Friday, July 10, 2009

Fell's Point Star Spangled Banner Comes in on a Horse with a Raven


Cobble-stoned street neighborhood friendliness, taverns haunted by the ghosts of sailors and prostitutes, thick air weighted down by ocean decay, drunken merriment and gregarious intoxication, history and modernity, a northern city in a southern town- "just like Bar Harbor, Maine," a quiet day town at night too loud, hanging into the water, a tiny peninsula where water brings people in and takes them away. Fell's Point, home to Edgar Allen Poe and Michael Phelps.



"The Battle of Baltimore" was a turning point in the War of 1812. The American's defense of Fort McHenry led Francis Scott Key to write the Star Spangled Banner, somewhere out in that water.


Row homes, tall and boat like, look out at the streets.


Local folklore holds that that Cat's Eye Pub is haunted...though I wasn't able to take the Fell's Point Ghost Walk as it is only offered on Friday and Saturday. Ghosts have the good life. They take Monday through Friday off, working only on the weekends and when Ghosthunters come by.


Rumor has it that Edgar Allen Poe stumbled home drunk from this bar the night that he died. And, of course, he can still be seen falling over the cobblestones on many a Halloween-ish nights.

If the hauntings get you down, you can always walk down to the pier and visit with this happy crab. He looks out over the water with mild amusement and allows tourists to take photos with him all day long. A much more accessible schedule than resident ghosts.


4 comments:

  1. hey just read some off your blog and it has had a positive effect on me. it is inspiring to see somebody traveling all over the country trying to improve the world. keep it up.i am from england and i like to see different countries, you have some really cool pictures, i enjoyed seeing all the different places you have been. people really like to see things from another point of view. check out my blog if you want
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    ReplyDelete
  2. In Fells Point, did you happen to go to Duda's? The best crabcakes in the world. Great pictures.

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  3. Excellent pictures and you really have a way with telling the reader exactly what the place is all about in a way which makes it both accessible and entertaining.
    :)
    Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog, and I'll certainly be following this one..it's fascinating.

    xxx

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  4. Hi Bruce-

    I didn't make it to Duda's, but I had some great crab cakes at Ram's Head in Annapolis! Thanks for stopping by.

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Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.
- Oscar Wilde

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