Parts of Baltimore are very nice but the rest of the city...

The city of Baltimore has a population of roughly 600,000 but 2.8 million live in the metropolitan area which doesn't include DC; it is a city of neighborhoods with some quite affluent while others are among the poorest in the country

The Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower is a 15-story skyscraper erected in 1911 and was inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy; at the base of the tower was the main manufacturing plant for Bromo-Seltzer which was a popular antacid of the time

The Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum presents the life and times of Baltimore's native son who became America's first sports celebrity and an international icon; open for Orioles home games and We-Su

My favorite building in downtown Baltimore was the 15 story Fidelity Building, completed in 1894; the Romanesque Revival tower escaped the Baltimore fire of 1904 which burned most of downtown up to the building directly across the street

The Washington Monument and Museum at Mount Vernon Place was built in 1815; it was the first monument ever erected to honor George Washington

Oriole Park at Camden Yards was the first of the retro major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s; on September 6, 1995, Camden Yards witnessed Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-setting 2,131st consecutive game

Poe Toaster is the media sobriquet of an unidentified person (or probably more than one person in succession) who, for 70+ years, paid an annual tribute to Edgar Allan Poe by visiting his grave in the early hours of January 19, Poe's birthday

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built (1821) in the US; it has welcomed millions of visitors, including Pope John Paul II in 1995 and Mother Teresa in 1996

The Walters Art Museum was founded in 1934 based on a collection of father and son that began during the Civil War; they bequeathed the palazzo-style building to the city with a grant from the city making admission free to the public

Lexington Market is one of the longest running markets in the world, having been around since 1782; today it is in an area of drug dealing and extreme poverty but the area is being gentrified

This monument memorializes the visit of Pope John Paul II to Baltimore, America's first Roman Catholic diocese, in 1995; the Pope delivered a mass to a sell-out crowd at Camden Yards with 300,000+ lining his parade route

The Enoch Pratt Free Library, established in 1882, is the flagship of the Baltimore library system; it was founded for all, rich and poor without distinction of race or color, who can take out the books if they will handle them carefully and return them

The American Visionary Arts Museum has a small 1.1 acre campus which contains 67,000 sq ft of exhibition space and a permanent collection of 4,000+ pieces; don't expect to recognize the artists, rather just enjoy the creativity

Fort McHenry was built in 1798 and used continuously by the US Armed Forces through WW1 and by the US Coast Guard through WW2; it was designated a US National Park in 1925 and The Star-Spangled Banner became the National Anthem in 1931

This statue of Orpheus is dedicated to the soldiers of Fort McHenry and Francis Scott Key; the large visitor's center was closed due to Covid; you can take the scenic water taxi from Inner Harbor out to the fort

The successful defense against a British naval attack against Fort McHenry in 1814 prevented the capture of Baltimore and inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star-Spangled Banner; my last visit here was with my parents in the 1970s

The Cylburn mansion was completed in 1888 and is the centerpiece of the Cylburn Arboretum; I found the sight to be more of a pleasant park than a true arboretum

Designed in 1890 the Pagoda in Patterson Park was originally called the Observatory; the design was intended to reflect the bold Victorian style of the day with visitors able to see downtown Baltimore from the top (closed now)

Edgar Allen Poe lived in this typical row house in the 1830s; it is now a museum with limited hours offering guided public tours; the surrounding area isn't the best

The Baltimore Museum of Art was founded in 1914 and is adjacent to the campus of Johns Hopkins; admission is free although during Covid timed tickets are required and were sold out every day of my visit

The Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens was opened in 1888 and is the second oldest in the US; admission was $5 and, due to Covid, required a timed, advance reservation

Baltimore has become a popular tourist destination with 30 million visitors a year; the tourist sights are generally around the Inner Harbor but some, like the Museum of Art, are further afield

Baltimore Harbor's restoration has made it a city of boats; the Inner Harbor features the USS Constellation, the last Civil War-era vessel afloat, and the Coast Guard cutter Taney, the last surviving U.S. warship that was at Pearl Harbor on 12/7/41

Baltimore was the second largest port of immigration to the United States, behind Ellis Island, in the 1800s; the city has some unique sights such as the National Museum of Dentistry and the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum

The statue at the Baltimore Holocaust Memorial depicts the horror by portraying emaciated bodies contorted in a ball of flame; the base of the sculpture bears the quote from George Santayana: Those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat it

The view across Inner Harbor from the aquarium shows the Four Seasons Residences with a high-rise luxury apartment building behind them; Baltimoreans include Nancy Pelosi, Tom Clancy, Thurgood Marshall and Spiro Agnew

The US Submarine Torsk was launched in late 1944 and sank the last enemy vessel during WW2; the sub had among the highest number of dives of any sub in US history