Photo by flickr user Kali Durga

Ghost tourism is an odd, if not paranormal, phenomenon. The tales of the departed that we gobble up when hankering for a healthy shiver tend to be decidedly distant in time and circumstance from those we read about in the daily news. There’s pleasure in in being reminded of the great beyond, so long as it stays comfortably beyond. This intersection of personal loss with public fetish gives me the willies, but since the season is upon us. Here are a few of the places to include in your next homemade Mob Town ghost story:

1. The Westminster Church Burying Grounds in West Baltimore (500 W. Baltimore Street) accommodates the restless spirits of several prominent Baltimoreans, among them the recently re-interred Mr. Poe, though it’s difficult to conceive of any more unfinished business he’s been dying to complete with the help of the sensitive, still-breathing heroine of a young adult novel. More likely he’s already dreading his tricentennial celebration in 2109.

2. Fort McHenry (2400 E. Fort Street) isn’t just the most patriotic place in Baltimore, it’s also one of the grisliest. The site of at least one super-famous battle as well as countless mishaps of the sort that fail to raise eyebrows at any old military fortress/horrible dungeon. In particular, look out for spectral reminders of the fort’s stint as a wartime prison for Confederate soldiers. Say what you will about the boys in grey––they make much better ghosts than those prim, well-nourished Federals.

3. The USS Constellation in the Inner Harbor (Pier 1) has seen over two hundred years of service including several major wars––that is, if you count all three ships that have sailed under that name. At any rate, the newest model is on permanent display now to military historians and spook-hunters alike. Thanks to an ambiguous photograph printed in the Sun in 1955, the Constellation has gained an international reputation as a vessel of the otherworldly.

4. Finally, all of Fell’s Point, which is the oldest and therefore the most haunted neighborhood in Baltimore, can tickle your morbid prurience with the help of the Fells Point Ghost Tours. The same crew now also offers ectoplasmic tours of Mt. Vernon, for those of you not satisfied by one night of calculated squealing. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00 p.m., departing from Max’s Sidebar (731 S. Broadway). Spookily enough, tickets are $13, and October is to ghost tours what 1:45 a.m. is to bars, so get drinking.

What’s your best best Baltimore ghost story?

Locust Point
1333 Hull Street
Oooh boy, this two-bedroom, one-bath rowhouse is exciting.  Okay, exciting if you like Brazilian cherry hardwood floors, exposed brick, high ceilings and crown moldings.  That might not be you.  You probably also don’t like new appliances in the kitchen and a rear driveway.  Who are we to judge?  People like what they like, even if it isn’t gorgeous, reasonably priced, comfortably appointed rowhouses.  Fine.  Priced at $259,900.

Butcher’s Hill
124 S. Chapel Street
There’s plenty to like about this two-bedroom, one and a half bath Butcher’s Hill rowhouse.  For one thing, it has a completely renovated kitchen, replete with hardwood floors, granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.  The central air conditioning is nice too, as is the electric heat.  And we’re fond of the quiet neighborhood-y feel of Butcher’s Hill.  Yeah, we like all those things, but what we love is the two-story (!) roof deck with views of the downtown skyline all the way to M&T Bank Stadium.  Oh, jeez, do we love this roof deck.  Priced at $266,000.

Fell’s Point
219 S. Washington Street
Down in Fell’s – where everything seems to happen – is this three-bedroom, two-bath rowhouse. The recently-renovated kitchen has the granite countertops and stainless steel appliances that seem to be de rigueur (in a good way) these days.  More importantly, though, it’s on an extra-long lot, giving you little garden in the heart of what can be a very busy part of town… or, if you prefer, you can simply look down upon the garden and out to the harbor from the comfort of the roof deck.  Decisions, decisions.  Priced at $259,975.

If you’d like to know more about any of these apartments — or if you have an entirely different house in mind – get in touch with us at Urban Discoveries Living. We’ll help you out with any and all of your real estate needs.

(NOTE:  we fully support the apostrophe-d version of the neighborhood name. Got a problem with that? Take it up with us in the comments!)

520 Durham Street
This recently rehabilitated, two bedroom, one bath rowhome is pretty dreamy.  The hardwood floors of the first floor lead you from the living room to the open kitchen and back again.  Upstairs, the second floor features the master bedroom (with a gas fireplace for you snuggling lovebirds), an extra-large bathroom and a washer/dryer.  The third floor is a bedroom loft complete with angled ceilings and deep windows.  Plus, it was built in 1855 — which means it’s had a century and a half to acquire some pretty cool ghosts, we’d expect. And, as if to top it all off, there’s a backyard, so you can have your own little slice of life by the water.  Priced at $169,900, down from $175,000.

426 Bond Street
We didn’t know this before we saw this two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath rowhouse, but it turns out we’re a sucker for a brick archway in the living room.  It pretty much rules.  Of course, this house isn’t just an archway; it also features slate floors on the main level (hardwood floors everywhere else), two fireplaces, exposed brick walls, a gourmet kitchen, a jetted bathtub and an oversized shower.  The master bedroom on the third floor is spacious, comfortable and well-lit with skylights.   No archway though, that’s just the living room.  Priced at $255,122, down from $299,500.

728 S. Wolfe Street
Oh, we love the location of this two-bedroom, two-bath rowhouse.  It’s not quite in the middle of everything, just a little off to the side… but right across the street from a little park, a block from the water, throwing distance from everything you could want to do in Fell’s.  But if you want to stay in some nights, that’s no problem — in fact you’d be quite comfortable in amidst the hardwood floors, the recently refurbished kitchen (with granite countertops), and the built-in entertainment center.   Priced at $275,000, down from $285,000.

If you’d like to know more about any of these houses — or if you have an entirely different house in mind – get in touch with us at Urban Discoveries Living. We’ll help you out with any and all of your real estate needs.

MLS # BA7131178
This two-bedroom, one-and-a-half bath rowhouse was rehabilitated in 2004 and has been meticulously cared for ever since.  We’re fans of rehab projects in general, and this one appears to be particularly well done.  New skylights, a master bedroom with a balcony, stainless steel appliances in the kitchen, and jetted bathtubs, what’s not to like?  And it’s just a block from Prospect Park, making this a great place for dog-lovers.  Priced at $219,900, down from $229,900.

232 S. Castle Street

MLS # BA7094063
We’re a fan of three-story rowhouses; they’ve just got that little extra bit of space that always seems to come in handy.  So when we see a place – much like this two-bedroom, two-bathroom find – that has that third floor our interest gets piqued.  We think this is justifiable, that is if you’re a fan of hardwood floors, exposed brick, custom kitchen cabinetry and backyards.  You’re a fan, right?  Priced at $220,000, down from $230,000.

1826 Pratt Street

MLS #BA7085513
This three-bedroom, two-and-a-half bath rowhouse straddles the fine line between Upper Fell’s and Butcher’s Hill, so you can belong to two community associations and fulfill all of your Machiavellian dreams.   Arbitrary neighborhood boundaries and local power struggles aside, we dig this three-story property and its roof deck.  The kitchen is equipped with stainless steel appliances and granite countertops; the floorplan allows for lots of natural light; and the hardwood floors balance nicely with the wrought-iron banisters.  Priced at $339,000, down from $359,000.

If you’d like to know more about any of these houses — or if you have an entirely different house in mind – get in touch with us at Urban Discoveries Living. We’ll help you out with any and all of your real estate needs.

Photo of the Papermoon Diner's exterior by flickr user mygothlaundry.

Anyone can call it a night, and most nights, most of us do. But there’s a real craft to pulling an all-nighter––one few ever truly master. Whether you’re a vampire, a gamer, an insomniac, or just a sleepy-eyed professional, if staying awake is part of your routine, then you’ve by now memorized the hours and location of every dive and convenience mart in Baltimore. For the rest of you, here are three safe havens if you find yourself up past bedtime:

1. Blue Moon Café in Fell’s Point (1621 Aliceanna Street) won’t be much help during the week. Their delicious breakfast food and homey ambience shuts down most days at 3 p.m., but Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, they reopen at 11 p.m. and welcome latecomers until 7 a.m. It’s the best place to blunt your weekly short-term alcoholism on a fat cinnamon roll and the business end of a coffee cup.

2. Papermoon Diner in Charles Village (227 W. 29th Street) shares a predictable element of its name with the last entry; I’ll let you guess why. The place was once open 24 hours, but now it keeps more civilized hours––Sunday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday, 7 a.m. to 2 a.m. The good news is that those closing times are for last seating, which means you just have to make it in the door. If you haven’t been to Papermoon before, imagine an army of mannequins and vengeful children’s toys painted in swathes of primary colors. Now imagine sitting quietly while they watch you eat. It’s not as creepy as it sounds. It’s a little creepy. The food, more importantly, is quite good; I recommend the Weed Burger. Just be sure to follow all the rules.

3. Sip & Bite Restaurant in Canton (2200 Boston Street) is, and this is something, actually a diner. Open since the 1940s and little altered since, the S&B serves food hot and tasty just as fast as possible. Sometimes that means you wait in a line that stretches out the door. Sometimes that means you split the whole place with a passed-out guy and a waitress on break. The service is generally nice and crisp, and the hot sauce is no joke. There aren’t any labels for the menu items’ nutritional content, so don’t bother asking. Best of all, Sip & Bite is open all for all 24 of the hours in all seven of the days that you might want to stop by.

What do you do with yourself when the world is asleep?

Poppy and Stella in Fells Point (728 S. Broadway) is a sly little fancy-town boutique where you (you being a lady) will find plenty of inspiration when next you’ve got a wad to burn. These are shoes and bags one wears with the intention of being noticed, not necessarily with practicality or thrift in mind. There is a fairly reliable sale section, but is that really what you came here for?

Homey and indulgent, Ma Petite Shoes in Hampden (832 W. 36th Street) is a combination shoe-and-chocolate store that takes both lines quite seriously. There are in fact some shoes for men, but I feel that I needn’t name the target gender. With a range of prices, brands, and occasional (ask nicely) free tastings, this is a good store to visit with friends, sisters, or even Mom.

When it comes to men’s shoes, Baltimore’s no different than most places in America––you’ve basically got the discount warehouses and the mall brands. There is some good stuff in both. But if you’re feeling snooty and you’ve got money to spend, try Gian Marco Menswear in Mount Vernon (33 S. Charles Street). In addition to their distinctive clothing (suits) and sportswear (not for playing sports), they’ve got a limited but memorable selection of fine Italian shoes. Men’s shoes are in some ways trickier than women’s. You want to stand out, but you don’t want to look like a jackass. Gian Marco gets it right.

Finally, if you’re going to bother buying decent shoes, then you’ve got to take care of them. Make Eugene’s Shoe Repair in Roland Park (516 W. Coldspring Lane) part of your routine every few months––for polishing, heel repair, and resoling. It’s a tiny place, and the staff isn’t particularly sweet-tempered, but they know what they’re doing and they do it on the cheap.

Where’s your favorite place to get shod?

Photo by flickr user danielle_blue.

Oh, Baltimore, there is so much we love about you. We love that you’re self-deprecating: Hon Fest, Jon Waters, all those “Greatest City in America” benches. (Oh, wait, that was serious?) We love that you’re unpretentious, unlike those folks down in the federal city to our south. But most of all, we love the food. Blue Moon Café, Golden West, Woodberry Kitchen, Thairish… we could go on and on.   But when it comes to Baltimore cuisine, well, there’s just no way of getting around crabs.  And we’re totally in love with that.

The Sun’s Dining at Large blog recently pointed us in the direction of two-dollar crabs Tuesday night down at Ryleigh’s Oyster in Federal Hill. We’re going to go out on a limb and say that sounds like a pretty good deal. Toss in the same deal on the same night at Riptide by the Bay’s in Fells Point and Tuesday night starts looking like crab night in this town.

The other option is to host your own crab feast… and why wouldn’t you want to do that?  You get to do ridiculous, Chesapeake-only things like buying crabs by the bushel and drinking Natty Boh. There are way too many crab shacks and places to buy crabs in the area to list—we’re partial to LP Steamers, but we haven’t come close to trying them all—so we’re glad that ABC2 News did a good job with their round-up. For the record, a bushel usually contains somewhere between 60 and 70 crabs, enough to feed 10 to 12 people, more if crab isn’t the only thing on the menu. We recommend having the party outside during the daytime; crab picking can be messy business for the inexperienced. The experienced, however, can compete for the title of Miss Baltimore Crabs, a title worth having.

Photo by flickr user wallyg.

Despite, or perhaps in conjunction with the recession, Fells Point can now claim the best example of metonymic optimism of any Baltimore neighborhood. The architectural preservation panel in Fells Point has just approved plans for a $60 million renovation of the historic Broadway Market.

The Broadway Market has held its current location for over 200 years. The present market building was built in 1864, though a fire in the 1960s did away with the second story. It should be noted that while plans are in place to restore the historic structures along the 600 and 700 block of South Broadway (including the aforementioned second story), the lion’s share of the budget will go toward the 160 apartments and 30,000 square feet of window-shoppable retail space adjacent to the market.

One of the project’s goals is to generate more local street traffic at all hours, and thus to break the tautology of crummy neighborhood avoidance. South Broadway Properties, which is a partnership between David Holmes and Daniel Winner, has been purchasing individual units of property since 2005. Their plans are now one panel vote closer to execution.

What do you think of the Broadway Market in either its present tense form or its future subjunctive?

Photo by flickr user C'bou

The season is here for grass stains, paper-bag wine, and canoodling in public. Baltimore’s venerable tradition of outdoor summer movies is back. There are a slew of locations at which to participate in this magical rite, and new, unofficial venues are always popping up. Check out this list, then scour your own neighborhood for the sound of toddlers laughing and the smell of fingers burning on projector bulbs.

1. Village of Cross Keys in Roland Park (5100 Falls Road) got the celluloid spinning first this summer, with Baltimore-themed showings every Saturday at 6:00 p.m., and will continue June 13 with (the more recent) Hairspray.

2. The quad in front of Gilman Hall on the Hopkins Homewood Campus in Charles Village (3400 N. Charles Street) hosts a live music and film series Fridays this summer. Next up on June 12 are the Swingin’ Swamis and a rival showing of Hairspray. Music starts at 7:30 p.m., movie after.

3. Broadway Pier in Fells Point is showing mostly grown-up pictures Wednesdays at 8:45 p.m. starting July 1 with the exception-to-the rule Ice Age.

4. Also starting on July 1, the Center Plaza (217 N. Charles Street) will be the grassy locale of choice for Downtown movie viewers Wednesdays at 7:00 p.m. Information for this series is a little spottier, due to its relative youth (this is only year two), but last year the movies were raucous, crowd-pleasing action flicks. Caveat freeloader.

5. The American Visionary Arts Museum in Federal Hill (800 Key Highway) has one of the most popular summer film series in Baltimore. Show time is 9:00 p.m. Thursdays – starting July 2 with Raiders of the Lost Ark. The movies in this series tend to be at least a decade or two old, if that’s what you’re looking for. And as a (truly first-rate) perk, the museum will be open and free from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on show nights.

6. Finally, stop by the intersection of High and Stiles Streets in Little Italy Fridays at 9:00 p.m. starting July 3 to add a dose of Italian (herbs and seasoning if not always language) to your summer movie binge. The first installment will be Moonstruck.

Where do you plan to spread your blanket and squeal at the scary parts this summer?

photo by ok_morpheus

Here’s a new toy for use in supplementing your real estate-driven daydreams. It’s a web site called walkscore.com, and it’s more or less easy to use once you get past the initially counterintuitive layout. Why, pray tell, should you care about a walk score, whatever that means? Well, I had fun typing in addresses of places I live, have lived, might live, or comically would never want to live, and basking in the instantaneous feedback the site gave me on their relative walkability. (Side note: is it too early to declare a moratorium on the suffix ‘-ability?’)

More pertinent to you and your well-being, Baltimore’s own Federal Hill recently ranked #59 on walkscore.com’s list of highly pedestrian-friendly American neighborhoods. Not impressed? Well, the ranking is out of 2508 neighborhoods, which means that if we considered this range as representative of 50 tiers of quality, Fed Hill would be resting easy at the top of tier 49. More to the point, out of the 138 neighborhoods deemed “Walkers’ Paradises,” Charm Town got three––FH, Fell’s Point, and the Inner Harbor. These are neighborhoods that ranked at least 90 out of 100 on the web site’s scale of walking convenience. The Big Apple, predictably, got 38, and San Francisco and D.C. also snapped up leonine shares. So we did pretty good, all things considered.

Besides, once you’ve gotten past the whole my-neighborhood-could-whip-your-neighborhood aspect of the list, you can check out the site’s shockingly decipherable, color-coded map of Baltimore, with neighborhood breakdowns and lists of all the lovely places to which one can walk, according to distance. One last caveat: if you’re anything like me, you’ll be delighted to stumble upon all the neat stuff buried in this site, but then when you attempt to replicate your discoveries for the benefit of a friend, you’ll find the site’s labyrinthine structure to be a real pain. Like any good drug, the first time is a blast; after that, complications arise.

Where’s your favorite place to walk in Baltimore?