3183 Baltimore: A City of Neighborhoods
November 6 - November 12
When asking a Baltimore native where he lives, he will tell you the name of his neighborhood. Baltimore is just that: a city of neighborhoods. Second only to Ellis Island, Baltimore teemed with fledgling Americans who first set foot on American soil in Fell’s Point , developing neighborhoods that still retain the cultures and flavors of their early settlers: Polish, Jew, Italian, English, Irish, German, Scot, French, Greek, free whites and free blacks, slaves, indentured servants. We’ll spend our week exploring many of those neighborhoods to learn about their residents and history.
Join us in our six day, five night stay at the Admiral Fell Inn and walk the ballasted streets of Baltimore’s oldest neighborhood and Maryland’s first National Registered Historic District: Fell’s Point. Founded in the early 1700s by shipbuilder William Fell, Fell’s Point was Baltimore’s deepwater shipbuilding port for over a century. The home of the famous Baltimore Clipper ships, two of the first ships in the U.S. Navy, USS Constellation and USS Enterprise, and residents who financed “privateers” that helped win the War of 1812. Only a five minute walk to a water taxi, we quickly find ourselves in the modern downtown Inner Harbor, the convenient location of the National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, the Museum of Industry, Visionary Arts Museum, and two pavilions offering numerous choices for shopping and dinner.
Today, Fell’s Point retains much of its history and charm with historic houses, pubs, and magnificent waterfront. We’ll gather our first night in the rooftop Admiral Fell Inn’s Cloud Room for a welcome reception, scrumptious dinner, and presentation of the week ahead. You’ll soon discover that The Cloud Room is aptly named because of its commanding view of historic Baltimore.
During our first full day, we’ll travel to the Inner Harbor for a visit to the USS Constellation museum and ship where we will learn the everyday duties (bracing the yards, turning the capstan, and drilling with one of the ship’s broadside guns) in the lives of those who served at sea in Mr. Lincoln’s Navy.
After lunch at John Stephen’s Pub in Fell’s Point, we’ll tour the Robert Long House and colonial garden and enjoy a lecture, ”Sailor Lore,” by Jack Trautwein, local resident and preservationist. Our walk back to the Inn will include a park ranger tour focusing on the iconoclastic neighborhood’s storefronts, centuries-old pubs, and fun restaurants.
Late afternoon, we’ll be joined by Alan Reese, Towson University OLLI instructor, for a lecture on H.L. Mencken. Baltimore native and one of the most storied journalists in American history, Mencken is considered by some to have been the most powerful private citizen in the 1920s.
Day two, we’ll travel by bus to Baltimore’s Mt. Vernon Square neighborhood where we will enjoy a walking architectural tour of the 18th and 19th Century homes. The centerpiece of the square is the country’s first monument dedicated to General George Washington. Originally to be build near the waterfront, residents’ fears of it toppling in a strong wind, forced the monument to be built in the country on the highest hill in Baltimore. Considered the cultural heart of the city, Mt. Vernon was home and gathering place for Robert Garrett, father of the B&O Railroad, and major philanthropists such as Johns Hopkins and Enoch Pratt.
On the way to the Enoch Pratt Library for a tour of the H. L. Mencken Room, which holds many original manuscripts, typewriter, desk and other artifacts, we’ll see the Basilica of the Assumption, home of the Baltimore Archdiocese, the oldest in the country.
After a break for lunch at the Peabody Court Hotel, we’ll tour the Edgar Allen Poe House learning details of his sad and haunted life and Westminster Hall where the famous Poe gravesite is located.
The following day we’ll travel through Baltimore’s Westside neighborhood to tour the Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers museum, St. Peter the Apostle Catholic Church, designed by famous Baltimore-born architect, Robert Carey Long, Jr., and the B&O Railroad Museum. St Peter’s Church, an architectural wonder itself, was built to serve the great influx of Irish immigrants. In the late 1870s, The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad erected stations, roundhouses, shops, yards, and other labor demanding structures and the newly arrived Irish responded to the call. Located at the church, the Sisters of Mercy Order trained the Irish and free blacks for domestic work.
As a special treat, we’ll enjoy a hot lunch at the B&O Railroad Museum before a guided tour of the Roundhouse, Mt. Clare Station, and Exhibit Gallery. We’ll discover how standard time evolved from the railroad, view rare china that was used in 19th Century dining cars, and marvel at the miniature railroad cars and locomotives of the Smithsonian’s Model Railroad Collection.
We’re Annapolis bound for the fourth day of our trip. Just an hour away from Baltimore, Annapolis, named in honor of Princess Anne who became queen of England in 1702, is the capital of Maryland and from 1783 to August 1784, served as the United State's first peacetime national capital. The U.S. Naval Academy will be our first stop with a guided tour of Tamanend Court (affectionately called Tecumseh by the cadets), named for the court’s sculptured figurehead from the USS Delaware 1817, Bancroft Hall Museum, a mid-shipman’s room in LeJeune Hall, the Naval Academy’s famed Chapel, and the Crypt of John Paul Jones.
After lunch at historic Ram’s Head Tavern on Church Circle, we’ll take an afternoon stroll through the Maryland State House, the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use, view archaeological discoveries, and hear the history behind the centuries old homes. As part of our tour we will focus on four generations of Maryland “women of achievement” and their considerable contribution to American history.
Slavery played a large role in Annapolis and Maryland economy. Alex Haley, the late author of the world-famous account of his family entitled Roots, was able to trace back the arrival of his ancestors, who had been kidnapped from Africa, to the Annapolis City Dock. Our Banneker-Douglass African American Heritage Museum tour offers detailed, generally unknown, historical information about early African-American accomplishments that helped pave the way for future generations. Mathias de Sousa was Maryland’s first colonist of African American descent; Matthew Henson accompanied Lt. Robert Perry to the North Pole; Isaac Myers supervised waterproofing of Fell’s Point’s largest clipper ships; Benjamin Banneker helped survey the boundaries of Washington, DC. Harriet Tubman called the Moses of her people as she led them from slavery; Frederick Douglass eventually became the most powerful voice for equality in the nation’s history; Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American Supreme Court Justice.
Later, we’ll gather at the Annapolis Waterfront for dinner at Carol’s Creek. With a commanding view of the historic city of Annapolis and a delicious dinner, it will be the final step before boarding the bus back to Baltimore and the Inn.
For our final morning in Baltimore, there is no better place to visit than Fort McHenry, home of the Star-Spangled Banner, to see history come alive. After a short film on the circumstances leading up to Key’s imprisonment by the British, a Park Ranger will lead us on a tour of the fort itself including the fort’s critical importance during the Civil War.
From there, we’ll travel to Little Italy for lunch and lecture on the reasons behind the development of one of the largest immigrant neighborhoods in the city.
Insider tour
OLLI Registrar, Kay Cole, a 34-year resident of Baltimore and docent for the Maryland Historical Society, has enjoyed writing and leading school tours through the many historic areas of Baltimore, such as Fell’s Point and Federal Hill. She has also conducted tours in Historic Annapolis.
Included
Five nights at Admiral Fell Inn, all breakfasts, four lunches, three dinners, and Halloween Program: Please see page 39.
Not included
Air fare, beverages,cancellation insurance (recommended), and items of a personal nature.
This trip involves considerable walking out of doors. Persons must be able to walk unassisted at least one mile over cobbled and uneven surfaces during the course of each day, step on and off a boat, and stand for up to thirty minutes. Please consider these requirements carefully before registering.
Member: $1,194 Non-member: $1294Single Supplement: $375
Reservation Deadline: September 16
Payment in full is required at time of registration.
Cancellations prior to September 10th are fully refundable; September 11 -November 7: no refund.
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