Baltimore Skyline

photo by CB Maryland Casualty Insurance Co. circa 1920-1930 (photo by MdHS) The Rotunda :   Originally built for the Maryland Casualty Insurance Co. in 1920-1921. Later converted to offices, a mall, and longtime home of the Rotunda Cinematheque. Renovated again into a mixed-use space with retail on the ground floor along with the ICON Residences at the Rotunda which opened in 2016.  MdHS photos: https://mdhsphotographs.tumblr.com/post/26843707551/maryland-casualty-company-building-701-west-40th

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...

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...