Walking Baltimore. Evan Balkan
there are many of them—taking advantage of this wonderful public space.
Up E. Conway, you’ll have an unobstructed view of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, still widely regarded as one of the, if not the, nicest stadiums in Major League Baseball. Next up is the visually striking Baltimore Visitor Center, which complements the nautical theme built into the architecture of the Columbus Center and the Aquarium. Step inside to see what’s going on.
There’s more open space on the right, often filled with families on nice days, with the occasional free public concert. Next up, as the harbor makes an eastward swing, is the popular Maryland Science Center, instantly recognizable by the massive tyrannosaurus in the window. Along with the Aquarium, the Science Center is one of the city’s top attractions and one of the East Coast’s best museums for children.
Continuing around the harbor, you’ll pass an old-style carousel, still operating at more than 100 years old (it was built in 1905). Then comes Rash Field, which has at times hosted an ice rink, sand pits for beach volleyball, and a trapeze school. Current plans are to convert Rash Field to a waterfront park.
Walk south away from the water and cross Key Hwy. to visit the incomparable American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). Each spring, AVAM sponsors the wild and incredible Kinetic Sculpture Race, starting from more or less this spot on Key Hwy. and traveling 15 miles around the city, culminating in the water entry in Canton. Participating sculptures can be as small as one single bike—decked out in lunacy, of course—or massive things, some more than 50 feet long. Inevitably, the crowd-pleaser, Fifi the colossal pink poodle, will appear. The museum itself is a true treasure, called by CNN “one of the most fantastic museums anywhere in America.” It’s true; the place is awesome. But many people aren’t even sure what visionary art is. From the museum’s website, “Visionary art as defined for the purposes of the American Visionary Art Museum refers to art produced by self-taught individuals, usually without formal training, whose works arise from an innate personal vision that revels foremost in the creative act itself.” While that might sound like a recipe for mediocrity, the results in this wild museum are guaranteed to blow you away.
Across Key Hwy. from the AVAM are the Ritz-Carlton residences, tony places out on the water that count among their residents novelist Tom Clancy. Despite the exclusive address, the promenade winds its way around and through the complex, and you can walk it. That said, the walkway begins to break up in pieces here and there after the Ritz-Carlton (though plans are afoot to complete it so that it stretches all the way to Fort McHenry). Nevertheless, if you’re up for one more museum, in a little less than half a mile along the water is the unique Baltimore Museum of Industry, where the goal is to “Relive the Industrial Revolution.” Here you can learn about some of the many industrial firsts in Baltimore: the country’s first gas company, first disposable bottle cap, first typesetting machine, invention of modern radar, and much more. Just outside the museum is docked the country’s only operating steam tugboat.
From here, retrace your steps back to your starting point or grab public transport.
The National Aquarium
BACK STORY
With the benefit of hindsight, the National Aquarium in Baltimore seems a no-brainer. But when Mayor Willie Don Schaefer first pursued the idea in the mid-1970s, it seemed a risky, even impossible, dream. The harbor was still a rather decrepit place, and for a city that needed its public funds for any number of social ills, passing a bond referendum putting the city on the hook for most of the money for its construction, more than $20 million, seemed downright crazy. But crazy works in Baltimore. The mayor made his pitch. The citizens approved the bond, and by 1981, the aquarium was built. There had been some trepidation over whether it would come in on time. Schaefer vowed it would or else he’d take a dip in the aquarium’s outdoor seal pool. When the schedule lagged, Mayor Schaefer made good on his promise and wore an 1890s-style bathing suit and a straw hat. Clutching an inflatable Donald Duck and accompanied by a live mermaid, Schaefer took his promised dip.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
Several options here. The walk’s beginning can easily link up with two walks: Walk 5: Harbor East and Walk 11: Civil War Trail. From the American Visionary Art Museum, you can climb the hill behind you to link up with Walk 3: Federal Hill.
POINTS OF INTEREST (START TO FINISH)
Historic Ships in Baltimore historicships.org; Pier I, 301 E. Pratt St.; 410-539-1797
USS Constellation: historicships.org/constellation; USCGC Taney: historicships.org/taney; USS Torsk: historicships.org/torsk; LV116 Chesapeake: historicships.org/chesapeake; Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse: historicships.org/knoll-lighthouse
National Aquarium in Baltimore aqua.org, 501 E. Pratt St., 410-576-3800
Top of the World Observation Level viewbaltimore.org, 401 E. Pratt St., 27th floor, 410-837-view
Maryland Science Center mdsci.org, 601 Light St., 410-685-5225
Baltimore Visitor Center baltimore.org, 401 Light St., 877-BALTIMORE
American Visionary Art Museum avam.org, 800 Key Hwy., 410-244-1900
Baltimore Museum of Industry thebmi.org, 1415 Key Hwy., 410-727-4808
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Start at Columbus Park.
2 Head west from Eastern Ave. and cross the water to Pier 5.
3 Cross the bridge to Pier 3.
4 Cross the bridge to Pier 4.
5 Follow the harbor promenade westward around the water.
6 Cross Key Hwy. to the American Visionary Art Museum.
7 Cross Key Hwy. to the Ritz-Carlton.
8 Follow the harbor promenade to the Museum of Industry.
5 HARBOR EAST: BALTIMORE’S NEW HALF-BILLION-DOLLAR JEWEL
BOUNDARIES: S. Caroline St., Lancaster St., S. President St.
DISTANCE: 1 mile one way
DIFFICULTY: Easy
PARKING: Street and garage parking available on S. Caroline St.
PUBLIC TRANSIT: Shot Tower Metro Station; both the Charm City Circulator Green and Orange Routes and the Harbor East Shuttle run through Harbor East.
Harbor East is the city’s newest and hippest destination, a natural and long overdue adjunct to the Inner Harbor, just to the west. The half-billion-dollar construction explosion in Harbor East over the past decade has been nothing short of amazing. At a time when so many city centers around the country are full of stalled construction projects because of the economic downturn, and at a time when suburban sprawl continues to chew up open space, it’s wonderful to see so much mixed-use, environmentally conscious city-center construction.