Ask people around the country what they think of when they think of Baltimore and you might hear something about baseball or Johns Hopkins or something else positive, but there’s a decent chance that what you’ll hear won’t be so great. The national image of Baltimore has taken a hit, thanks to popular shows like The Wire, a show focusing on Baltimore’s drug underworld. Yes, there are problems here; The Wire isn’t pure fiction. But those who know this city intimately know there is so much more (after all, the creator of The Wire still chooses to live here). In fact, this duality is one of the things that makes Baltimore such a distinctive place. So often it has been the case that when playing unofficial tour guide to out-of-town visitors, I hear them frequently remark with admiration, “I had no idea,” when I point out some piece of history or take them to a great neighborhood far off the beaten path. This is a city that constantly surprises and a city that has it all: terrific cultural institutions, wonderful bars and restaurants, and more recreation and green space than most people realize. There is a reason the colonial settlers built a town here: Baltimore enjoys a special geographic spot, sandwiched between the Alleghenies to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east and sitting atop the country’s largest estuary. It enjoys four seasons, moderate temperature, and quick and easy access to all the things that make living in the Mid-Atlantic such a pleasure. It’s not for nothing that Baltimore and its environs have been called The Land of Pleasant Living. So let others cling to a one-sided or negative view. Let them reduce this great city to what they see on TV. We lucky ones can see all the things that make Baltimore one of the world’s great places.

1 FORT MCHENRY: STAR-SPANGLED GLORY

BOUNDARIES: Constellation Plaza, sea wall

DISTANCE: > 1 mile

DIFFICULTY: Easy

PARKING: In the lot at Constellation Plaza, in front of the visitor center

PUBLIC TRANSIT: MTA bus #1, Water Taxi #17

This is a short walk that’s long on history and rather unforgettable as a result. It was here that Francis Scott Key, one of Maryland’s most famous native sons, penned the poem that would become the American national anthem. Fearing a British attack after our Declaration of Independence, the citizens of Baltimore hastily constructed an earthen fort, Fort Whetstone, on the banks of the Patapsco River. The attack never materialized, but the spot continued to be recognized as particularly strategic. Construction on a more permanent fort with masonry walls began in 1798 and was completed in 1803. It was named after James McHenry, America’s second Secretary of War. It was in the War of 1812 that the fort shined brightest and gave Americans a rallying point that stirs emotions to this day. The feared British attack from decades earlier materialized on September 13–14, 1814. The British had already marched on Washington, burned the Capitol, and now set their sights on Baltimore, then America’s third-largest city and occupying a prime location. Key, on a British warship in the harbor to negotiate the release of Marylander Dr. William Beanes, listened to the bombardment through the night and was shocked and thrilled to see the American flag, that “star-spangled banner,” still waving come morning. One thousand brave Americans had repelled the attack, and the fledging nation was on its way to a future of unprecedented prosperity and might. Today Fort McHenry is the only attraction in the National Park System administered as both a Historic Shrine and a National Monument.

Begin in the gleaming new $15 million visitor center, constructed in 2011, in time for the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Baltimore. The original visitor center was built in 1964 and was designed to accommodate some 150,000 tourists. But the site eventually came to regularly attract upwards of 650,000 visitors per year. Now, with the wonderful new structure and the bicentennial of the battle approaching, the National Park Service expects that Fort McHenry could soon start seeing a million or more visitors a year.The new center is a beauty. A two-story LEED-certified (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) building, it houses artifacts, a bronze statue of Francis Scott Key (conspicuously missing from the previous visitor center), and a wonderful film with an ending that could stir even the most hardened heart. The original manuscript of Key’s famous poem was on loan for the first few months after the visitor center’s grand opening, but to see it now, you’ll have to visit the Maryland Historical Society. That’s easy enough to do; just follow Walk 16: Mt. Vernon.

When you’re through at the visitor center, walk onto the grounds. Follow the path from the back of the visitor center toward the V-shaped wedge sitting opposite the fort. This is the ravelin, designed to protect the fort’s entrance from direct attack.

Opposite the ravelin in the arched entryway, you’ll notice underground rooms to either side of the entrance. These originally served as bombproofs but doubled as powder magazines during the Civil War.

Just ahead are the parade grounds and flagpole. Flag-changing ceremonies take place each day at 9:30 a.m. and 4:20 p.m. Tradition holds that each new official American flag (to commemorate the inclusion into the Union of Alaska or Hawaii, for example) is flown first at Fort McHenry, before anywhere else in the country.The fort as you see it today doesn’t look exactly as it did when it was built more than 200 years ago. The years have seen many additions and improvements to suit evolving needs; indeed, the fort has served changing national interests from the start. After its prominent role in the War of 1812, Fort McHenry became home to training soldiers for the war with Mexico in 1846–1848.

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