Hip Baltimore

Get to the point

AN ECLECTIC MIX OF GRIT, CHARM AND HISTORY, THE SEASIDE BALTIMORE NEIGHBORHOOD OF FELL’S POINT IS IN A STATE OF PERMANENT RENAISSANCE.

BY J. LOUISE LARSON | PHOTOGRAPHY BY ANNA SANTANA

DESPITE HAVING BEEN captured in seedy realism with hand-held cameras in the TV drama “Homicide:

Life on the Street,” the Fell’s Point neighborhood is now hip and colorful, a largely restored historic community just east of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. (Th e area’s history is apparent in the Federal and Georgian architecture that was spared from the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.)

It’s an appealing destination for young urban professionals and empty nesters alike, with cobblestone streets hosting festivals and events that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Th e area’s cultural wealth includes galleries, museums and funky live music venues. But 40 years ago it was a diff erent story. In the 1960s, much of the Baltimore harborfront was slated for demolition to make room for a seaside path for I-95—until local historic enthusiasts like Denise Whitman took up the banner of what became known as the “Road Fight” in a massive grass roots effort.

“What finally stopped it was when [the area] was declared a National Registered Historic District,” says Whitman, the associate director of the local Preservation Society and a 29-year resident of Fell’s Point. With 2,800 houses documented as historic with the Department of the Interior, Fell’s Point was saved, and the voyage from neglect to restoration officially began. “Growth has come from around the harbor, and that would have all been lost if the road went through,” she says.

Th e community is drawing a new wave of residents. Compared to other home-buying markets, Fell’s Point is considered an aff ordable spot to invest in a town house or condo in a niche carved out of a vintage tobacco warehouse. A vintage Fell’s Point brick row house may be found for as little as $100,000 prior to renovations; aft er transformation, it may fetch two or three times as much.

History is heavily intertwined in Fell’s Point’s mixed residential and commercial usage. Th e Admiral Fell Inn (www.admiralfell.com) is one of several modernized historic accommodations. It boasts retellings of stories of resident-friendly ghosts stemming from a long and illustrious history, and off ers luxurious amenities with a regional flavor such as aft ernoon tea and Wednesday evening sea shanty sing-alongs.

Nearby, Broadway Market (410-685-6169), founded in 1784, showcases the area’s colorful past. Vendors still off er fresh produce, seafood and baked goods hearkening back to the community’s founding.

Namesake William Fell was the first to see the area’s promise as a natural deepwater port in 1726. Parceled off aft er his death, the land saw growth spring up in the 1760s. Fell’s Point became part of Baltimore City, retaining the shipyard traditions even aft er shipping commuted via a dredged channel to the city’s Inner Harbor; many streets bear names of Fell family members.

From her Fountain Street address, Whitman has a view of the harbor that extends across the Chesapeake to Fort McHenry. Her 200-year-old house was home to Th omas Kemp, who figured prominently in the War of 1812 as a premier builder of the rake-masted Baltimore clipper ships. Famed for speed and maneuverability, the boats built at Fell’s Point confounded the British and helped turn the tide of war in America’s favor.

Two hundred years later, aff ordability and atmosphere are drawing people back to the water. Whitman says, “Th ey’re returning to Fell’s Point because of the ambience. We’re right on Baltimore’s harbor, a working waterfront historic maritime community. It’s hard not to fall in love with the city views and the waterfront, with ships going in and out and tugs pulling up just about at your doorstep.”

AirTran Airways provides daily flights to and from Baltimore. Visit www.airtran.com for more info.

PUB GRUB & A SEAFOOD SENSATION

Whether you’re looking to slake your thirst at a pub with a sailor-inspired name like Ale Mary’s (www.alemarys.com) or The Wharf Rat (www.thewharfrat.com), or feast on traditional lump crab cakes at one of the many local eateries that serve Maryland’s trademark delicacy, Fell’s Point offers historic Baltimore City bounty all around.

With classic harborfront ambiance, Bertha’s Restaurant & Bar (www.berthas.com) is a block from the pier. “You walk in and feel really comfortable. In the late 1800s it was a seaport bar, and there’s a lot of that left,” says Andy Norris, the restaurant’s second-generation proprietor.

In the dining room, you can still meet the original Bertha via a stained-glass portrait salvaged from a Baltimore church. “Eat Bertha’s Mussels” has become one of the more famous bumper sticker slogans among foodies of the East Coast. Local mussels shine as the menu’s spotlight—along with international delicacies like paella and at least six different ways to enjoy crab. And a Scottish afternoon tea tradition started by Norris’ Scottish-immigrant grandmother is available by reservation.