State officials have picked a team of top designers to study the possibility of expanding the Baltimore Convention Center and replacing Royal Farms Arena downtown, and have broadened the scope of a separate study regarding the future of State Center.
These days, craft spirits all the rage. Those who consume alcohol now have their pick of the litter, from small-batch whiskey and gin to handmade vodka and tequila. This spring, Baltimore will play host to an entire conference devoted to the ballooning industry of craft distilled spirits.
One year after the Hippo nightclub closed due to the owner’s retirement, the fate of another gay-friendly Mount Vernon nightspot is up in the air.
You can usually tell when a “con” (that is, a convention) is in town. Suddenly the light rail (and harbor, and Lexington Market, and everything else) is full of young men dressed as My Little Ponies (BronyCon) or people of all stripes dressed as Anime characters (Otakon). It can be a little disorienting, of course, but it can also fill one with a kind of civic pride. After all, if Baltimore is the kind of place that people can comfortably assemble for their not-quite-run-of-the-mill gatherings, we think that speaks pretty well of our city. Well, here comes a convention whose attendees may be less conspicuous– but which is certainly as worthy of notice as anything else we’ve seen all year. It’s the 68th annual Sweet Adelines International Convention and Competition. For the uninitiated, that’s the world’s largest women’s barbershop harmony competition– 2015 edition.
Looks a little space age-y doesn’t it?
Architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross released renderings of an Inner Harbor revitalization project that will include convention center expansion and a waterfront park. The project is expected to cost around $900 million and take four to six years to complete. The drawings depict the revised convention center, both front and ariel views, and the waterfront park.
As our friends at Curbed put it in their story The Entertaining Expansion of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, “Baltimore’s Inner Harbor is a frequent destination for big name musical acts or Orioles fans looking for a place to drown their sorrows, but for the next few years it is going to be one big construction zone.” True that.
It’s a lot of money and a huge inconvenience but Baltimore’s Inner Harbor needs a facelift. It’s time.
