Baltimore Skyline

(*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...