April 17, Baltimore
After Washington DC, the trains to the cities on the eastern seaboard have become regional services that ran multiple times a day, so there is much more of a commuter feel to them. They are also very crowded, at least in the morning. Baltimore’s Penn station continue the trend of restored train depots. It has these beautiful stained glass ceilings.
Baltimore’s downtown consists a narrow strip of few city blocks extending from Mount Vernon (a memorial for George Washington) to the inner harbor. The Inner Harbor has been extensively renovation from commercial piers to a shopping/dining/tourist trap. To the best of the harbor is the Baltimore Convention Center and Oriole Park at Camden Yard. I spent my first day near Mount Vernon, visiting some of the public buildings and museums there, before catching the Orioles’ game versus the Chicago White Sox.
My first stop was the Lexington Market. It was on the top of my list since it was the oldest of the public markets in Baltimore. I was initially curious why a different market was suggested in the NY Times’ “36 hours” guide to Baltimore. While Charles Street, which connected Mount Vernon to the Inner Harbor, was unremarkable as far as being yuppy-ish and commercial, Howard Street, only two blocks to the west, appeared deserted during the mid-day. Once I reached the Lexington Market the reason became obvious. There were crowds both inside and outside the market. They were mostly African-Americans, with some Hispanics and Asians. I suppose this could make some people nervous even during the middle of the day. The market itself was pretty run-down, only a few butcher shops and fresh seafood stalls. Most of the stalls were selling food. Curiously, a lot of the business was owned or run by what appear to be Koreans—even behind the Back-country Soul Food place. I had some $10 crab cake, though they blatantly reheated it in a microwave, it was still the best crab cake I ever had.
The neighborhood around Mt. Vernon was fantastic. I visited a Gothic-styled Methodist Church was a striking exterior made up of six different colored stones.
There was the Peabody Institute. It had a breathtaking library that I imagine harkens back to those at institutions of higher learning in England, or Hogwarts.
Then there was the Walters Art Museum. The museum itself has an impressive collection of artifacts and antiques from ancient Egypt to 20th century. I spent a lot of time in their collection of western European weapons, as they say, “boys will be boys.” There was also an exhibit on maps. Unlike the rest of the museum, there was an admission charge, and I ran out of time to see the majority of the maps. But I was thoroughly impressed by a map from the 17th century, which depicted Asia with striking accurate details.
posted by hedgehog @ 11:35 PM
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