The city of Baltimore is barely an hour distant from most of the
metropolitan Washington region. Yet it offers visitors, and particularly
families with young children, a wonderful introduction to a real
American maritime and industrial city, one which is also making the
transition to a new kind of urban renaissance for the twenty-first
century.
Over the years, my family, including three children aged 3-13, have
made numerous day and overnight excursions to this country's fourteenth
most populous city in the US. Once one gets over the psychological
perception of Baltimore as a faraway destination, the city's attractions
--from the well known spots along the rejuvenated waterfront to the less
well known streets and alleys of Bolton Hill-- make for an easy outing
that all members of a family can enjoy.
The tour of Camden Yards [410-547-6234 tickets are $4 for children, $5
for adults]
proved to be a favorite of my son Joshua, age 3, as well as his two
older sisters. I need not mention that the idea of sitting for the first
time in my forty plus years in a major league dugout, gazing out at the
pristine playing field was even more of a thrill for me, an old Red Sox
fan, and my wife, a diehard supporter of the Mets.
The one and one half hour tours run all year round and are busiest [and
most frequent] during the baseball season. Visitors are guided through
the club level boxes, the press room, and the high-tech scoreboard
control room before descending to the dug out and a fascinating
explanation of the complex construction and maintenance of the grassy
field. Babe Ruth's home was once right on the middle of center field.
Today his birthplace and Museum is just around the corner at 216 Emory
Street.
Visitors to Baltimore cannot but be impressed with the fact that most
destinations of interest to the casual tourist can easily be reached by
foot, water shuttle, or mass transit.
From our perch at the Inner Harbor Marriot[410-962-0202], the ball park
and harborfront, home to the Baltimore Aquarium were only steps away. My
kids love the Aquarium, and particularly the outdoor shows, but I find
the building smaller and darker than others I've visited in Boston,
Camden, New Jersey, and Chicago. Earlier this fall, an afternoon was
spent just at the Maryland Science Center, where the new film Everest
was showing on the 5-story IMAX screen.
Baltimore harbor
The Harborfront, with its shops and restaurants, has claimed a top spot
in rekindling the fortunes of Baltimore's urban core. I try to steer
clear of the main promenade, and continue walking to the opposite side
where the private docking facilities are located. The view of the harbor
and cityscape is far better, the promenade is more navigable, and one
gets a better sense of the port. On this side of the harbor in winter,
you can rent ice skates and take a turn or two in the outdoor rink. In
summer and fall, the rink is replaced by a miniature golf course, which
was almost empty on a recent Saturday despite the throng of visitors on
the city side of the harbor.
The B & O Railroad Museum[410-7522464 901 W. Pratt Street] is an
unlikely, but mandatory stop for any visitor of whatever age to the
city. The high point of the tour of the museum and Mt. Clare station,
built in 1851, is the spectacular 22-sided roundhouse, where 22 of the
oldest and finest specimens of America's railroad history are on
display.
My son Joshua, a Thomas the Tank Engine groupie, thought that he had
died and gone to heaven as he scampered around the diesel and stream
locomotives arranged around the roundhouse's ancient, but still operable
turntable. What proved more surprising was the interest of my two girls,
one of whom still keeps her ticket from the half hour trip on the Mt.
Clare Express along the route where the first passenger engine operated
in the US departed from in 1830, posted on her bedroom wall.
One of the best buys in town is the $3.00 fare for the water taxi that
offers passengers a choice of 17 stops along the waterfront, from the
Inner Harbor to the shops of Fells Point or the restaurants of Little
Italy, and [with a land connection] to Ft. McHenry.
My wife and I cruised around the harbor one recent Saturday late
afternoon on one of the water taxi's smaller boats. We were staying,
sans children, for one night at the newly renovated Hilton [4105398400],
formerly a Radisson hotel, a short walk from the harbor. The hotel is
just across the street from the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, where the
national company of Rent is now performing. We hadn't purchased tickets
and as we passed by, noticed that a small number of seats for that
evening's show were being sold at the box office for $20 each -- a real
bargain! But there was no horde of budget conscious theatre goers, just
a line so short I had to ask twice to assure myself that this tiny queue
of less than ten people was all that the entire city of Baltimore could
muster for a cheap night out at the threatre. Alas, we were just shy of
the last lucky purchaser, but we've learned a valuable lesson for our
next visit.
No matter, we took the water taxi to Little Italy, where a table was
waiting for us at Aldo's [410-727-0700], recommended by a friend. We
weren't dissuaded by the lukewarm review in the local press, and we were
rewarded for our fortitude. Dinner for just the two of us, in an
intimate alcove in the front of the restaurant, was without fault,
including the best wine I have had at a restaurant in a long time, even
at five times the $20 dollar price.
It was raining when we were ready to leave, so we asked if a taxi I
could be called.
"Wait just a minute," offered the proprietress. In a minute the
bartender had been seconded to drive us back to the hotel in the company
Land Rover. No big city restaurant has ever been so hospitable--just
another reason to put Baltimore on the list of worthwhile destinations.
The Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association is a "one stop
shop" for information about the city and its attractions. It can be reached by telephone at 1-800-282-6632 or by email at bacva@aol.com. Visit its website at
http://www.baltimore.org.
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