Advertisement
Published: March 25th 2009
Baltimore Light Rail
An easy way to get to downtown Baltimore without driving and parking problems.Mistakes can really help a person have a good time. While Bill was still in Prague during December, I had a sudden impulse to give a more generous than normal donation to our local PBS television program. The donation had a real bonus attached. Along with an annual membership I got two tickets to a live performance at the Hippodrome Theater in Baltimore, Maryland of the group “Celtic Women”. Bill’s sister introduced us about 3 years ago to the TV broadcasts of the concerts by these lovely young woman and the musicians who accompany them. They are not our ‘favorite’ singing group but they are quite good and we always enjoy their PBS performances. I thought it would be a good late Christmas gift for both of us since we were not spending Christmas together in 2008. The tickets arrived about three weeks ago and we made plans to enjoy a day in Baltimore and then go to the concert in the evening. When last Wednesday arrived, the day was unusually warm and sunny for an early March day. So, we decided instead of going to the downtown area and enjoying the Inner Harbor we would head for some place new.
Clipper Mill Gutierrez Show Room
Beautiful objects made in workroom to the left. We drove to the end of the light rail line and bought the discounted tickets for senior citizens ($1.20 for a full day’s pass-what a bargain!). We rode the light rail train all the way to Timonium Fairgrounds where that train terminated and found we could easily get to the state fair by public transportation. That was good information for a future day trip. Then we boarded the next train which goes all the way to Hunt Valley. At Hunt Valley we got off and explored the beautiful, upscale shopping area just at the end of the line. We decided to eat our supper there and then ride back downtown in time for the concert. The food was very good and not too expensive so quite full of a delicious salad we headed back downtown. When we got to the right stop and walked to the theater, we saw there was still a half hour until the doors opened, so we went into the Starbucks across the street and ordered a European Hot Chocolate for me (Nancy) and a enormous coffee for Bill plus a big piece of cake. Obviously our salads had settled down some to make room for
all of this! Bill had a surprise when the coffee was free because they were making a new pot and he had to wait all of about 3 minutes for it to be served. We sat and talked and enjoyed the leisure and the good drinks and cake and when the theater doors opened, got up and walked to the curb. Just as we were waiting for the ‘Don’t walk’ sign to change, I suddenly had a brain storm. “Billy, this is the wrong night! Our tickets are for the 18th and that is next week.” He and I started to laugh, turned around and walked back to the light rail and headed home.
So, why was this mistake such a good thing? On the way to Hunt Valley we had noticed two very interesting stops. First Woodberry and then Mt. Washington. At Woodberry we could see some really interesting old stone houses. There were at least 4 and perhaps 5 visible from the train. I had written down the names of these two stops as we went north and we had decided the next time we were in Baltimore we would ride that far north and get
off and make some photos of the houses. We thought we would spend 15 to 30 minutes at Woodberry and then get back on the next train and ride to Mt. Washington which looked like a really neat town.
This week on Wednesday we again hit the weather jackpot with a sunny, warm day in the midst of rainy and cold days. We went straight to Woodberry on the light rail and got off to make our photos. First we came to a very sad sight. There was a memorial to a fine young fireman who had died while trying to put out a fire in one of the mills/foundries in Woodberry. The Clipper Mill had burned down and the roof had caved in on the firefighters. Thankfully only one of the men died that day. This tragedy and his bravery are memorialized by a picture and a plaque on the ruined wall of one of the corners of the old building which has been left on the spot where it stood. Of course we got a picture of that.
Then we saw the pretty stream which must have been part of the reason the town was
established here. It would have provided water power for the mills and foundries. We got a picture of the stream. Then we headed on to find the stone houses. Within less than 10 yards, we realized there were a lot of stone houses and other very interesting buildings in Woodberry. So we turned left and walked past the old Clipper Mill. The site of the original buildings has been turned into modern use. Part of the site is now residential and part is for the production of fine art. The first thing we found was a blacksmith working on a forge making some product by hand. That was totally unexpected. Then we saw the Guttierez building and business which he must be a part of. This business works in one of the old buildings which has been turned into a magnificent show room with the actual workshop visible through a glass wall. The receptionist spent a long time explaining the work and the business to us. The quality of the objects on display was breathtaking. I really, really would love to own one or more of the lamps and one of the armoires they had on display. They do fine
Clipper Mill Glass
You need to see the amazing variety of colors and shapes and objects. Pictures do them little justice. work in metal and wood. The two materials are married in their creations though they seem to be mutually exclusive materials. The metal just enhances the natural beauty of the woods in a remarkable way. One of the specialties of this company is the building of dramatic and lovely staircases. They had a nice catalog of some of the work they have done. I never expected to see handmade furniture of this quality being made in Baltimore.
Next door to this workshop was perhaps an even more surprising business. In we walked to a glassblowers! We have spent so much time the last few years exploring glass objects in the Czech Republic and I must say this glass is of the finest quality when compared to that in Prague. The master glass blower has two apprentices. One is quite new and said she is just now getting used to the heat. She obviously is still doing mostly observation and helping with sales and the showroom. The showroom is so beautiful. It is full of the work done in this room. I would be proud to own any quantity of this work also. The second apprentice has lived in Prague
as a student abroad where she also worked with glass but not glass blowing. She was hard at work making objects with the master working alongside her making something very similar. I assume she was trying to match his work step by step as she was learning it. It was so fantastic to see two young women willing to put in the hard work that will continue this difficult art into the future.
Across from the two shops is a really unique swimming pool for the people who live in the residences. It looks like a pool in a Roman ruin setting. There is a large glass sculpture at the end of the pool which was blown in this workshop.
We asked if there were a restaurant in town since we could see we were going to do a lot of walking and looking around Woodberry. They pointed to the building next door and said, “Yes, only the best restaurant in Baltimore.” We stopped by the windows of the restaurant where workers were setting up tables for supper and pointed and signed for ‘When are you opening.’ They held up 5 fingers. So we headed off to see
the new ‘green’ houses which are being built for more residences to move to this charming area. Then we walked through the old part of town and got pictures of some of the stone houses. Then the battery went dead on Bill’s camera and I didn’t have mine. We walked across the tracks and tried to find a store with batteries on sale. The area was almost totally residential with many old homes. Quite a few of them were also stone. We were really surprised. By talking to two of the very helpful and friendly local folks on the street we found “Chucks” and bought two batteries. When we told the storekeeper how smart she was to settle in this interesting place, she told us her parents had lived for 50 years right across the street so it wasn’t her cleverness which had brought her to Woodberry. I suppose her parents owned the store and now she is managing it but I didn’t ask. We got a lot fewer pictures than Woodberry deserves because of the battery problem and because it was now after 5:00.
When we entered the restaurant the manager was lecturing the wait staff about the
Clipper Mill Clipper Mill Woodberry Kitchen Restaurant Southern Maryland Ham meal
Bill couldn't turn down the biscuit that came with this. The spicy kale dish under the ham was so good I ate some of it. I love veggies. local origin of the food for the evening. We learned that they serve only local vegetables and meat and seafood. That was a plus right off. When we were seated after a few minutes, a very pleasant young woman took our order. The room is most interesting. It is also in a former foundry and still has gauges on the wall, etc. There is seating on the floor and up a lovely staircase to a railing area around the top of the room. Large windows let in lots of light and the furniture, glass ware and many lovely things in the room are all made by the two local businesses mentioned above. The food was fantastic in taste and presentation and made us feel like we were really in the best restaurant in Baltimore. The manager told us they were voted #6 but I can’t imagine #’s 1-5 could really be better.
We got downtown just as the theater opened, found our seats and enjoyed a wonderful evening of live music and much good fun. Baltimore is a very good destination for a day trip for folk who live in this area. It would be a good vacation destination
Rockfish meal
I had forgotten how mouthwatering Rockfish are. With a chard & parsnip cake under it I was in heaven. for folk from anywhere. I don’t know when we will make it to Mt. Washington but the folks in Woodberry told us if we like Woodberry we would REALLY like Mt. Washington. So, another day will probably mean another light rail trip.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.108s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 12; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0665s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
jen
non-member comment
neat!
I really enjoyed reading about your visit to Woodberry. I live in one the stone house pictured above and loved hearing another's point of view about our neighborhood. We love it here and think it's a special place. By the way, there are many talented artisans that have landed in the Woodberry/Hampden area. The next time you take the light rail down, take a walk over to 36th Street aka "the Avenue" (36th Street is the road that Chuck's is on) where many of them have work on display.