It mentioned that the property was sold and a new developer was looking to revitalize the program, albeit in a modified version. I was curious about the new project so I sent an email over to Kristina Kossolis at CBRE , the owner of the property, to see what the deal was. This is what she said: "Phase 1 of the project is supposed to break ground fall of 2009 and will take 1.5 years to develop and phase two will break ground as the first phase finishes. It is the hope of the developer to bring great retail amenities along with residential units to the community." If you are unfamiliar with the project it is bounded by Baltimore, Wolfe, Washington, and Fayette Streets. Phase 2 extends up to the next block up to Orleans St. There will be a mix of apartments and townhouses, but the best part is retail a...

(*courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer ) The Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series Champions! Thanks guys for ending the 28-year drought for the Phillies and the 25-year drought for the city of Brotherly Love. PHINALLY!

The joy of travelling to different places, especially those you have never been to, is taking the time to take in the local attractions. So, when I found myself in St. Louis for work, I decided to check out the one thing that comes to mind when someone says St. Louis (no, not Busch Stadium) the Gateway Arch! Nothing says "Celebration of Western Expansion" like a giant, stainless steel arch. I think it would be more impressive if it spanned the Mississippi, but it is a striking feat of engineering. It was designed by Finnish architectural genius Eero Saarinen in 1947, the same man who brought us the terminal at Dulles Airport and TWA's at JFK. The man really knew how to make steel and concrete curve gracefully. A large inverted catenary curve, it is 630 feet at its keystone piece, and 630 feet across at it's base. Two trams take passengers up either leg to the observation deck at the top. It was completed in 1965 after two years of construction. The Arch is the center...

The Fall Classic starts tonight at 8pm on Fox. Philadelphia Phillies vs Tampa Bay Rays. It's Hump Day in Baltimore, so go out and enjoy some happy hour, and then stay out to watch some baseball! Let's Go Phightin' Phils!

Unfortunate news coming out of MTA for Maryland Commuters, because of the budget cuts and souring economy, MTA is going to be making some cuts of their own starting in January. The MTA plan to cut 6 Commuter Bus routes and a few trains on the MARC Penn and Brunswick lines are coming at a time where mass transit is seeing one of the largest spikes in its usage. Last January the MTA announced that they would add four later MARC trips, to take advantage of later riders. Now, a year later, two of them, the 447 to DC and the 448 to Baltimore, are planning on being cut. In August, Gov. O'Malley announced that he wanted to expand the Commuter Bus service to encourage more rides because of high gas prices, now it seems that this will be taking a step back. The MTA had already planned to initiate weekend service on the MARC Penn Line, but this, too, seems like more of a dream than a reality at this time. It's really disappointing that service is being cut when gas prices are still high,...

Saturday was such a wonderful day, so I decided to walk around Harbor East and shoot some pictures of the construction projects going on down there. Two large towers are rising at the end of President St at Lancaster St, in the last two lots left down there. The redevelopment has been a huge success with the addition of apartments, condos, and some great retail spots. Not to mention the Landmark Theaters, the only movie theater in downtown Baltimore (the bar is a great perk too). Now we have the 24 story Legg Mason Tower, where the new headquarters will move to from downtown, and the 44 story Four Seasons Hotel and Residences. Without further prose here are the pictures: Four Seasons Hotel & Residences Legg Mason Tower

Now since it seems that Zipcar won't expand it's market in Baltimore beyond Johns Hopkins University and Goucher College, Bmore is going to just go around Zipcar and create it's on car sharing organization. Take that! Seeing as Zipcar has been a great success in markets like Washington DC and Philadelphia, why wouldn't they want to start up more pods here? Especially in a city whose public and rapid transit system is far less suited for people looking to get around. Car sharing would be a great option here, and it definitely is a loss for Zipcar . On the good side of this is that Baltimore gets to create its own non-profit car sharing system on the lines of PhillyCarShare ( http://www.phillycarshare.org/ ). The start up date hasn't been set yet, but I wouldn't be surprised if this was something in the not-to-distant future. We definitely need another option here in Bmore , and this will fill a great void. Baltimore is a city where you need a car to get ...

I know this isn't the best of pictures of the Washington Memorial, but this is apparently the only photo I have taken of it. This is from St. Patrick's Day, I don't recall taking any pictures around Mount Vernon, so guess it was a great St. Patty's Day! It's hard not to see the Washington Memorial when you are out and about in the city. It sits on the highest point in Baltimore, and is 178 feet tall, so you can't miss it. Interestingly enough, it was conceived and construction began well before it's more famous cousin in Washington DC. Construction started in 1815, but wouldn't be completed for fourteen years. The memorial is made up of three basic parts: Pedestal, Column, and George. The pedestal recounts the date that Washington took command and when he resigned is commission after the American Revolution, as well as his victories as Commander-in-Chief (all FOUR of them!) The tall marble Doric column stands atop the pedestal and standing on top is the...

Good news for all of you residents of Charles Village, you live in a great neighborhood! The American Planning Association named the North Baltimore section of the city as one of its 10 Great Neighborhoods for 2008. Charles Village stretches mostly from North Ave to 33rd Street along the N. Charles Street corridor. It's a great mix of townhouses and small apartment buildings, most with small front yards and tree lined stretch, a far cry from some of the more urban neighborhoods to the South. It is anchored and influenced by Johns Hopkins University to the North and Station North to the South. Students, young professionals, and families alike call it home. It was laid out mostly at the beginning of the 20 th century when Baltimore extended its borders North to its present locations. The neighborhoods of Charles Village, Guilford and Roland Park were all designed and laid out around the same time. The Olmstead brothers laid out the latter two in the early 1920s, and they have a m...

Too bad the other Maryland Olympians were overshadowed by Phelps. Katie Hoff won 2 Bronze and 1 Silver medal in Beijing, and Jessica Long won 4 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze swimming in Paralympics aswell. There were a lot of great athletes coming out of Maryland, spread the love a bit.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.ci.royal06oct06,0,5493860.story The Baltimore Sun reported today that MICA and UB are looking to revamp the stretch of Mount Royal Avenue between the two campuses. In an area that has thousands of students, not to mention the Myerhoff, Lyric, and Penn Station, the streetscape is not very desirable. The initiative hopes to attract retail and aesthetic improvemets to the area. Repaving Mount Royal, adding trees, reworking sidewalks, and encouraging business. UB will also use this as an opportunity to better tag its campus. In an urban setting it is difficult to tell where a school starts and ends. UB hopes to solve this problem with better signage. With MICA opening up its new Residence Hall this year and UB planning a new Law School building on a parking lot at Charles and Mount Royal, this could create a great renaissance up there. With the successes of Station North and the ongoing renewal of the Charles Street streetscape ...

This weekend Baltimore is celebrating its Maryland athletes with two events on Saturday. First up is a parade in Michael Phelps' old stomping grounds of Towson. Most of the Towson streets will be shut down for the procession. The parade steps off at 3pm along York Rd at Burke Ave. The parade is then to be followed by a Star Spangled Extravaganza at Fort McHenry. There will be a ceremonious reenacting of Phelps receiving his Gold Medals...Hey, like Defenders Day but without the British. I really like this part, reenactment of receiving Gold Medals, seriously? Didn't this just happen back in August. I'm sure it's on YouTube. Anyway, the connection is clear: American wins a Gold Medal, they play the Star Spangled Banner, the Star Spangled Banner was written in Baltimore during the attack on Fort McHenry, Phelps is from Baltimore, therefore have the Phelps celebration at Fort McHenry...brilliant! The festivities start at 3pm at the Fort with food and entertainment. The main...

Finally we have some major support for the LRT alternative for the Red Line. The Baltimore Sun reported today that The Greater Baltimore Committee, a regional action group made up of Baltimore business and civic leaders, is backing light rail option because they see it as the best option. Donald Fry the president of GBC said in a post on their website that this is exactly what Baltimore needs: “A quality east-west light rail route that connects with our existing Metro, MARC, and light rail would transform Baltimore’s current transit hodge-podge into an integrated regional rail system.” The GBC is specifically backing the 4C alternative (details at http://www.baltimoreredline.com/ ), which would include a tunnel under Cooks Lane in West Baltimore and a tunnel under downtown and Fells Point. It would be integrated to the Light Rail at Lexington Market and the Metro Subway at Charles Center. I've been promoting this idea for a long time now, ever since I first heard about the Red Line...

Good Grief. Thus ends another depressing season of Orioles baseball. A 10-1 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays brought the official season total to 68-93, a winning percentage of .422. That was good enough for 28.5 games behind and the second-worst team in the American League (thank you Seattle). That makes 11 consecutive losing seasons for the Birds, how much longer can this go? Once again there was a disappointing end to a season that started off with a lot of promise. As a rebuilding season the O's dumped Miguel Tejada and Eric Bedard, while picking up Luke Scott (and his dynamite bat) and George Sherrill. However, the one pitched the O's hoped would be the back bone of the rotation, Adam Loewen, ended his career as a pitcher because of injury. The Orioles had a lot of electricity and enthusiasm, but that will only carry you so much when the powers that be in the front office won't spend the dough to bolster the roster. While the team batting average was 8th in the AL (and 10...

Phillies are the 2008 NL East Division Champions! Wow, what a crazy home stretch in the National League East. The Phillies pulled off their second NL East Division championship in as many years. The last time the Phillies went to the playoffs two years in a row Ronald Reagan was in his first year of office, and the last time they won the Divison back to back was 1976-1977 (and won a third in '78) Wow. It got dicey at the end of the game, and I thought it would go down to the last game of the season once again, but we pulled it off! Top of the 9 th , 1 out, bases loaded, with Brad Lidge on the mound. Lidge , who has been perfect in save attempts this year, gave a low slider to Ryan Zimmerman who rocketed it up the infield. A diving Jimmy Rollings stopped it, flipped it to Chase Utley who launched it to Ryan Howard for the 6-4-3 Double Play...In...the...bag. Bring on some October baseball! Watching the results of the Mets and Brewers today to see who we get to play in the N...

The first of probably many Baltimore Skyline Roadtrips brings us to New Haven, CT. Just a quick 4 hour Amtrak trip up the NorthEast Corridor and here we are. Nothing like catching a 5:45am train out of Baltimore in the rain, in the dark, to travel up North, on a Friday...for work. Ah, New Haven, Home of Yale University, and our focal point of this blog- New Haven Union Station. Union Station was built in 1918 and officially opened in 1920. It was designed by Cass Gilbert, a pioneering architect from the early 20 th century, he is most well known for the Woolworth Building in New York, but hey, he designed a pretty nice train station here in New Haven. Saved from the wrecking ball in the 1970s it was revamped and reopened by Amtrak and Metro North. The most striking feature of the building has to be the Main Hall. It's coffer ceiling is reminiscent of Philadelphia's 30 th Street, but is more the size of our own Baltimore Penn Station (the Tiffany glass and sky lights of B...

Welcome to Autumn my friends, or as we like to call here in Balmer , Winter: Part 1. So far the meteorologists over at the Weather Channel are predicting pleasant temperatures through the beginning of October, but it's only a matter of time until it gets cold! Continuing on the Free theme here at Baltimore Skyline , Fall brings another great thing to mind...Free Fall Baltimore! Now in its 3rd year, Free Fall Baltimore brings you great arts and cultural activities and events for free during the entire month of October, so starting next Wednesday put your wallets away and prepare to enjoy some free stuff. There are events for everyone, as well as some tailored just for children and families. The BMA will be doing workshops, MICA will be hosting its Maryland Film Festival on Tuesdays, and Center Stage will have a showing of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Right up the alley for all of you aspiring city planners and urban historical, Baltimore Heritage will be giving a free lectu...

T-minus 3 hours until we can unshackle ourselves from the Prison that is work! There is much to do in Baltimore this weekend. A great resource is Baltimore for Less. Get the news on what's exciting in Baltimore, but won't break the bank! http://www.baltimore.org/moreforless/ Check out the Fresh Farm Market on Lancaster Street in Harbor East on Saturday from 9am-1pm. It's running until October 25th, so you still have plenty of time to stock up on fresh veggies and fruits. The Maryland Renaissance Festival continues in Annapolis at the Crownsville Fairgrounds. See some josting, eat some mutton, drink some beer, and don't forget Hilby - the German Juggle Boy...whatever that means. http://www.rennfest.com/ Sunday the Ravens take on the Browns at home at 4:15pm. Start your tailgatin'

When most Baltimoreons look at the Baltimore Skyline they invariably see the second tallest, but in my opinion, the most striking building in this city - the Bank of America Building. Its golden cap radiates in the the daytime and glows at night, as a beacon of light drawing your view into downtown. When walking on the street one can't help but look up as its brick facade gives way to white motif pilasters and arches on the setback upper floors. A green shingle and polished copper temple caps the mighty work of 1920s architecture. Once the largest building in Baltimore, the Baltimore Trust Building, as it was first known, was finished in 1929 on the eve of the Great Depression. Designed by the architectural firms of Taylor & Fisher and Smith & May, it was Baltimore's first modern setback skyscraper. Standing high above the corner of Light and Baltimore Streets, it reaches 509 feet into the air. A mix of Art-Deco and Gothic elements make for a strikingly unique bui...

Another wonderful day in Baltimore. Keeping it a short post today, just a quick update to tickle your fancy and keep you wanting for more. Quick recap of the weekend: Defenders Day, some rain, some sun, lot's of fireworks, the Gov, the Mayor, reenactors, cannon fire, music, food, and fun! If you missed the action at Fort McHenry you'll have to wait another year. Let's try to make this city holiday thrive again! We have glass at Hopkins! That's right after 2 years of steel, and now brick, we have glass going up! The front facade of the Children's Tower is going to be a 12-story curving wall of multi-coloroed glass panels. Looks very interesting, it should be nice to see when it's all done. Not sure if the rest of the hospital building will carry this motif, but it's a nice addition for the kids. Enjoy your night Baltimore! Let's go O's! Hump day tomorrow.

Seriously there is only one thing you should all do this weekend and it's the Star-Spangled Weekend at Fort McHenry. It is the celebration of Defenders Day, the (sadly) little known state holiday in Maryland that commemorates the successful defense of Baltimore and Fort McHenry from a British attack on September 12,13,14, 1814. What the Brits attacked Baltimore? YES! Read your history books people! Anyways, starting Friday there will be a parade from Little Italy to the Flag House and then to the Inner Harbor. Afterwards the parade will move through Tide Point to Locust Point and ending at Fort McHenry. There will be events all day Saturday with living historians (reenactors) and then a large concert and fireworks display at dusk. So head down to the Fort and bring your copy of the Star Spangled Banner, and an umbrella since there is a chance of showers, and help bring back an old holiday! http://www.nps.gov/fomc/parknews/loader.cfm?url=/commonspot/security/getfile.cfm&PageID...

The Committee on Historical and Architectural Preservation is meeting today to discuss the fate of the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre at Charles Center. Preservationists seek to put the architecturally unique (yet unaesthetically pleasing) structure on the Baltimore City Landmark list. Developers David S. Brown Enterprises LTD seeks to renovated and incorporate the theatre into a new 30-story mixed used facilities with retail on the lower levels. They hope to utilize much of the existing structure without damaging it or hurting the significance of it. Preservationists don’t fully agree and hope to stop the proposal in its tracks. Now, I’m all up for preserving historic buildings, but it may start a bad precedent. Blocking this proposal could feasible kill any future attempt to do anything at that site. The Mechanic sits on some prime real estate at Charles Center, smack in the middle of the Central BD. The Mechanic is no Hippodrome, neither in capacity or looks. Sure the Mechanic is unique...