The following information is intended as a brief introduction to the many attractions of Baltimore. Please obtain a guidebook or information from professional travel organizations to assist in planning your trip to Baltimore. Broadside Six will contain more specific directions, maps, information on parking, and other visitor issues. Contact us to request travel information you wish to see published in future Bucconeer publications.
The closest international airport to Baltimore is the Baltimore-Washington International Airport with 18 airlines and over 600 daily commercial flights. BWI is located approximately 18 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of Baltimore's Inner Harbor area. There are many choices for getting to Baltimore from BWI such as the SuperShuttle van service; limousine and taxi services; car rentals; and the MARC Penn Line commuter and Amtrak trains. An extension of Baltimore's Central Light Rail Line to BWI is also under construction. Call 410-859-7111 for general information or their web site at www.baltwashintlairport.com/.
The American Visionary Art Museum opened in 1995 on the Inner Harbor. It is dedicated to the self-taught or "outsider" artist. The seven galleries exhibit the unique creations of farmers, homemakers, the homeless, and include paintings, sculptures, reliefs, and other media. The Joy American Cafe, located in the museum, has a view of Baltimore Harbor and an equally unusual menu.
We recommend Fodor's Virginia & Maryland travel guide (ISBN 0-679-03297-5, new edition published in 1997, www.fodors.com/ and Kathleen M. Shull's Trips and Treats—Kid-Tested Fun in and Near Baltimore (EPM Publications, Inc., ISBN 0-939009-63-3, 1992) to fill in the details on the items listed in this article. Also see Mark Owings' article on bookstores in the Baltimore area.
The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Baseball Center is located three blocks from Oriole Baseball Park at Camden Yards next to the Baltimore Convention Center. This museum is devoted to Ruth's life and the local American League East Division Orioles baseball club.
Baltimore has many museums that start with "B" such as the Baltimore Maritime Museum located at the Inner Harbor. Further away, there are the Baltimore Museum of Art, B. Olive Cole Pharmacy Museum, B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore Museum of Industry, Baltimore Public Works Museum, and Baltimore Streetcar Museum.
Bertha's is the source of all the "Eat Bertha's Mussels" bumper stickers seen in this region. This restaurant on Fells Point reflects a Caledonian heritage with a rich array of Scottish foods and afternoon teas. The famous mussels are the outstanding menu item.
Canadians should contact Revenue Canada (2265 St. Laurent Blvd. S, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 4K3, 613-993-0534) for information.
U.K. citizens should contact HM Customs and Excise (Dorset House, Stamford St., London SE1 9NG, 0171-202-4227) for information on UK customs regulations and import rules.
The City Life Museum, actually a complex of museums centered on a courtyard, offers a glimpse of Baltimore's urban and cultural history.
Please contact Marcia Kelly Illingworth through Bucconeer's postal address or e-mail access@bucconeer.worldcon.org and let us know your requirements.
We will be including an accessibility requirements questionnaire in Broadside Four, to be sent out in January. Please take a few minutes to fill it out. Let us know how we can provide some of that extra help all of us need at some time. All information will be held in the strictest confidence.
Westminister Cemetery and Catacombs is Baltimore's oldest cemetery and the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's marble monument, built by contributions from Baltimore's schoolchildren in the 1930s, is located near the front gate. Poe House, where he wrote his first horror story, is located a short distance away. Renovated in 1996, Poe House contains changing exhibits and a video presentation on Poe's life.
The Enoch Pratt Free Library is one of the largest libraries in the United States. There you will find rooms devoted to the works of Edgar Allan Poe and H.L. Mencken, two prominent Baltimore writers.
The Eubie Blake National Museum and Cultural Center, near the Inner Harbor, is a tribute to jazz composer and Baltimorean Eubie Blake. It features exhibits and spaces for musicians, dancers, and actors to perform and study.
Located on the south side of the Inner Harbor, Federal Hill Park was the site of Civil War fortifications and is the best vantage point for viewing Baltimore. Fort McHenry is located further southeast and is on the Baltimore Trolley Tours route. During the War of 1812, Fort McHenry was immortalized in the United States national anthem, Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key. The National Park Service has begun a $3 million renovation of the fort.
The Fells Point neighborhood, located east of Little Italy, is accessible by the Water Taxi from the Inner Harbor. This area has cobblestone streets and over 350 historic houses dating back to the 1700s, many of which now serve as shops, galleries, bars, and restaurants. The Robert Long House in Fells Point, built in 1765, is the oldest dwelling in the city.
Washington Monument, featuring a 178-foot marble Doric column surmounted by a 16-foot white marble statue, is the oldest formal monument to George Washington. Located at Mount Vernon Square, visitors can climb 228 steps to the top of the monument for a view of the city
Harborplace, like Boston's Quincy Market and New York City's South Street Seaport, is managed by the Rouse Company. Located at Baltimore's Inner Harbor, two enclosed European-style shopping pavilions offer over 100 shops and restaurants. A skywalk across Pratt Street leads to The Gallery, a five-story shopping mall with 70 shops and a dozen restaurants.
On the southern edge of Baltimore's downtown and east of the Convention Center, the Inner Harbor is one of the city's liveliest neighborhoods, with shops, restaurants, and other attractions. You can spend a whole day strolling along the brick promenade from the Maryland Science Center to the National Aquarium. New attractions will include the Metropolis entertainment complex in the old Power Plant, Disney's Port Discover Children's Museum, and the Christopher Columbus Center's Hall o Exploration.
Amateur Jousting Club of Maryland (P.O. Box 367, Glen Arm, MD 21057, 410-592-5952) can provide information on about 48 jousting tournaments that take place from April through November. The Maryland Renaissance Fair, held in Crownsville, Maryland features jousting every weekend from late August through October.
Jul Owings has written an article for this progress report on the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center, two prime attractions for kids. The Inner Harbor will provide hours of entertainment for kids and adults.
The Kawasaki Japanese restaurant is located amid art galleries and shops on Charles Street. Some people say that the sushi and sashimi prepared at the open sushi bar are the best in Baltimore.
Old Otterbein United Methodist Church is the oldest ecclesiastical building in Baltimore.
For fifty years, the O'Bryckis Crab House at 1727 E. Pratt Street has been Baltimore's most popular crab house.
U.K. citizens should call the London Passport Office (0990-210410) for passport information and the U.S. Embassy Visa Information Line (01891-200290, fee charged) for visa information
The Peale Museum, built in 1814, is the oldest museum building in the United States. It houses a exhibition on Baltimore's cultural and architectural history, and changing exhibits from the museum's collection.
The Pier Six Concert Pavilion on Pier Six, just east of the National Aquarium on the Inner Harbor, hosts outdoor concerts from May to September.
When you cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge from Annapolis to Maryland's Eastern Shore, you enter another world where historic towns and fishing villages carry on a slow paced life dating back to America's Colonial era. The Chesapeake Bay is Maryland's major natural resource.
Little Italy, with over twenty Italian restaurants in a four-square-block neighborhood. Please see Tom Horman's article for information on some of the fine restaurants in Baltimore.
The B&O Railroad Museum contains over 120 full-sized locomotives and a great collection of railroad memorabilia and adjoins the world's first railroad station. Train rides are available on weekends.
The Pratt Street and Light Street pavilions o Harborplace with The Gallery across Pratt Street contain almost 200 specialty shop and sixty restaurants. The Lexington Market is the oldest continuously running public food market in the United States; it features over 140 specialty vendors of fresh foods and eateries for on-premise dining.
Part of the City Life Museum complex, the 234 foot high Shot Tower was built in 1829 for the manufacture of lead shot ammunition. Molten lead formed into nearly perfect spheres when poured from the top of the tower.
Baltimore's Mass Transit Administration (MTA, 800-543-9809) has more than 70 bus routes serving the metropolitan area. The Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC) trains (800-325-RAIL) operate weekdays, serving Baltimore City, Washington, D.C., eight Maryland counties, and parts of Virginia and West Virginia. All trains travel to Washington's Union Station. The Metro (subway) runs from downtown Baltimore (Charles Center, near two of our hotels) to northern Baltimore County (Owings Mill). Most stations are open until midnight, Monday through Saturday. The city's Central Light Rail Line travels from Timonium, in Baltimore County, through downtown Baltimor (stops at Pratt Street, Camden Yards, and Lexington Market near the Convention Center) to the Cromwell Station/Glen Burnie stop in Anne Arundel County
The Baltimore Trolley Tours run approximately every 30 minutes an offers unlimited same day boarding and reboarding to 20 locations centered on the Inner Harbor. Locations include the Baltimore Museum of Industry and Fort McHenry to the south, the B&O Railroad Museum to the west, and Little Italy and Fells Point to the east.
The Baltimore Maritime Museum consists of three vessels next to the National Aquarium: the USS Torsk, a World War II submarine; the lightship Chesapeake; and the Taney, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter. Baltimore's most famous ship, the USF Constellation has moved to a Fort McHenry drydock until 1999 to undergo a $9 million restoration.
Maryland Office of Tourism Development, 217 E. Redwood St., 9th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-767-3400 or 800-543-1036, www.mdisfun.org/.
The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association, 100 Light St., 12th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-659-7300, 800-343-3468 www.baltconvstr.com/. Their web site features detailed floor plans of Bucconeer's future home, the Baltimore Convention Center. A Visitor's Center is located at the Inner Harbor.
The Wharf Rat bar and restaurant is located directly across from the Pratt Street Lobby entrance of the Convention Center. The Pirates of Fenzance plan to take over the Rat for the duration of Bucconeer. We'll let you sample the fine microbrewed beers, too. We will have an article on the many fine Maryland microbrewed beers and local brew pubs in a future progress report
Water Taxi stops at 13 entertaining, historical, and scenic locations on Baltimore's waterfront for a very reasonable all-day fare.
From the Inner Harbor to John Hopkins University, Charles Street features over twenty restaurants in a twelve block area along with shops, historical sites, parks, museums, and art galleries such as the Walters Art Gallery with a world-class collection.
The 32 story tall World Trade Center at the Inner Harbor has an observation deck (Top of the World).
Which you can get at the John Hopkins School of Medicine or the University of Maryland Medical Center, home of the world's first school of dentistry. While you're there, go see the new Dr. Samuel D. Harris National Museum of Dentistry. Afterwards, visit the Baltimore Museum of Art with over 100,000 paintings and sculptures including works by Picasso, Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, and Monet. Or go see the Lacrosse Hall of Fame (surprisingly, the only national museum dedicated to this sport) on the Homewood campus of John Hopkins University.
Yorktown, Virginia is 14 miles northwest of Williamsburg and 150 miles south of Baltimore. In 1781, the combined American and French forces surrounded British troops under Lord Cornwallis and brought an end to the American War of Independence. If you plan an extended visit to Baltimore, you will find many famous battlegrounds within a short driving distance. Old wars are a major tourist industry in this area. You can't park your car on the side of a road without knocking over some historical marker.