What’s New in Baltimore
Fall 2017
Contact: Kelly Nagle, Director of Communications, , 410-659-7301
There’s more to see, do and explore in Baltimore than ever before. Recently dubbed the “Coolest City on the East Coast” by Travel + Leisure, Baltimore has experienced one of the largest millennial booms in the nation and the resurgence is vibrantly visible in the city’s eclectic neighborhoods, marked by new food halls, breweries, and boutiques popping up around every corner. Building upon 2017’s stream of openings, including the Sagamore Pendry Hotel in Fell’s Point and Sagamore Spirit distillery in Port Covington, 2018 will bring more developments to fruition in the city’s dynamic tourism portfolio.
New Hotels, Renovations and Waterfront Developments
Hotel Revival — Hotel Revival, a Joie de Vivre property, will open in early 2018 in the Mount Vernon Cultural District. Highlights include a ground-floor signature restaurant and bar on Cathedral Street, three private karaoke boxes, a second-floor reception and lobby lounge with a dedicated bar and an enclosed rooftop bar and restaurant with prime views of the Washington Monument and surrounding neighborhoods. With over 4,000 square feet of flexible meeting space Revival can comfortably accommodate a wide variety of gatherings. www.jdvhotels.com/hotels/maryland/baltimore-hotels/hotel-revival-baltimore
Canopy Hilton – Coming early 2019 to Harbor Point, a three million square foot waterfront development site between Harbor East and historic Fell’s Point, is Canopy, Hilton's newest hotel brand. The 156-room hotel will feature a first floor waterfront lobby and a restaurant with an outdoor terrace offering dramatic views of the Inner Harbor atop the 12-story Wills Street Wharf mixed-use building. www.canopy3.hilton.com
Sagamore Spirit Distillery and Rye Street Tavern – This five-acre complex offers a closer look at how Sagamore Spirit whiskey is made. The 22,000-square-foot distillery building houses the production equipment, including a 6,000-gallon cooker and nine 6,500-gallon fermenters. Next door is a 27,000-square-foot ‘welcome and processing’ center with two tasting rooms. Rye Street Tavern, a 13,000 square-foot bi-level American restaurant adjacent to the distillery opened September 2017, features a menu of food and drinks with Mid-Atlantic roots and seasonal ingredients sourced from local farmers and fishmongers, created by James Beard Award-winning chef Andrew Carmellini. www.sagamorespirit.com/distillery; www.ryestreettavern.com
The Sandlot – “The Sandlot” is the latest food-and-beverage project by James Beard Award-winning restaurateurSpike Gjerde. Debuted summer of 2017 in Harbor Point, the 30,000 square foot harbor front beach oasis features open space used for outdoor dining, recreation, live performances and family-friendly games. www.facebook.com/sandlotbaltimore
Cultural Happenings
Light City Baltimore — For the first time ever, Light City Baltimore, America’s first international light, music and innovation festival, will be held over three consecutive weekends with Neighborhood Lights kicking off April 6 – 8, 2018 and the BGE Light Art Walk transforming Baltimore’s Inner Harbor into an interactive playground of light and music April 14 – 21, 2018. www.lightcity.org
American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM)—The Great Mystery Show (Oct. 7, 2017 – Sept. 2, 2018)
AVAM’s newest exhibit playfullyexplores mystery as that one secret power behind great art,science, and pursuit of the sacred. One part lively fun house, two parts cosmic dream lab, the exhibition weaves the creative investigations of 44 visionary artists, research scientists, astronauts, mystics, and philosophers into one grand-scale exploration of mystery. The out-of-this-world testimony ofastronauts, mystery writers, theoreticians, poets and psychics,aims to inspire the "sleuth for the truth" detective within each ofus. www.avam.org
Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA)—Tomás Saraceno: Entangled Orbits (Oct. 1, 2017 – June 2018)
This exhibit at the BMA brings together a group of fascinating sculptural works by internationally acclaimed Argentinian artist and trained architect Tomás Saraceno who is also a pioneer in scanning, reconstructing, and reimagining spider webs and possesses the only three-dimensional spider web collection in existence. www.artbma.org
The Walters Art Museum—Arts of Asia (Oct. 1, 2017 – Oct. 1, 2020)
One of the most exceptional collections of Asian art in North America will take center stage when Arts of Asia reopens at the Walters. Highlighting the artistic traditions of diverse cultural regions, this new installation brings together a stunning array of objects from India, Nepal, Tibet, China, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. www.thewalters.org
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Film Center – Debuted in May 2017, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Parkway Film Center, located in Baltimore’s up-and-coming Station North Arts & Entertainment District, is the new home of MdFF, the organization that creates and delivers the annual Maryland Film Festival. An $18.2 million “rescued ruin,” the Parkway features year round curated, bold programming that showcases films from every era, region, and genre, with a focus on independent, international, documentary, classic, and cult-favorite films. www.mdfilmfest.com
Motor House Baltimore and Showroom – A new café, bar and performance venue will open this fall inside of theMotor House, a creative artist performance space, incubator and gallery housed in Baltimore's first Ford dealership built in 1914. Showroom will offer locally sourced breakfast and lunch options by day, cross-cultural street food, craft cocktails, and local beers at night. www.motorhousebaltimore.com
The Dish on Baltimore
Baltimore has a reputation for fresh seafood-especially its Maryland blue crabs—but the city’s culinary scene has transformed into a must-visit destination with high-end and inventive eateries consistently opening throughout all of its neighborhoods. There’s a reason USA Today named Baltimore one of the Top Five Underrated Food Scenes on the East Coast in 2017.
Union Collective – Baltimore-born UNION Craft Brewing will be the anchor tenant of a major commercial project, UNION Collective, transforming 10.5 acres of warehouse space into a destination for locally-minded consumers to interact with Baltimore makers, purchase Baltimore-made products and get an authentic taste of the area’s growing craft beer and food scene. www.union-collective.com
Bygone – This restaurant, opening atop the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences this winter, will serve a menu of upscale, classic American cuisine in a swanky space reminiscent of the 1920s with sweeping views of the city. www.atlasrestaurantgroup.com
Gordon Ramsay Steak – Chef Gordon Ramsay, of “Hell’s Kitchen” and “MasterChef” fame, is opening a new steak house at the Horseshoe Casino Baltimore later this year serving signature dishes from his Las Vegas restaurant, such as beef Wellington and sticky toffee pudding, as well as more seafood dishes and regional specialties. www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/gordon-ramsay-steak-baltimore
Tagliata and The Elk Room (Opened August 2017) – Tagliata is an Italian Chophouse located in Harbor East featuring handmade pastas, hand-cut steaks & chops, charcuterie and Baltimore’s largest wine line consisting of over 1,000 varieties. Adjacent to Tagliata is The Elk Room, a speakeasy-style spot with handcrafted cocktails, charcuterie and bites, where cell phones and photographs are not allowed. www.tagliatarestaurant.com www.theelkroom.com
Minnow (Opened May 2017) – From the brothers behind La Cuchara comes this South Baltimore seafood specialist offering regionally-sourced catches (think rockfish crudo, cornmeal-crusted soft shell crabs) alongside non-fish options like burgers and fried chicken, plus beer, cocktails and a deep wine list. The rustic-modern corner digs boast a communal chef's table with a view of the open kitchen. www.minnowbaltimore.com
Charm City Cakes (Opened April 2017) – The cake shop, founded by Duff Goldman and popularized by the Food Network show “Ace of Cakes,” has opened a second Baltimore location in Harbor East. The 200-square-foot space at 618 S. President St. features the shop’s traditional items, such as cakes, cupcakes and macarons as well as bakery merchandise. www.charmcitycakes.com
R. House (Opened December 2016) – Set inside a rehabbed historic auto shop, R. House is a 50,000-square-foot space that features 15-foot tall windows with roll-up garage doors, 12,000 square feet of open seating and 10 chef-driven food and drink concepts so guests can get a taste of the best bites in Baltimore. r.housebaltimore.com
Getting Around Town
Baltimore Bike Share – Baltimore City is spending millions to grow its cycling infrastructure and launched the largest pedelec (electric-assist) bicycle fleet in North America this past October. Baltimore Bike Share is available 24/7 and offers both pedelec and traditional 8-gear bicycles for residents and visitors to explore the City car-free. www.bmorebikeshare.com
Baltimore Water Taxi – Under Armour founder Kevin Plank recently purchased the Baltimore Water Taxi to upgrade its fleet of passenger vessels and routes. The new boats are designed to reflect a sleek look that also reflects Baltimore’s rich port history. www.baltimorewatertaxi.com
www.baltimore.org
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