Fort Meade & NSA
by Ewingjr98
The 5,000 acre Fort Meade was established in 1917 and named for Civil War General George Meade. The fort was a training camp at the end of WWI, and in WWII it served as a training camp and prisoner of war camp. The National Security Agency (NSA) began operations at Fort Meade in the 1950s, and today the National Cryptologic Museum is perhaps the only part of the fort open to the public.
Historic Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower
by grandmaR
Acetaminophen, sodium bicarbonate, and citric acid (a-seat-a-MIN-oh-fen, SOE-dee-um bi-KAR-boe-nate, and SI-trik AS-id) is a combination taken to relieve pain caused by heartburn, sour stomach, or acid indigestion. The acetaminophen is a pain reliever. The sodium bicarbonate is an antacid to neutralize stomach acid by combining with it to form a new substance that is not an acid. This medicine called Bromo Seltzer is available without a prescription.
Captain Isaac Emerson, the inventor of Bromo-Seltzer had this tower built at 312-318 West Lombard St. and South Paca St. next to his factory. The factory no longer exists.
Modeled after the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy the Bromo Seltzer tower has been a Baltimore landmark since 1911, although there are other buildings on the skyline that overshadow it now.
I don't remember it, but the tower was originally topped with a 51-foot revolving replica of the blue Bromo-Seltzer bottle, which was illuminated by 596 lights and could be seen from 20 miles away. The bottle had to be removed in 1936 (before my time) due to structural concerns.
The four clock faces are all still working and the face displays the word BROMO-SELTZER instead of numbers. The tower is not open to the public.
Typical large city. People...
by Yarm35
Typical large city. People are busy, but will be helpful; especially around Inner Harbor where they are used to tourists.
If going to a baseball or football game... expect traffic police to be 'short' as they are busy handling traffic and if you stop you affect flow of traffic. Watch road signs, they are good. If you have serious problem or question... police will politely help.
Baltimore & Annapolis Trail
by frankcanfly
This paved trail is 10 feet wide, and over 15 miles long..... can you guess where it goes??
It's part of the Eastcoast Greenway system that will eventually extend from Maine to Florida. If you want to ride Horses, you'd better go to the North Central trail. The Rollerblade is King here, the paved trail is smooth with gentle slopes.
George Peabody Library
by Dabs
If you find yourself near the Washington Monument or the Walters Museum in the Mount Vernon neighborhood and have an interest in architecture, be sure to stop by the Peabody Library for a peek at the cast iron balconies and glass ceiling. And if you are a lover of books as well, the Peabody boasts over 300,000 volumes, many of them rare books, some dating back to the early days of the printing press.
There is also currently a special exhibit on writer H.L. Mencken before you enter the library that is running through January 1, 2007 and I poked around and found the beautiful spiral staircase in the attached photos. You can see a photo of the library on the attached website, mine didn't turn out.
If you are there just to look at the architecture and not to read, the website lists the following viewing hours but my guidebook suggested that they probably wouldn't turn you away at other times.
Tuesday-Saturday, 10-10:15am
Tuesday-Friday, 3-3:15pm
For readers, the library is accessible all day, Mon-Fri 9am-5pm and Sat 9am-1pm.
Located in Mount Vernon at 17 E. Mount Vernon Place, near the intersection of Charles and Centre St.