This year saw major changes at some of the region’s biggest cultural institutions, not all of them good. But there’s plenty worth celebrating, including labor peace at the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s central branch reopening after renovations and local designer Bishme Cromartie finding fame on “Project Runway.” Here’s our rundown of the most significant cultural stories of 2019. (Brandon Weigel)

All entries by Bret McCabe except where noted.

The Maryland Zoo has picked Kirby Fowler, the long-time head of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, to be its next president and CEO, replacing the attraction’s leader for 10 years, Don Hutchinson.

Fowler is set to start at the zoo in April 2020 and will oversee its 250 employees, 225 volunteers and 1,500 animals. After a brief transition period, Hutchinson will step down at the end of June 2020.

“Murder on the Orient Express,” first a popular paperback and later multiple star–studded movies, has always been fun, gorgeous nonsense. The lavish staging now at Everyman is no different, despite the inherent handicap of bringing a complex, many-character mystery to stage.

The production sparkles with high-energy performances, witty banter and beautiful sets. But keeping track of so many characters and their alibis is almost impossible, and the mystery’s solution doesn’t make much sense, as you probably already know if you’ve read the book or seen one of the movies.

In its heyday, the Westside of downtown was the nexus of shopping in Baltimore, with department stores such as Hochschild Kohn, Hecht’s and Stewart’s all lining Howard Street.

And of course there was Hutzler’s, whose palatial flagship store, built in the 19th century, remains an icon of that bygone era. According to Maryland Historical Trust, Hutzler’s, which started out as a dry goods store just before the Civil War, “is believed to hold the record for longevity in an original location among American department stores.”