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Eclectic Baltimore, Maryland Has Something For Everyone *ONLINE ONLY*

March 2025

By Victor Block

Like American history? Enjoy visiting museums? Does a wonderful waterfront setting have appeal? Baltimore has you covered.

During my visit to Baltimore, I was steeped in the history which is around every corner. Surprised by the wide choice of places to see and things to do. Intrigued at some 200 neighborhoods, with its own distinct personality and experiences.

The Inner Harbor is the heart of Baltimore. Ship building yards and steel mills that once occupied the space have been replaced by world-class art and other collections, hotels and restaurants. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is perched at the edge of the harbor. It houses some 20,000 creatures, a rainforest environment and multistory shark tank.

A historic maritime collection shares the harbor. The USS Constellation is the last sail-only warship built by the U.S. Navy, in 1854. Lightship 116 began service in 1930, patrolling and guiding maritime traffic in the Chesapeake Bay. U.S Coast Guard Cutter 37 was built in the mid-1930's and designed for search and rescue missions and maritime patrol.

The Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, built in 1856, it’s one of the oldest Chesapeake Bay lighthouses still in existence. It contains an extensive exhibit of artifacts from and information about lighthouses around the region.

The displays in Baltimore’s museums extend well beyond seafaring themes. The Star Spangled Banner Flag House recalls the story of the stitching of the banner by Mary Pickersgill which flew over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. The Civil War Museum explores the War Between the States, including the story of a secret escape by President Lincoln to thwart an assassination attempt.

The Immigration Museum displays artifacts, letters and others material related to people who came to the United States from around the world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The American Indian Center celebrates those who were here long before then.

Baltimore’s neighborhoods vie with its museums in both diversity and interest. Strolling through several of these enclaves introduced me to below the-radar facets of the city’s past.

I walked along streets made of cobblestones which served as ballast on ships from Europe that arrived in the 1800s. I passed the marble steps in front of narrow row houses that became status symbols for Baltimoreans in the early 1900s. I evoked the time when the Fell’s Point neighborhood, today a gentrified mix of 18th-century homes and trendy restaurants and bars, was the center of the city’s shipbuilding industry.

Checking out Druid Hill Park, I thought back to when the Susquehannock Native Americans ceded that land to Lord Baltimore, in 1652. Today it contains the Maryland Zoo and the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory and Botanic Gardens.

I ended my exploration at the Lexington Market which, I soon learned, is much more than a place to buy fruit and vegetables. That iconic landmark claims to be the oldest and largest continuingly operating public market in the nation. The establishment traces its birth back to 1782, when an informal meeting place for the exchange of goods was established. Over time, it evolved into a community gathering space and buzzy bazaar whose merchants, and customers, reflect Baltimore’s diversity.

The mélange of eateries, shops and miscellaneous offerings leaves little to the imagination. I spotted a bakery adjacent to a shoe repair stand. At Buffalo Bill’s Fresh Quality Meats, I saw parts of animals on display that I could not identify. The Sausage Master stand offers hot dogs prepared in more ways than I could have imagined.

Adding to the colorful conglomeration are unexpected tidbits like a small kiosk operating under the name Waist Beads and Spiritual Needs, and a sign at a fresh seafood raw bar which reads: “Forget Viagra, eat oysters.”

The something-for-everyone offerings at the Lexington Market is repeated time and again throughout Baltimore. I left the city recalling a sign I once saw at a flea market, which read: “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it.” Baltimore offers attractions enough to meet most people’s expectations.

For more information log onto baltimore.org.