Walking Baltimore. Evan Balkan

        Start in Columbus Park, which is complete with a series of Italian flags and a beautiful statue of Christopher Columbus, the youngest of the three monuments to Columbus in Baltimore (after Herring Park’s 1792 statue and Druid Hill’s 1892 memorial). This marble memorial was dedicated in 1984 by Mayor William Donald Schaefer and President Ronald Reagan. It’s an impressive statue, and its home in Columbus Piazza is impressive, too. The six reliefs that circle the marble base depict the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria, Genoa, Columbus’s landing, and his first meeting with American Indians.

       Head toward the water over the bridge with the old Baltimore Public Works Museum (see Walk 5: Harbor East) to your left onto Pier 5, home to several attractions. The Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) is in the old Columbus Center building on the right. IMET is a joint research center involving the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC); the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES); and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). The scientists at IMET conduct marine and environmental research. Floating in the water just in front of the marine research center is the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Taney, named for Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney, a Marylander. The ship enjoyed an illustrious military career but derives its fame today primarily from its distinction as being the last ship still afloat that was involved in the Battle of Pearl Harbor. The Taney served in both WWII theaters and helped in the search for Amelia Earhart, among other distinctions. She was decommissioned in 1986 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places two years later. The Taney is today part of the collection of the Historic Ships in Baltimore, a maritime museum offering tours of three ships, all National Historic Landmarks, and two lighthouses in and around the harbor. (See “Points of Interest” below for more info.) On the same pier as the Taney is the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. The lighthouse was originally built in 1854–1855 and is an example of a screw-pile lighthouse, a distinctive hexagonal building that stands on piles screwed into muddy or sandy river bottoms. The bay once housed many of them. Seven Foot Knoll originally stood at the mouth of the Patapsco but was moved to its present location on Pier 5 in 1988 and was placed on the National Register the following year. The U.S. Coast Guard ran it for many years, employing three rotating lightkeepers who manned the lights and sounded fog warnings.

        Cross the next bridge, passing the impressive Power Plant building, listed on the National Register in 1987. Its large guitar, heralding the Hard Rock Café inside and attached to a tall smokestack, is a distinctive feature. The building itself was constructed in the first decade of the 20th century and is neoclassical in design. The plant’s original function was to supply power to the city’s system of electric railways. Later, Baltimore Gas & Electric’s predecessor company used it as a central steam-supply plant. Today, there are quite a few shops in this building worth checking out.

       With the National Aquarium in front of you, cross the next bridge. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is often cited as the key ingredient in Baltimore’s harbor renaissance. To this day, it remains one of the world’s truly great aquariums, seeing some 1.5 million visitors annually. Plans for the aquarium began in 1976, when the very notion of a revitalized Inner Harbor, then still a grimy shadow of its old working self—packed wharves mostly—was still a very risky proposition. But because of its position on the harbor and the fact that it consistently ranks as Baltimore’s top tourist attraction, the gamble has paid off. (There were some nervous moments, however: see “Back Story”) Docked in front of the aquarium astride Pier 3 are two more historic ships: the Lightship 116 Chesapeake and the USS Torsk submarine (can’t miss that fearsome painted toothy smile). The Chesapeake was originally built in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1930. In World War II, she served as a guard vessel off Cape Cod, protecting the port of Boston. Lightships had become obsolete by the 1960s, as they were being replaced by automated light towers. The Chesapeake served one more tour of duty in Delaware Bay before being decommissioned in 1971. She then came under the aegis of the National Park Service and was loaned to the city of Baltimore in 1982, when she became part of the Historic Ships in Baltimore. The Torsk, built at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, was commissioned in 1944 and immediately saw action in the Pacific theater in World War II. The Torsk continued work throughout the 1950s and 1960s; she was decommissioned in 1968, recording well in excess of 10,000 dives, and has made her home in Baltimore since 1972.

       Continue heading west, with the water to your left along the Harbor Promenade. You’ll soon pass the 9/11 Monument, appropriately placed in the shadow of Baltimore’s World Trade Center. The memorial is constructed of three steel beams from the felled twin towers melded with pieces of limestone from the Pentagon’s west wall. Sixty-eight Marylanders lost their lives on September 11, 2001. Baltimore’s World Trade Center holds the distinction of being the world’s tallest pentagonal building. Enjoy sweeping views of Baltimore from the observation deck on the 27th floor, and take a paddleboat out into the harbor from the promenade in front of the WTC.

       Heading along the water, next up to your right is the Pratt Street Pavilion, one of two major waterside collections of shops and restaurants, all essential in Baltimore’s late-20th-century renaissance. A century or two earlier, what you would have seen here were oyster fleets, docks, and wharves, jam-packed with men making a trade in the Chesapeake’s bounty. Behind the Pratt Street Pavilion is the USS Constellation, truly a magnificent ship with an extraordinary history. Ships named Constellation hold an illustrious place in American naval history; three have held the name, including today’s still-active aircraft carrier known as America’s Flagship. The original frigate Constellation (1797) was named after the flag of the Continental Congress and became known as the Yankee Racehorse for her extraordinary speed. This is, in essence, what you see in front of you, though the ship underwent major modifications before being restored to her original appearance. A visit on deck never fails to spark the imagination. Her age and significance in American history make her special, but so does the fact that she’s a native, built right here in the Sterrett Shipyard. Before the 1700s were over, the Constellation had served admirably against the French in the West Indies. She then aided in the blockade of Tripoli in 1802, an event immortalized in the Marine Corps Hymn. Her next service was against the British in the War of 1812 before heading back to service in North Africa. Over the next two decades, the Constellation was used in protective services in South America, Asia, the West Indies, North America, and Europe. More global circumnavigations followed before the original Constellation was broken up in the 1850s. She was then reborn as a sloop of war in 1854–55. The Constellation’s service thereafter was no less extraordinary, including work during the Civil War. The ship today has been beautifully restored to her 1797 appearance with terrific attention to detail. She is truly a delight to visit and absolutely not to be missed.

       Wrap around the open space between the Pratt Street Pavilion and the next complex, the Light Street Pavilion, another collection of shops and restaurants. The space between the two provides an outdoor stage for a variety of public performances, which are often quite good, making it worth a stop to check out whatever’s going on.

       Beyond the Light Street Pavilion, at the westward cut for E. Conway St., is Bicentennial Plaza, anchored now with the statue of William Donald Schaefer, the Maryland governor and Baltimore mayor (1971–1987) whose visionary views of the harbor made it what it is today. His bronze likeness (2009) stares out over his