Baltimore is a funky kinda’ town. Sure, it’s the home of John Waters, Edgar Allen Poe and The Wire (as we were repeatedly reminded by our more cable-savvy friends), but that doesn’t come close to defining this funkified place. Unlike most cities that butt up against a major metropolis, Baltimore has not morphed into a D.C. prime. Rather, it seems that B-more has been able to develop and maintain a very singular local identity despite being so geographically close to such an east coast behemoth.
At first, I wanted to try to distill for all of you the sense that I got from being in Baltimore, and, believe you me, it is a distinctive place. However, after many failed drafts and no clever new ideas, I’ve decided to turn to the evidence. Let’s take a look, shall we, at some of the things that gave me an inkling that Baltimore had more to it than crabs and Johns Hopkins:
1. The Herm (as in Hermaphrodite, officially known as Male/Female by Jonathan Borofsky). Among it’s many pieces of public art, the city of Baltimore granted a prominent position outside Penn Station to a giant human figure that viewed from one direction looks strikingly male and from another direction, distinctly female. Way to live up to your Hairspray roots, Baltimore!
2. The ubiquitous rowhouse. Although many of you have seen this type of building in cities all up and down the east coast, I challenge you to find another place where the architectural landscape is so visually dominated by this particular type of domicile. It makes for a unique, but strangely unified, cityscape.
3. American Museum of Visionary Art. Any city willing to support a museum entirely stocked by art from the mentally ill, the uneducated and those simply outside the realm of the known art world has obviously made an investment in maintaining it’s proud outsider status.
4. The National Bohemian. This beer has a conspicuous presence in Baltimore’s billboards, bar windows and in the hands of any imbibing Baltimorian. We have not, however, been able to find it anywhere outside the Baltimore city limits. What gives, B-more? Why do you want to keep the Natty Bohs all to yourselves?
So, although this is a meager smattering of all that Baltimore has to offer, I think it’s scope is broad enough to give you a general sense of what I experienced. It has gotten me to thinking, though, about how all of these things come together to create a local identity. What do you all think….do the people shape the city or does the city shape it’s people? What’s going to happen to local identities as it becomes more prevalent for people to move away from their hometowns and to continue to move (e.g. job relocation) throughout their lives? Will we put more or less value on local identity as a result of our changing migratory patterns? Is homogenization into a land of strip malls and chain restaurants inevitable? Well, there’s just a couple of questions to get you thinking, and, while you’re at it, get to our suggestion box and let us know what’s great about your hometown and why we should (or shouldn’t) make it a stop along the way.
Oh, and major props to B & C for their outstanding hospitality and general fantastic-ness. And, Pedro, it was great to see you! When you finally decide to move to that hippie biker commune, let us know, so we can visit.
p.s. We went to Washington for a day while we were in Baltimore. See pictures below.
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