Baltimore Skyline

With the Ravens off this week, this particular Sunday was a little bit more relaxed in town. Since I didn't have to plan my day around watching Baltimore football, I had free range to take in some well need chill time. First stop...Federal Hill. Met up with some friends for brunch at Metro. Though I don't live in that part of the city anymore, it has still remained a staple for breakfast and brunch, and well worth the out of the way trip down. Now with the Circulator, the trip is so much easier. It's always a crowded spot, but the service is good and the food is great. Self service coffee is a plus, especially when it does get busy. It was such a great fall day out, I decided to walk back to the old homestead by way of the Inner Harbor. In the early afternoon the first batch of trick-or-treaters were already out on the streets of Federal Hill and Otterbein. Second stop...downtown. I walked up Charles Street and saw the new landscaping around the Kona Grill addition. I...

Baltimore Skyline was nominated under two categories for this year's Baltimore Sun Mobbies under the Misfits and Neighborhood sections. Thank you for the nominations, and thank you for reading and commenting on this blog. I've enjoyed writing these posts and looking into many of the topics that effect Charm City, whether that be sports, events, transportation, construction, development, or the news. Though this is something I pursue in my free time, I do try to keep up with as much that is going on. Thanks again, and I hope you continue to follow along!

(photo credit: abc2 news ) At around 2:30am this morning a van crashed into the decorative cast-iron fence that surrounds the Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon. In one fell swoop a driver took out a large section of the 172  year old fence. The monument was designed by Robert Mills and built between 1815 and 1829. The iron fence that surrounds the monument and forms the center of the Mt Vernon Place circle was installed in 1838. The four decorative gates in the fence are adorned with motifs of Roman fasces - a symbol of jurisdiction and unity - where not damaged.  In the early Republic, George Washington was compared to the Roman general and hero Cincinnatus who after defeating a threat to the Roman Republic resigned his position as Dictator, returned his fasces which were the symbol of his authority, and returned to his farm. Very much in the same way George Washington left the office of the President and retired to Mount Vernon. The fasces became, and remains a symbol i...

Its the last weekend in October, that could mean only one thing...Halloween in Baltimore! Just when you thought the crowd in Fells Point on a Saturday night couldn't get any weirder. Party goers and bar hoppers pull out all the stops on Halloween, and nothing is left to the imagination. If you have never been to a Halloween weekend in Fells Point you're missing out on the sights and sounds. Creativity abounds among the young and old. You'll the traditional ghosts, goblins, and vampires. There will also be the trendy topics, I'm sure there will be a couple groups of Chilean miners. Some pull ideas out of the past, Legends of the Hidden Temple anyone? While others go nerdy like a complete Obi-Wan Kenobi with working lightsaber. But the most will be the ladies wearing the least amount of clothing the weather will allow and donning a costume entitled "sexy (insert any non-sexy job)" There you have it. We'll see you in Fells!

(photo credit, Marks Thomas Architects ) It's always a good sign when you see construction cranes popping up across the city. The newest crane to go up is on the Johns Hopkins Medical Campus in East Baltimore where a new 20-story housing tower for graduate students is now under construction. The target day for completion is August 2012, just in time for the fall semester. This has the potential to be a big asset for the this side of town. The tower will have space for over 500 students. It will immediately add to the residential feel to the Hopkins campus, which now is only a small number of Medical students who live on Broadway. Additionally, this could add to the retail availability next to the EBDI site. Places that will cater to a student resident population would be attracted, e.g. coffee shops, sandwich shops, dry cleaners, etc. The types of retail that are lacking around the Hopkins Hospital, which now mostly serve the 9-5 crowd. This building will also serve as a ca...

Over the summer, the Downtown Partnership took over the maintenance and landscaping for Preston Gardens. For those of you who don't know where that is, it's the park between St. Paul Place between Centre Street and Lexington Street. Since then, the appearance and feel of the park has significantly improved. Daily, there are Downtown Partnership workers cleaning away trash along the pathways and the grass. A park steward has been hired to oversee the park, along with Center Plaza. Every morning park tables with umbrellas are put out on the grass, and at lunch time these are generally filled with downtown workers on their breaks. For once, the landscaping has been more than just mowing the grass. The gardens across from the entrance to Mercy hospital were recently replaced and improved.  New planters have been added around the center fountain, but nothing has been planted as of yet. Trees were pruned back to keep the branches from hanging low over the pathways. Finally the ye...

 (photo credit, The Baltimore Sun ) Yesterday wrapped up the 2010 season for our Baltimore Orioles, and what a roller coaster of a season it's been. After starting 2-16, the Orioles finished up at 66-96, at the bottom of the AL East but not the worst in the American League. Dave Trembley didn't make it through the season, Juan Samuel picked up the reigns on an interim basis, and then things actually changed when Buck Showalter was hired as the new O's skipper. Under Buck's lead, the Orioles went 34-23 for the rest of the season, a .596 winning percentage. For a team that started off so poorly, that is a remarkable turn around for the end of the season. However, the abysmal performance in the first half of the season still kept the O's 30 games out of first-place in the AL East. Eliminated from playoff contention on August 30th, the first team this season to get their Elimination Number to zero, the rest of the season was played just for the sake of th...

Now there is probably a reason for this that I don't understand, but why is the Circulator so slow? Every time I have been on it, the circulator seems to put along at a few MPH below the speed limit. I would think that the buses would drive along at the same speed as traffic to get between the stops a bit quicker. I have noticed that when driving slower than the speed limit, it can make the trip agonizing when you take into account all the red lights the circulator gets stuck at. Sure, it's a free shuttle, and its very convenient, but what's the need for going so slow? Is it to ensure a more comfortable ride? I don't see how going 25mph vs. 30mph makes a whole lot of difference in the feel of the ride. Maybe it has to do with spacing the buses, or maintaining the schedule? If anyone out there has an answer please let me know, because I don't have one.