Baltimore Skyline

We had a lot of fun in 2013. The Ravens won the Super Bowl, Canton Crossing opened, old offices downtown started to be turned into apartments, weekend MARC service, and a whole lot more.  With 2014 the Orioles will be soon back at Camden Yards, 10 Light Street will turn from offices to apartments, Harbor Point should break ground, the city will celebrate the bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner, and hopefully be one year closer to construction of the Red Line. As you can see there is a lot to look forward to. Here's to a great year for Baltimore and a continued renaissance in 2014. 

Have you ever been downtown and left a 7-Eleven forgetting something that you needed to go to another 7-Eleven for and thought to yourself "This is an outrage, there really needs to be a 7-Eleven every couple of blocks." Well you're in luck! A new one is opening at 300 N Charles Street, only 3 blocks from a location at 100 West Lexington Street and 4 blocks from one at 529 N. Charles Street. Luckily there is that one on Lexington Street or you would have to walk all the way like a schmuck from the 7-Eleven at 301 N. Howard St. 6 whole blocks to the location at 300 E. Baltimore St, but that one is a midway point. I know what you're thinking, three blocks that's a ridiculously long walk when you need to be at a 7-Eleven immediately. No fear, because if you happen to be at the 7-Eleven at 10. N Calvert St  you don't need to walk the 2/10's of a mile to the 7-Eleven at 22 Light Street, no buddy, you're only 580 feet away from the next closest 7-Eleven...

One of the major concerns I have noticed in many residential neighborhoods is the lack of awareness around intersections, especially in regards to obeying stop signs. Too often drivers view stop signs as a suggestion rather than traffic code. For instance, recently in Hampden, stop signs were added at 36th St. and Elm Ave. and at 34th St. and Chestnut Ave. While many looked at this as a great example of traffic calming, many resident complained because it interfered with long standing driving patterns. Clearly it's hard to win. Now this brings me to my point: raised crosswalks. Baltimore has already invest in speed humps, which are effective at traffic calming, but can still be abused since one can run a car over them above the posted speed with little inconvenience.  However, as far as I know, Baltimore has not taken the next step of integrating this at crosswalks. stepping stones in Pompeii  The concept of these go as far back as Roman antiquity. Where stepping stone...

When Chase Brexton moved to their new location, they added a nice flashy sign denoting their location. However they didn't exactly get it right. First it advertised "1111 Charles" forgetting that there is actually a difference between North and South Charles streets. 1111 South Charles is an empty lot in Federal Hill 2 miles away. Strike One.  I guess they realized their error and got a new sign. This one now advertises the address of the former Monumental Life annex but says "1125 Charles North".  Now they are either trying to make a connection with the growing neighborhood above Penn Station, or they didn't hire a good sign company. Strike Two.

Fryeburg Fair, in Fryeburg, ME since 1851. In October we took a little road trip to Maine for some autumn action. First stop was Fryeburg, where their agricultural fair has been going strong since 1851, and is the largest in the state of Maine. This is a real fair folks, not what you get at the Timonium Fairgrounds in September.  LL Bean, making boots Freeport, ME since 1912. No trip to Maine would be complete without a stop at the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport. Making boots and other outdoor equipment since 1912, this store never closes. In fact there aren't even locks on the front doors. If you need a pair of bean boots or a canvas boat bag on Christmas morning for a last minute gift? They have you covered. When you leave the LL Bean store there are plenty of other outlet stores and shops all around Freeport; its a nice walk-able community. Plus Amtrak goes there now so you can ride the rails from Boston North Station all the way downeast. 

Alright Baltimore, let's jump on this. What better way to spur better bike infrastructure in the city. Check out The Green Lane Project for more information. In their pilot year six cities were granted funding, including DC. DC seems to have it right when it comes to improving infrastructure, mode-share, and complete streets while Baltimore lags behind due to the lack of political will. Look at what DC is doing: streetcars, silver line extension, protected bike lanes and bike signals. Let's get serious here.

photo by the blogger The empty and city owned former Lobe Building at 15-17 S. Gay Street, just off The Block. Many of the windows are broken and has sat decaying for years. It serves as the northern end of a row of four vacant, but at one time beautiful thriving buildings on the east side of Gay Street that are city owned.  On any other street near the Inner Harbor these might have been renovated years ago. especially do to its proximity to the Water Street condos across the street, and being two blocks from the Inner Harbor. Instead they are unfortunately situated around the corner from The Block, which needs no introduction. The seediness of which extends beyond the borders of the adult district to wither any development efforts in the immediate area (e.g. the 1st floor retail of One South Street has been empty since the building opened in 1991), or produce only low-brow retail.  For a city that is all about improving its image, and at the same time striving for ...

photo by the blogger I take it that these lights along the Pratt Street bridge over the Jones Falls don't work. Many of the glass panes are broken; I have driven past them and I cannot remember the last time I have seen these illuminated. It is seriously a lost opportunity for nice streetscaping along the major harbor thoroughfare. Possible solution? Paint the light posts, replace the glass panes, and add new light fixtures (e.g. LEDs), to bring some light back to the Pratt Street bridge.

Photo by the blogger  301 N. Charles St. has been empty for years, but was purchased last year by PMC to be developed as apartments. Interior demolition began earlier this year, but not it looks like work is really getting underway. As you can see scaffolding is up to protect the sidewalk, and some of the metal balconies have been painted. Hopefully some more news will be forthcoming.

photo by the blogger Some say he commutes on 95, and that he works in the DC Metro area. All we know is...he's called The Stig! If you are unfamiliar with the British motoring show Top Gear on BBC America, you should check it out. Too bad traffic was crawling and the Stig couldn't get his Chevy Camaro up to speed. 

Photo by the blogger. Construction is ongoing at the corner of Calvert Street and E. Biddle Street at what used to be the Inn at Government House, and what will be the Ivy Hotel in 2014. The new luxury boutique hotel that should be opening in April will have rates potentially around $650/night according to the Baltimore Business Journal. Whatever the cost to spend the night inside is, it's free to look at it from the outside, and what a magnificent restoration it will be when it is finished. 

Photo by the blogger August 14: The Star Spangled Banner flies over Fort McHenry as it always does, every hour of every day. It was a great day for a stroll around the fort. It felt more like autumn than summer.

photo by the blogger Exterior work on 10 Light Street (Baltimore Trust Building) as the conversion to apartments continues. I really hope they restore the flag poles around the lower cornice and actually fly some flags.

photo by the blogger New five-story medical office building on North Washington Street at Orleans Street. Windows and wall panels are going in. 

We all know that the Light Rail misses a lot of potential places and neighborhoods as it makes it way north along the Jones Falls Valley; Ruxton and Towson are good examples. How they managed to design it without making a better connection to Penn Station or why they didn't plan a better Lexington Market Metro interchange is beyond my comprehension. However there is a lot of potential for infill stations to serve some of the city neighborhoods that the line now skips. There is an approximately 2 mile stretch of track between the North Avenue and Woodberry stations. Woodberry serves as a great connection to its immediately neighborhood and places like Woodberry Kitchen, Meadow Mill, Artifact Coffee, and Union Craft Brewing. While only a little more than a half mile to the Avenue, this station sits at the bottom of the Jones Falls Valley, so it does not have the best accessibility. However, adding a new station at Wyman Park Drive has some potential to open up Remington and the s...

Camden Yards Section 332 on Wednesday, May 29th A great day for skyline viewing. The Hilton Hotel blocking the Bromo Seltzer Tower, the B&O Warehouse looking great even after 114 years, the Baltimore Trust Building and the William Donald Schaefer Building making an appearance in the right corner. The old BGE Building straight away to center field.

http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/blog/morning-edition/2013/05/superblock-developers-ask-bdc-for.html So this makes it the 6th time the developers of the Superblock are asking the city for an extension to secure financing and finishing plans for the massive project. The current extension, granted 6 months ago, is set to expire on June 30th. Seriously, this project has languished for over a decade as the city wheels and deals with the developers to build something. They have already received millions of dollars in tax breaks and still cannot get anything done.  The Baltimore Development Corporation seem hesitant to grant another extension, and if they don't then this project will start all over, be bid out again, and we'll see no construction or improvement for another 5 year minimum. Now if the city had instead parceled out the properties into smaller, more manageable, and more easily developed sections then maybe something could have been done by now. Better yet, they...

There will not be a grocery store at the Charles Village site adjacent to JHU ( Baltimore Sun ) Mount Vernon Mill No. 1 has 25 of its apartments rented. First tenets move in May 1st. ( Baltimore Business Journal ) JHU Nursing graduate among the wounded in the April 15th bombings at the Boston Marathon (hub.jhu.edu) Baltimore City might (finally) be (almost) cracking down on illegal dirt bikes , just send them an email! ( Baltimore Fishbowl ) New Southbound platforms at Halethorpe MARC station will open on Monday. The Northbound platform and new overhead walkway and elevators will open in June. (MTA Maryland) Pro-transit coalition in Canton wants streetcars instead of the Red Line on the east side, and wants those streetcars to go no where near Canton. ( Baltimore Brew )

For the past several years, there has been a push to put a streetcar along Charles Street, but let's just say there has been some resistance from some of the communities along Charles Street who feel that it will cause more trouble than good. I am definitely in favor of creating a new streetcar line in Baltimore, but I am not fully sold on the route that is currently being proposed by the Baltimore Streetcar Campaign. The proposed route goes up starts at the Inner Harbor, goes north on Calvert, turns west on Redwood, and then north on Charles until University Parkway, where it loops and turns south on St. Paul Street. It then turns west on Mt Royal and then South on Maryland Ave/Cathedral Street/Liberty Street/Hopkins Place/Sharp Street turns east on Conway and then north on Light Street back to the Inner Harbor. In my opinion there are two issues with this route: 1.) Charles Street is narrow and congested through Mount Vernon until past Penn Station; and 2.) the route on the s...

 Roland Park Water Tower, June 1911 ( rolandpark.org )  City planning on giving funds to restore the Roland Park Water Tower (North Baltimore Patch) Is former mayor Sheila Dixon considering a return to politics? ( Baltimore Sun ) Baltimore plans on raising parking rates at city garages , but residents might catch a break ( Baltimore Business Journal ) You will start to see ADA accessible taxis in the city . MTA also hopes to replace their Mobility fleet with the new MV-1 ( Baltimore Sun ) Development pushes on in Remington despite the stalled 25th Street Station project. ( Baltimore Brew ) Johns Hopkins continues its look into Station North , this time for space for its film and creative arts programs. ( Bmore Media )

Dogwood in Hampden closed Sunday. (Baltimore Sun) Baltimore is still a city that bleeds . (Baltimore Sun) The House of Delegates wants a quick vote on the Governor's transportation plan. The House plan keeps the gas tax the same but generates a sales tax on gas that would total 3 cents over 3 years.  (Washington Post). Baltimore Brew suggests housing homeless in city vacants , but it may not be that easy. (Baltimore Brew) Orioles and Ravens cannot compromise on scheduling for home games on September 5th. (Camden Chat)

photo by the blogger A new medical office building that was first reported on back in 2011 is under construction on the 400 block of N.Washington Street just a block away from the Johns Hopkins Hospital. According to the BBJ article and the architectural rendition outside the construction zone, it will be five stories and 50,000 square feet. The Department of Public Works gives more detail saying the project will have parking, office space, and a lobby on the first floor, and 4 floors of office space. The project should be completed by the end of 2013. Just around the corner from this project, Jefferson Apartment Group is in full construction mode with the first phase of apartments called Jefferson Square at Washington Hill . This 5 story project will include a CVS Phramacy and the first apartments should be available by Summer 2014.

If you see drunken hordes roaming around Federal Hill on Saturday wearing emerald, drinking green beer, and celebrating their Italian, German, English,  "Irish" heritage don't be alarmed, because in Baltimore we like to celebrate St. Patrick's Day early! Let's be honest here for a second. When St. Patrick's Day falls midweek, it makes sense to wear the green the weekend before. HOWEVER, St. Patrick's Day this year is a Sunday, so having all the festivities on Saturday, March 16th would be so much more sense, but not in our fair Charm City . But wait there's more! The city's St. Patrick's Day Parade is this Sunday, March 10th. The parade is always held the Sunday before the holiday, but come on, this year it is a Sunday! Seriously how hard would that be? I still think it's wrong to not hold it on the day anyway like in New York or Dublin, but once again it's Baltimore and we do what we want.

Having moved to Hampden last summer from downtown Baltimore, I have come to enjoy the neighborhood feeling of the area: wider streets, bigger rowhomes, trees and grass, etc. But I have also realized just how car dependent Hampden and its immediate surroundings really are. It does not take long for the Avenue to get filled with cars in the morning or a busy evening, and traffic can get backed up along Falls Road because of the light signals at the Avenue, and at 41st Street. Hampden is currently served by two local bus routes (22 and 27), the Hampden shuttle, and indirectly by the Woodberry Light Rail station. All of these options have problems that make it difficult for people to reliably use them to access Hampden. Let's explore. The Route 22nd bus only runs along the northern edge of the neighborhood along 40th and 41st Streets. While it does run approximately every 10 minutes during the rush and about 20 minutes during the rest of the day, it does not serve the heart of Hamp...

The Baltimore Regional Rail System Plan that was drafted in 2002 included, besides the Red - which after 11 years has yet to begin construction - also envisioned a separate yellow line that ran parallel to the current light rail, but several blocks east that would connect the Inner Harbor with Mount Vernon and Station North; eventually going up York Rd to Towson before rejoining the current Light Rail right of way at Lutherville. This was a very ambitious plan which looks to be nowhere near feasible in the near (or long term) future given how expensive that would be to build. However, what about building the line just to Penn Station? From Camden Yards to Penn Station would be roughly 2 miles of new tunnel, but would provide rail access to an extremely traffic heavy portion of the city. The 2002 Plan proposed a new station at the Inner Harbor (approx. Conway and Light), a transfer at Charles Center to connect directly to the Metro, a new station in Mount Vernon (approximately at...

The last time the Metro Subway was expanded it grew from Charles Center to Shot Tower and Johns Hopkins; that was in 1994. Since then there has been talk about where it should go from there. Currently, the subway is one of the most underutilized, but best form of transportation we have, and it's principally because of where it goes. Approximately 48,500 people ride it ever day, according to MTA's annual 2011 annual report. APTA's quarterly statistics have daily ridership averaging around the same for the last 10 years. This is roughly half of the initial anticipated ridership when the subway was originally constructed, so essentially there is plenty of room for expansion with the infrastructure that is currently there. Our subway, as constructed, works best for commuters, heading from the northwest of the city to downtown and JHH, and that's about it; roughly end-to-end travel. It's lack of easy connection to the Light Rail, and no connection at all to the MARC, m...

N Charles Street will be closed tomorrow night and all day Sunday between Saratoga and Mulberry for a crane work on one of the buildings, but what building? We're going to have to check this out this weekend to see what's going on. PMC should begin working on 301 N Charles for apartment conversion in the near future, but I can't imagine that this weekend is related to that project. There are a lot of exciting things going on in downtown.