Walking Baltimore. Evan Balkan

      AUTHOR’S NOTE

      I was not born in Baltimore and so don’t have any innate hometown bias. In fact, having grown up in Washington, D.C., and coming from a family of New Yorkers, I used to regard Baltimore with distant reproach (until I actually got to know the place and decided to make my home here). I’ve been fortunate to have traveled in some 25 foreign countries and at least as many states; my regard for Charm City does not come from not knowing anything different. To my continued surprise, I’ve come to see Baltimore as one of the great cities anywhere. It’s not surprising then that this book has been a joy to write; it has served as a constant reminder of why I love this city so much. This is a place where people are primarily interested in honesty and authenticity. Here, you are free to be what you will be.

      Baltimore, for all its worldly attributes and 3 million metro residents, can often feel like a provincial place, what some derisively call Smalltimore. Baltimore is a patchwork of small, unique neighborhoods. But there’s something simply nice about that, isn’t there? This is a city where you can feel part of a real place (no pretense in Baltimore—no way), a community, where you are bound to bump into someone you know. And as it happens, in perhaps the country’s largest small town, you will find all the amenities that make Baltimore a world-class city, a place that can often feel much bigger than it is. It’s this dichotomy that makes Baltimore endlessly interesting, a place of constant reinvention. But some things invariably stay the same: the neighborhoods and the people who make up those neighborhoods.

      Whether you know the city well or are a first-time visitor, use this book as a guide through these unique neighborhoods. You’ll be amazed at how much is here. And use your feet. Walking the streets, in the paths of history and culture, you’ll soon see why Baltimore easily lives up to its nickname, Charm City.