Baltimore Photostream – There’s a Reason They Call it “Charm City”

All from a recent, three-day three-night trip to Baltimore, whereupon I finally took my bike along with me for the first time ever, allowing me to cover much greater distances than I ever could on foot or by public transit (or at least, where and when I wanted to go where I wanted to). I covered around 14-17 miles/day, and snapped plenty of shots along the way – this blog is that journey as photostream.

So here we go…

At a downtown under-overpass parking facility many of the octagon pylons are decorated in murals – as they should be, putting art and public art wherever it can be:

All throughout the city are big, beautiful, murals-on-walls. They’ve always been there but there’s more and more of them in recent years, with some truly special trompe l’oeil impressions:

The Pagoda in Patterson Park is a special something you don’t often have the opportunity to go inside and scale – the day I was there it was open to the public, the first time in 5 years I’ve been in Baltimore at Patterson in the Summer and it’s been accessible.

It’s absolutely worth waiting in line for and scaling to the top, if not only for the remarkable interior architecture and info-panels strewn about, but also for the remarkable vistas and views from a few stories up:

Looking southeast towards Brewers Hill.

A panorama of downtown can be caught.

A panorama in vertical orientation is always a fun challenge, but it made sense because of the Pagoda’s design, accompanied by the crowd below.

There are maps in many forms all throughout the city, especially classic, historical maps:

One of Charm City’s other nicknames is Monument City, which wouldn’t be appropriate without a sprinkling of monuments pretty much wherever you go, from giant stone-and-metal men to just giant slabs of stone with something carved in relief, to folky mermaids suspended on the sides of buildings:

I stumbled into a community arts space that had some wicked art up on the walls, including these quite strange and wonderful plaster painted sculptures, among many paintings:

The Lord Baltimore Hotel have these Google Image Search results prints throughout the building – not just the lobby, but every floor and corridor:

The graves at Westminster Hall include Edgar Allan Poe’s tomb, complete with a black rose on the day I visited – and this “owl’s illustrated eye view” map is really wonderful rendition of the site:

The former Mechanic’s Center, gone.

The train yard looking south from the bridge crossing to Fort McHenry.

The train yard looking north from the bridge crossing to Fort McHenry.

Former silo turned middle-class condominiums.

But it’s ultimately architecture that really makes Baltimore stand out. From small brick domiciles to big brick behemoths, Baltimore is a beautiful blend of old-world style and American charm:

Thank You, Baltimore.