Chesapeake Bay
Gateways network in baltimore The Adventure Begins At The Bay’s Front Door
Chesapeake Bay
Gateways network in baltimore 1 Baltimore Museum of Industry Photos on the page courtesy of BACVA. Baltimore Harbor circa 1850, courtesy of The Enoch Pratt Free Library.
2 Baltimore Visitor Center 3 Fell’s Point National Register Historic District
4 Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine 5 Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park 6 Gwynns Falls Trail 7 Jones Falls Trail 8 Lightship Chesapeake 9 Maryland Zoo in Baltimore 10 National Aquarium in Baltimore 11
Pride of Baltimore II
12 Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse 13 USS Constellation
To learn more about the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network, please visit the Baltimore Visitor Center or go to www.baygateways.net.
Baltimore—It’s More Tha
A lot has happened in Baltimore since Captain John Smith’s first voyage into the Inner Harbor to chart the land and waterways of the Chesapeake Bay. Since its founding in 1729, Baltimore has been the scene of some of American history’s most pivotal moments—from the creation of The Star-Spangled Banner to the first bloodshed of the Civil War. Today, Baltimore continues to make history as a vibrant city that offers an amazing range of choices for recreation, learning, sheer fun, and yes, adventure at the Bay’s front door! It’s easy to get started—just turn the page and read about exciting places that tell the story of the Chesapeake Bay around Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and the shores of the Patapsco River. You can reach many of these places easily and quickly by foot or a short water taxi ride around the Harbor. You’ll soon discover just how much there is to do and see in Baltimore, whether you’re interested in sailing ships, screwpile lighthouses, or just a quiet stroll in the woods. As your gateway to the Chesapeake Bay region, Baltimore’s sure to be more than you can imagine.
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home to many Chesapeake Bay Gateway Network sites—a system of trails, parks, historic sites, and museums for experiencing and understanding the Chesapeake Bay and its watershed. To learn more about the Baltimore Heritage Area, Gateways Network, or other attractions in Baltimore please visit the Baltimore Visitor Center or go to www.baygateways.net or www.starspangledtrails.orgUniversity
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DIRECTIONS TO THE Maryland ZOO in Baltimore
For information about public transportation, please call the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) at 410-539-5000 or visit their website.
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From Downtown Baltimore: Take Pratt Street to President Street and turn left. Continue straight on I-83 North. Take Exit 7 (West) to Druid Park Lake Drive—follow signs to the Zoo.
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The Zoo is located in beautiful Druid Hill Park—less than 10 minutes from Baltimore’s Downtown Inner Harbor. Parking is FREE!
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Baltimore Museum of Industry
, stop at the Baltimore Visitor Center or visit www.baygateways.net
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1415 Key Highway | 410.727.4808 http://www.thebmi.org
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Baltimore’s location on the Chesapeake Bay created a mighty engine of industry that literally changed the world. As the most inland port on the eastern seaboard, Baltimore boomed as a leading city, port, and center of industrial innovation linking major roads, rail, and the Bay. The Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI) celebrates and explores this side of Baltimore, highlighting the city’s many firsts—from the invention of the first railroad and first artificial lighting to the manufacture of the first umbrellas. A hands-on museum in a restored oyster cannery, the BMI shows the industries of Baltimore over the last 100 years: shipping, printing, garment factory, belt-driven machine shop, pharmacy, and cannery. Not all the exhibits are indoors—just outside you’ll find the coal-fired S.S. Baltimore, the only operating steam tugboat on the East Coast and a National Historic Landmark, once used to guide larger commercial vessels in and out of port. Whether you’re 6 or 60, the BMI is sure to appeal to every member of your family. Elliott St
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Baltimore Visitor Center
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
401 Light Street | 1-877-BALTIMORE http://www.baltimore.org
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It’s your one-stop source on everything Baltimore—and the first stop you should make when you arrive downtown. The Baltimore Visitor Center is your springboard to an authentic Baltimore experience, with information and advice on both major attractions and hidden gems that lie beyond the Inner Harbor in Baltimore’s diverse neighborhoods, covering the spectrum from history and culture to sports, restaurants, and just plain fun. Don’t want to stand in line? The Visitor Center has ticketing for all of the popular sights, including a Harbor Pass to some of the Chesapeake Bay Gateway sites in Baltimore, including the National Aquarium and discounted admission to the USS Constellation. Visitor Center staff will even make hotel and dinner reservations for you! In short, whether you stay in the Inner Harbor or venture off on a water taxi to Federal Hill or Fell’s Point to dine al fresco on crab cakes, the Visitor Center can help make your Baltimore visit the best.
Fell’s Point National Register Historic District
“A nest of pirates”—that’s what the British Navy once dubbed Baltimore’s historic Fell’s Point, the home port of privateers who sailed speedy Baltimore Clippers to prey on British shipping. The successes of privateers caused the British to attack the city in 1814, only to be turned away at the Battle of Baltimore and Fort McHenry. Now just a quick water taxi ride or stroll from the Inner Harbor, Fell’s Point is a lively neighborhood reflecting its rich maritime past with an eclectic mix of shops, restaurants, pubs, museums, galleries and the Broadway Market. Start your journey at the Fell’s Point Visitor Center at 1724-26 Thames Street and experience interactive exhibits. Take a tour of the Robert Long House, Baltimore’s oldest surviving urban residence (ca. 1765) and its 18th century garden. Learn about the homes, businesses and lives of sea captains, ship builders, seamen and immigrants in Fell’s Point from living history characters. Go on a Ghost Walk down the darker alleys and find out more about the area’s shady and spooky past. Discover the important role of African-American shipbuilders at the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park (pg. 5). Or just wander along the original Belgian Block streets (once used as ballast in ships) to visit a host of fascinating shops, boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and pubs. In Fell’s Point, it’s easy to spend an afternoon with the family, or a weekend all to yourself.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
1724-26 Thames Street | 410-675-6750 ex. 16 http://www.preservationsociety.com
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Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
2400 East Fort Avenue | 410-962-4290 http://www.nps.gov/fomc/index.htm
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As you stand on the ramparts of Fort McHenry looking down toward the Bay, you stand at the crossroads of history. Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine is home to two of America’s most powerful symbols—the National Anthem and the American flag. It was here in 1814, at the height of the War of 1812, that this embattled garrison held off a massive bombardment and attempted invasion by a British naval fleet—and defended a greater prize. The British assault on Baltimore was intended to destroy Fell’s Point’s fleet of privateers, as well as the 20 shipyards there that produced swift Baltimore Clippers used so successfully in capturing British ships. Francis Scott Key, who witnessed the attack, was so overjoyed to see the flag still flying “by dawn’s early light” that he scribbled “The Star-Spangled Banner” on the back of an envelope. Today, the original fort still remains, providing a unique glimpse into our nation’s past. Explore the Enlistedmen’s Quarters, uniform and weapons displays, a Powder Magazine, and the 1814 Guard House. And be sure to take part in the twice-a-day Flag Change ceremony, where you can help fold and hoist Old Glory right where the original flagpole stood.
Frederick Douglassisaac myers Maritime Park
One of Baltimore’s newest and most compelling museums, the Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park, is a national heritage site that celebrates African-Americans who worked in Baltimore’s maritime trades in the 1800s. In particular, it tells the stories of Frederick Douglass and Isaac Myers, who worked as caulkers in the Fell’s Point shipyards of the day, and who each gained fame later in life as prominent leaders and reformers. In telling their stories, the park also reveals an African-American community that bonded together and carved out institutions and businesses for themselves. See a working re-creation of the first Black-owned marine railway and shipyard in the United States, founded in 1866 by 15 black entrepreneurs, including Isaac Myers. The Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company, located just west of the park, employed both blacks and whites without discrimination. Along with historical artifacts, every exhibit features an engaging hands-on activity—from caulking and hoisting a barrel to completing the design of a ship. You can even visit the park’s nearby boatbuilding shop where you can lend a hand in the repair or building of actual Chesapeake Bay watercraft.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
1417 Thames Street | 410-685-0295 http://www.douglassmyers.org
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Gwynns falls trail
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
410-396-0440 or 410-448-5663 http://www.gwynnsfallstrail.org/index.cfm
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For 15 miles, this unique urban greenway and bike/hike trail follows the wooded Gwynns Falls stream valley—and travels through history itself. Following one of the key watershed tributaries to the Patapsco River, and by extension the Bay, the Gwynns Falls Trail stretches from Baltimore’s northwest highlands to its waterfront. Along the way, it connects nearly 2,000 acres of city parkland, including the 1,200-acre Gwynns Falls-Leakin Park, the site of many early industries and estates for influential Baltimore families in the 19thcentury. The Trail also passes through or near 30 city neighborhoods and such attractions as the city’s Carrie Murray Nature Center and Middle Branch Rowing Club, the Carrollton Railroad Viaduct, the historic Mt. Claire Mansion, the B&O Railroad Museum, and even the ruins of an iron waterwheel! For visitors, the Trail’s nine trailheads feature new parking facilities as well as a 300-person picnic pavilion, amphitheater, and restrooms at the Winans Meadow Trailhead, and hosts numerous events throughout the year, such as the Tour Dem Parks, Hon!, the Leon Day Park Celebration, the Halloween Trail Run, and the Art on the Trail exhibit. The Trail is designed as part of the East Coast Greenway and is managed by a public-private partnership—the Gwynns Falls Trail Council.
Jones Falls Trail
The most well known and least appreciated fresh waterway in Baltimore (and important part of the Chesapeake watershed), the Jones Falls River is undergoing a transformation— thanks to a new partnership between Baltimore City Departments of Recreation and Parks, Transportation, and Planning, and the Jones Falls Watershed Association. The result is the new Jones Falls Trail, a 4.25-mile hiking and biking trail that follows the Jones Falls, which has been undergoing a thorough cleanup itself. The Trail currently extends north from Midtown’s Penn Station to the Woodberry Light Rail Station. It passes by a number of historic mills, the scenic overlook at Round Falls, the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, and winds its way through 745-acre Druid Hill Park. In the park the Trail circles 1.5 miles around the reservoir, skirts in front of the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory and the Maryland Zoo before heading through the hilly woods to Clipper Mill. When completed, a southern leg will continue down to the Baltimore Visitor Center at the Inner Harbor, connecting to the Gwynn’s Falls Trail. A northern extension will thread through the Cylburn Arboretum and end at Mt. Washington Village. Public programming along the Trail currently includes seasonal tours through Druid Hill Park, Tai Chi on the Trail, and a lender bike program.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network. in Baltimore
410-984-4058 http://www.jonesfalls.org/trail/htm
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Lightship Chesapeake
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
Piers 3 & 5, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor | 410-396-3453 www.baltomaritimemuseum.org
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What’s almost 80 years old, has a 1,000-watt light, and floats? That would be the Lightship 116 Chesapeake, launched in 1930 to help protect and guide shipping along the Delaware and Maryland coasts. Such floating lighthouses played a critical role in early 20th-century navigation, and even served as coastal patrol boats during World War II. With its then stateof-the-art diesel-electric engines, all-steel body, and powerful signaling equipment, the Lightship Chesapeake’s rugged construction allowed it to serve in even the roughest weather, including two major hurricanes that snapped the ship’s anchor chains! After years spent marking the mouth of the Chesapeake and Delaware bays for commercial vessels, the Lightship Chesapeake was retired in 1970, and is today a proud addition to Historic Ships at the Inner Harbor “fleet.” Climb aboard and get a sense of her history for yourself.
Maryland Zoo in Baltimore
One of America’s great urban zoos, the Maryland Zoo at Baltimore holds the distinction of being the third oldest zoo in the U.S., and is one of the most progressive in its efforts to display more than 1,500 birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, representing nearly 200 species in natural settings that reflect their native habitats. Popular exhibits include the African Journey, award-winning Children’s Zoo, Polar Bear Watch, and especially the Maryland Wilderness. This 10-acre, half-mile walkway takes visitors on a “walk across Maryland,” focusing on the environments that make up the Chesapeake watershed, including a bog, marsh, mountain stream, woodlands, meadow, cave, and a farm. With its innovative mix of exhibition spaces and nature-related playground spaces, where children can jump, climb, and crawl like the animals on display, the Maryland Wilderness experience has become a model for other zoos and hailed as “the best in the U.S.”
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
Druid Hill Park | 410-366-LION http://www.marylandzoo.org
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National Aquarium in Baltimore
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
501 E. Pratt Street | 410-576-3800 http://www.aqua.org
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It’s Baltimore’s Aquarium—and America’s! Recently ranked among the nation’s top 20 attractions for its appeal to both adults and children and the quality of visitor service, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is a must-see. As one of the world’s leading aquatic facilities since opening in 1981, and home to more than 16,500 animals from nearly 600 species, the aquarium has continued to make waves through a series of expansions that now include three landmark buildings at the harbor’s edge. In educating 1.6 million visitors each year about the fragility of the world’s aquatic ecosystems, the aquarium offers such major exhibits as its rainforest habitat, Atlantic coral reef, sting ray beach, dolphin show, the new Animal Planet Australia, and an entire floor that traces the Chesapeake watershed’s aquatic ecosystem from the mountains to the ocean. And, just for fun, the aquarium’s new 4D Immersion Theater combines 3D film with special sensory effects like mist and wind.
Pride of Baltimore II
The world’s only authentic sailing reproduction of an early 19th-century Baltimore Clipper, Pride of Baltimore II is more than a spectacular ship. For one, she directly reflects the shape and spirit of the original Baltimore Clipper privateers, whose severe impact on British shipping during the War of 1812 led to the attack on Baltimore, the bombardment of Fort McHenry (pg. 4), and the creation of our National Anthem. While a living icon of that proud past, Pride II also plays an important role today as the goodwill ambassador of Baltimore and Maryland. Since her commissioning in 1988, she has called on over 200 ports in 37 countries in North, South, and Central America, Europe, and the Far East, covering some 200,000 nautical miles. When in her home port, Pride II offers a unique educational program for visiting school groups, day sails for the public, and guest crew berths between ports of call.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
410-539-1151 http://www.marylandspride.org
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Seven foot Knoll Lighthouse
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
Piers 3 & 5, Baltimore’s Inner Harbor | 410-396-3453 http://www.baltomaritimemuseum.org
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It’s not just a lighthouse—it was once a lifesaver. For 133 years, the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse and its beacon marked dangerous shoals at the mouth of the Patapsco River, about 12 miles downstream from its present location. In 1933, the lighthouse’s keeper risked his life in heavy seas and winds to rescue five crewmembers of a sinking tugboat in the station’s small motor launch. As the oldest surviving Chesapeake Bay screw-pile lighthouse used as an aid to navigation, Seven Foot Knoll is unique in its round construction built entirely with iron boilerplate and not wood. (The term “screwpile” refers to the lighthouse’s cast-iron pilings with corkscrew-like bases, which could be screwed into the soft mud of the sea floor.) In active use until its move to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 1988, the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse is today a popular part of Historic Ships at the Inner Harbor.
USS Constellation
The first attraction of Baltimore’s now famous Inner Harbor, the USS Constellation arrived here in 1955 after a century-long voyage that is the stuff of legend. Launched in 1854 at Portsmouth, Virginia, Constellation was the last all-sail warship designed and built by the U.S. Navy and is the only vessel to see active service during the Civil War still afloat today. The original Constellation, and namesake of this ship, was built in 1797 at a shipyard in Canton just a few miles downriver. In her early years, the sloop of war Constellation (1854) served as the flagship of the U.S. African Squadron intercepting slave ships on the West Coast of Africa, served in the Mediterranean during the Civil War, and later as a training ship for midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The historic vessel even served as flagship of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet for six months during World War II. Today, Constellation serves another mission—as a vital link to our nation’s nautical past. She is a fitting symbol of Baltimore’s rich maritime heritage as part of Historic Ships at the Inner Harbor, as well as an icon of the city’s rebirth. Through interactive presentations, tours, and demonstrations by Constellation’s crew, visitors can learn what it was really like to sail on board a 19th-century naval ship.
Chesapeake Bay Gateways network in Baltimore
Pier 1, 301 East Pratt Street | 410-539-1797 http://www.constellation.org
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Photography: Bill McAllen DESIGN: Klinedinst Design, llc Writing: David Beaudouin
To learn more about the Baltimore Heritage Area, visit www.baltimorecity.gov/government/heritage and www.starspangledtrails.org