We are Baltimore

Baltimore’s Inner Harbor and beyond that Harbor East and Little Italy sit proudly on the Patapsco River.

Lacrosse is a passion in Baltimore. We even have a museum devoted to it.

We are Baltimore. We’re black and white and so much more. We’re young and old, newcomer and old-timer.

We work hard. We love our neighborhoods. We never forget what high school we went to. We cheer for the Orioles in summer and the Ravens in winter. We’re passionate about whatever game our kids are playing.

We’re not the same. We’re glad we don’t all look alike or even talk alike, hon.

A mosaic, newly installed on AVAM’s exterior, has been created by students from a nearby high school, as well as incarcerated youth.

We love when people come to call. We are proud to be the home of the Star Spangled Banner and Edgar Allan Poe, Johns Hopkins and the Preakness. You’ll find us at the Walters, the BMA, the Reginald Lewis Museum and the AVAM. This is the hometown of Cab Calloway, Philip Glass and we like to claim Marin Alsop.

Hungry? We’ve got Little Italy and the restaurants of Cindy Wolf and Bryan Voltaggio and so many other great places to stop.

The Baltimore Book Festival brings together bibliophiles in the shadow of the Washington Monument.

Thirsty? Pull up a barstool and we’ll pour you a Union, Raven, a Resurrection. Natty Boh doesn’t live here anymore but we still love him, too. Did you know Baltimore even has a meadery?

We have gathered to celebrate our city for decades. No, Baltimoreans have celebrated their city for centuries.

The Washington Monument celebrates its bicentennial on the Fourth of July. (Here it’s lit up for the holidays.)

The Flower Mart brings us together for blossoms and crab cakes in May. The Preakness makes us all horse racing fans. Visits by Whitbread and then Volvo around the world sailboats made us all sailors. We love our ethnic festivals and our book festival. The bicentennial of the War of 1812 allowed us two opportunities to welcome the world. This summer we’ll celebrate the bicentennial of our Washington Monument.

All of us who love our Charm City have had our hearts broken over the events of the last few weeks. We’ve cried together, prayed together, and begun the work of healing together. We have our problems — doesn’t every city? We’re trying to solve them everyday.

We are Baltimore. Strong. Resilient. Home.

Tulips have bloomed at Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore. A sight to see.

An eye-catching graphic on the steps of the Baltimore Museum of Art leads visitors to the newly-reopened entrance. New galleries for Asian and African art are also now open.

With the Kentucky Derby finished for 2015, horse racing fans turn their attention to Baltimore’s Preakness.

A keyring from the Edgar Allan Poe House in Baltimore.

The Orioles played at an empty Oriole Park at Camden Yards the day after the riots, but we’re looking forward to returning to regular play.

Arayori, a peasant woman, carved by Yoshida Homei, is part of the Walters Art Gallery’s East Asia collection.

The Pride of Baltimore at the end of the Constellation’s pier.

The U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels fly over Fort McHenry in celebration of the bicentennial of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner in 2014.

Baltimore’s Belvedere has hosted many famous guests over the years. It’s still home to The Owl Bar, once a Prohibition-era speakeasy.

The John W. Brown, a World War II Liberty Ship,  docked in Fells Point

The original grave of Edgar Allan Poe.

The Seven-Foot Knoll Lighthouse in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor

Homewood was a gift by Charles Carroll of Carrollton to his son Charles, Jr. The elder Carroll was the longest surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence. The house is located on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.

© Text and photos
Mary K. Tilghman

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