You may have heard that Baltimore has been disparaged recently. Here at Baltimore, we’ve spent 112 years celebrating this city—and we’re not about to back down now. Take a look back as we revisit some of the many reasons why Charm City lives up to its name. Here are some highlights from our archives:
We’ve got Otterbein’s.
The sacred sugar cookies of Bawlmer.
And the best crab houses in the country.
From Captain James, Oprah’s favorite, to the James Beard Award-winning Schultz’s Crab House.
Photography by Scott Suchman
Oprah Winfrey got her start here on WJZ.
Recently, she made a local news appearance on WBAL to defend Baltimore’s honor. “This charming city is anything but full of rats,” she said.
Illustration by Anita Kunz
We have sports legends.
The Iron Man even beat The Iron Horse’s streak!
Photography by Mike Morgan
Our chefs win James Beard Awards.
Woodberry Kitchen’s Spike Gjerde is a farm-to-fork pioneer. Even former First Lady Michelle Obama eats here.
Photography by Mike Morgan
We have some of the best museums in the country.
Among them are the first-of-its-kind National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture, and the Baltimore Museum of Art—which is expected to unveil its upcoming Matisse center by 2021, making it the premier place to study the French artist and his works.
Some of the most iconic artists hail from here.
John Waters, Blaze Starr, and Joyce Scott. (Need we say more?)
-Bryan Burris
We have the largest free arts festival in the country.
Local legends (Ethel Ennis) to national names (TLC) have stepped up to the stage here.
Our symphony is home to conductor Marin Alsop, the first woman to head a major American orchestra.
In an era when symphonies around the country are closing their doors permanently, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is one of only 25 of the 800 or so U.S. orchestras to have been around for more than 100 years.
Photography by David Colwell
We invented just about everything.
Hyperbole? We think not. Read on.
Sean McCabe