Although we visited Maryland on our previous 14-month U.S.A. road trip we didn’t go through Baltimore. So here we are now!
Our first stop is the B&O Railroad Museum known as the birthplace of American railroading. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) was founded in 1827. The first station was built in 1830 and it became the primary facility of the B&O throughout the rest of the 1800’s. It expanded and the complex, in downtown Baltimore, contained shops for construction and repair of steam engines, passenger and freight cars, rails and bridges. Today the Museum consists of the old Mt. Clare Station, the Annex building (built in 1891) and the historic Roundhouse (built in 1884) and the North and South Car shops (built in 1869).
The locomotives, rail cars and other historical objects certainly helps us to understand the development of the rail industry!
I really liked these rail cars which were initially made to replicate existing transportation, i.e., stagecoaches!
There were LOTS of locomotives!
The Roundhouse was indeed a perfect way to showcase the many historical locomotives!
The inner Harbor of Baltimore has lots of great restaurants, museums and the National Aquarium. Here are just a few of the sea life we saw at the aquarium:
On the south shore of the Inner Harbor is a museum that specializes in the preservation and display of outside art. The American Visionary Art Museum consists of the Main Building, a Tall Sculpture Barn and a Wildflower Garden.
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| Main Building |
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| Tall Sculpture Barn |
Here’s a fun work of art, made from piano parts and mannequins!
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"The Piano Family: Adagio, Amorosa, and Bucky" by Allen David Christian Made from piano parts, mannequins |
And what about this huge sculpture – it’s an 1800 pound ball of 18,085 bras!
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"Bra Ball" By Emily Duffy |
It wouldn’t be a complete trip to Baltimore without a visit to the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.
Between 1833 and 1835, Edgar Allen Poe lived in this tiny brick house on North Amity Street with his aunt, grandmother and two cousins. Here Poe wrote some his early stories of mystery and horror that earned him the name Father of the Modern Short Story.
Poe died in Baltimore on October 7, 1849, of unknown causes and his death continues to be a mystery. Poe was originally buried in an unmarked grave in the Westminster Burying Grounds. However, after much neglect, several accidents and multiple burials, there is now a Memorial monument marking Poe’s final resting place in the front corner of the cemetery.
And in the back of the cemetery there is a smaller stone to commemorate the original location of the internment (which is apparently still the wrong place)!
Goodbye to Baltimore!
