Baltimore Skyline

Recently, I started a walk around the Homewood Campus to stretch my legs and take a look at some of the buildings and sites that I normally just drive by and don't have the opportunity to stop and get a closer look. I began at the corner of 39th and N. Charles Street and walked south. Sitting at that intersection is the hard-to-miss Scottish Rite Temple of Freemasonry at 3800 N. Charles Street. From outward appearances the central portico and columns gives the appearance of the Baltimore Museum of Art, and it should remind you of it, since it was designed in part by the same architect and built around the same time. The Masonic Temple was designed by Clyde Fritz and John Russell Pope (It was Pope who also designed the BMA), and built between 1930 and 1932. Scottish Rite Temple - May 2019 Scottish Rite Temple under construction - ca. 1930-1932 Moving further south I stopped at the statue to Sidney Lanier (1842-1881). Lanier was a Georgian born author, musician, and po...

photo by Baltimore Business Journal Collapse of section of 26th Street between St. Paul and N. Charles spilling mud, debris, and cars down on to the CSX (old B&O Belt Line) tracks in Charles Village. The Jones Falls has also flooded in Mt Washington and along Falls Rd near Penn Station and the Streetcar Museum.

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...

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....

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...