Flagging up Baltimore
This is the year to visit America’s most patriotic and intriguing city
BALTIMOrE seldom finds itself centre stage. This once-gritty port, 50 miles north of Washington D.C. has grown accustomed to sitting in the shadows of its illustrious neighbour, but later this year Baltimore will celebrate a major anniversary.
Home to Wallis Simpson, who hooked King Edward VIII, the city is gearing up to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore — the penultimate dust-up in the War of 1812 that gave birth to The Star-Spangled Banner, America’s national anthem.
The conflict ignited after America attacked Canada over disputed naval rights.
Britain sent an invasion fleet, burnt down Washington D.C. and then invaded Baltimore on 13 September 1814. Surviving a night of bombardment from 19 British ships, the Americans celebrated the following day by hoisting an oversized Stars and Stripes flag.
American lawyer Francis Scott Key, watching the battle from a truce ship, wrote down those immortal words: ‘O say can you see by the dawn’s early light,’ the opening line of what would become the national anthem in 1931. Britons will feel welcomed this summer. After all, Baltimore is also celebrating the anniversary of another British invasion — The Beatles — who took the city by storm 150 years to the day after Key concocted his hit stanzas. Fort McHenry, which played such an important role in thwarting the i nvasion, glows i n unabashed patriotism. It has panoramic views of Baltimore’s surrounding harbour and is open daily all year round.
I visited the new interactive museum, where a short film is shown every half hour, then toured the fort, followed by a stroll on the grassy embattlements.
‘Not many countries look at their national anthem like we do,’ said Tim Ertel, director of the fort’s Fife And Drum Corp as he stood in period costume.
Baltimore — about the size of Glasgow — is a patchwork of old-world neighbourhoods: Polish, Italian, Irish, Greek and African-American, which earns it the nickname ‘Charm City.’ The phrase was coined in the Seventies as i t began to embrace its diversity and revitalise its waterfront.
This summer, the Inner Harbour, centrepiece of the city’s rebirth, will be a hive of activity, with many special events planned — military tattoos, the arrival of more than 40 tall and navy ships (many British) and a barrage of fireworks displays leading up to the bicentennial week in September.
Getting around Baltimore is easy and inexpensive. Water taxis criss-cross the harbour, stopping at 13 locations and a day pass costs £7.
From Fort McHenry, I took the 15-minute water taxi to historic Fells Point, the heart of the city’s shipbuilding industry 250 years ago, where bustling bars and boutique shops now line the waterfront. Baltimore’s f avourite son, Olympian Michael Phelps, lives nearby in a converted loft.
ANOTHEr water taxi ride took me to the Inner Harbour. In walking distance from the downtown hotels there is plenty on offer: vintage warships, boat tours, the Maryland Science Center, with its Imax features, Port Discovery — a hands-on children’s museum — and open-air concerts. The big draw is the expansive National Aquarium, Maryland’s prime tourist attraction.
Then there is the popular tour called The Woman He Loved: The Duchess, The King And The Baltimore Connection. It’s a two-hour romp of Wallis Simpson’s hangouts before she left for London. Then, for a slice of Americana, see a Baltimore Orioles baseball game at the ‘retro’ Camden Yards venue, a short walk from the waterfront. Tickets start as low as £5.
Perhaps the most iconic dining spot on the waterfront is the rusty Scupper that juts out above the marina. I feasted on the famed Maryland crabcakes and the view of the waterfront was spectacular.
There’s an easy-going feel to Baltimore. It’s not as imposing a s New Yor k , nor as commercialised as Orlando or Las Vegas. Charm City describes it perfectly.