Federal Hill

1646 Belt Street
This two-bedroom, one bath rowhouse is really quite charming.  Now, we’ve always been a bit of a sucker for bay windows – they just provide that little extra oomph of light and space that so many rooms need – and when that gets paired up with all of the exposed brick… well, we’ve got a tough time not liking these surroundings.  Add a lovely backyard patio, and the fact that it’s also within walking distance to Riverside Park and, suddenly, living in the city doesn’t mean giving up the outdoors.  Priced at $185,900.

621 Harvey Street
Okay, we might be a touch superficial, but once a rowhouse puts on a roof deck, we don’t really care about what’s on the inside.  If that makes us shallow, we’re shallow.  But despite this two-bedroom, two-bath rowhouse’s roof deck, with its awe-inspiring views of the Baltimore skyline and harbor, there’s still plenty to like on the inside.   The original hardwood floors, for instance.  The master suite and walk-in closet.  The finished basement with separate laundry room.  You know, stuff that might make you forget about the roof deck.  Although not for long, we’re sure.  Priced at $224,900.

1640 Patapsco Street
This end-of-the-group two-bedroom, 1.5-bath rowhouse (our favorite position: extra windows = extra light!) is great for a lot of reasons.  Exposed brick, refinished hardwood floors, central A/C, a remodeled kitchen… oh man, we could go on.  Our favorite feature, though, is the elevated back deck accessible through a bedroom.  We can’t imagine a much better way to start our day than by walking out our back porch and enjoying breakfast with a view.  Priced at $290,000.

For more information about these listings or others like them, contact Brent Roberts at Urban Discoveries Living.

Adventures in Baltimore Restaurants tells us about not one, but two upcoming Restaurant Weeks.  Delicious.

Audacious Ideas talks up the “Outer Harbor” initiative.  We’re… intrigued.

A couple months ago a reader asked us about a new lounge/restaurant in Canton, Clutch.  We haven’t visited yet, but Midnight Sun has.

The Investigative Voice reports on corruption within the Baltimore Police Department’s internal disciplinary system.

President Obama’s foreclosure program is expanding, but Urban Turf has some concerns.

In the meantime, the city’s lawsuit against Wells Fargo and their role in the foreclosure crisis moves forward, says Baltimore Brew.

Photo of the Copy Cat building, a well-known artist living-and-performance space about a hundred yards from the property to be developed, by flickr user spike55151.

Most of our DS installments are aimed at prospective Baltimoreans of the upper-middle-class variety. Here’s one for all y’all in the service industry. Station North, the city’s designated arts district, is where scores of Baltimore’s artists both present their work and make a living. (The two endeavors rarely coincide.) Soon it may also be where many of them call home.

City Arts (440 E. Oliver St.) in Greenmount West is the name of the planned $15 million apartment and townhouse development specifically designed to house artists who work in the area. At the moment, many artists live (and in some cases perform) in warehouse spaces nearby, but these properties have not been designated or designed as residences, and as the expected trickle of gentrification begins, the current residents may be forced out by rent hikes. City Arts will consist of four stories with nine two-bedroom apartments at roughly $775 and sixty one-bedrooms at $619 to $656, as well as a multipurpose first-floor space provided for artistic use by the residents. Also incorporated into the complex will be thirty-five off-street parking spaces. Key to the project’s plans are financing regulations that will ensure the space remains affordable to artists even as the neighborhood changes. Apparently at the suggestion of various local artists, developers have decided to maintain the exterior appearance of converted lofts––in particular the gaping windows.

The rent, especially for the one-bedrooms, may be a little high for those of us used to the sort of informal (occasionally shady) arrangements whereby young artists find shelter, but simply the notion of designated artist housing is encouraging. We’ll see how it develops. Construction on City Arts is expected to begin later this year.

The Baltimore Municipal Golf Corporation, as fuddy-duddy as it sounds, is probably the best place to start when you’re looking for a tee time.  A nonprofit corporation in charge of the city’s public golf courses, BMGC oversees operations at courses in Mount Pleasant, Clifton Park, Forest Park, Carroll Park, and Pine Ridge (in Lutherville). Green fees aren’t too bad, ranging from a top rate of $55.00 for a weekend morning tee time at Pine Ridge to a $17 weekday fee at Carroll Park. If you need a little convincing that these are high-quality courses, know that the Golfweek 2008 ranking of municipal golf courses had Mount Pleasant coming in at number twelve.  And these ratings are nothing to sneeze at—Bethpage Black, host of the 2009 U.S. Open, came in at number one.

If you haven’t played a round yet this year you may want to hit a few balls before you go.  Head to the Northwest Baltimore Park Driving Range to buy a bucket of balls and get warmed back up.  A bucket of 120 balls costs only nine dollars. But watch out for that guy in the ball picker, okay?

Maybe though you can get to the green in one long drive…and then miss a series of two-foot putts that leave you a cursing, club-chucking mess. Try Churchville Golf. They’ve got two miniature golf courses, an original and a challenge course, to go along with their driving range and pro shop. And remember, it’s just golf, not rocket science.

Photo by flickr user r.s.m.b. Sees.

The New York Times ran a piece recently about a peculiar fad among bars––across the country, but especially in the city that never stops talking about itself. The theory is that the ultra-posh and grimetown-hip alike prefer to buy their overpriced swill in dives nobody knows about. Which is hard, because if you know about it, then it’s already not the place you want to be drinking. At any rate, a quick run-down of Baltimore’s Prohibition-evoking offerings yields few options:

1. The Owl Bar in Mount Vernon (1 E. Chase St.). Deal with it, New York: this place actually was a speakeasy––hence the owl’s glowing eyes, which once let patrons know when delicious, forbidden booze was being served. The bar, located on the ground floor of the historic Belvedere Grand Condominium, is surprisingly laid back despite being in one of the few buildings in Baltimore where you should probably be wearing a tie.

2. The Rendezvous Lounge in South Charles Village (136 W. 25th St.) isn’t exactly unmarked, but then it’s still pretty easy to miss. We’ve mentioned it before, and if you’re looking for somewhere less… hygienic than the Owl Bar, this is it.

3. Speakeasy Saloon in Canton (2840 O’Donnell St.) makes the list by sheer self-selection. Well done, guys. This place is perfect if you feel like eating crab cakes and mugging for pictures by the sign at the entrance.

Other than these fine establishments, Baltimore doesn’t have much in the way of meticulously-hidden-yet-beloved-drinking-houses-with-surprisingly-decadent-interiors. And why not? Because our bars are real bars, full of people working hard and drinking harder. All in earnest. If the thrill you’re looking for is the illicit acquisition of alcohol, then go to any warehouse party/concert/underground performance and buy a bottle from the guy sitting behind the cardboard sign. Or go refill a growler, since that’s apparently illegal, too. More to the point, why not enjoy having a favorite neighborhood bar that actually feels like a neighborhood bar? B-more’s full of them, and you don’t need a password because the waitress already knows what you’re going to order. In this regard, Baltimore City is its own speakeasy––ripe with local slang, unspoken rules, and a cliquish but self-parodying social set. Let New Yorkers play make-believe. I got this little place you’re gonna love.

What’s your favorite drinking hole?

Photo of a free concert in Mount Vernon by flickr user surrfred.

Picnic blankets aren’t just for picnics, outdoor film festivals, and tying to the end of your hobo stick anymore. This summer, Baltimore enjoys a wealth of gratis outdoor concerts, where you can wallow and groove to your stingy heart’s content. Here are a few:

1. Sundays and Tuesdays all summer long by the Patterson Park Pagoda at 6:30 pm, you’ll find a variety of musical acts ranging from Mama Tried, a bluegrass group playing tonight, June 23, to Chopteeth, the afro-funk big band closing out the series on Tuesday, August 4.

2. At 5:30 pm on the first Thursday of every month, Mount Vernon Park hosts a free concert by a band somewhere in the vicinity of indie pop. As a way to increase excitement, the act is only announced shortly before each performance. On July 2, it will be an Irish group called Guggenheim Grotto, of which I know nothing except that their album takes its name from a poem by Horace, which must be a good sign, right?

3. On three Wednesdays this summer (one of which has already passed) at 6:00 p.m., the Baltimore Museum of Industry on the Inner Harbor (1415 Key Highway) is the place for booze, barbecue, and free live music. The next installment of the series will be July 15, when Waylan James and the Futures will headline a show featuring several groups. And if all the jollity makes you restless, the museum will be open during the performance.

4. Belvedere Square (518 E. Belvedere Avenue) is the home of perhaps the longest and most prolific free music series in Baltimore. Fridays at 6:00 p.m. through September 4, the square will be filled with flocks of happy people surrounded by restaurants. This Friday, June 26, said people will be listening to the beach band, Fins. Perhaps you can discern the connection.

Where will you allow musicians to play for you at no charge this summer?

Don't buy this place by mistake. Photo by flickr user big/sara.

You’re thinking about buying a home for the first time. Good for you; it’s a buyer’s market. It’s a big step though, a big, complicated step. At least it can be if you’re unprepared. But there are programs out there to help you make the right choices.

The Greater Baltimore Urban League, an affiliate of the National Urban League, is a local nonprofit whose mission is to help disadvantaged Marylanders gain access to equal opportunity in employment, education, health care, and housing. They host a number of community workshops including a First Time Homebuyers Program. Designed to help low- to moderate-income families, the course covers household budgeting, home shopping, getting a mortgage, and closing. Classes are offered on the third Wednesday of each month; the next one is July 22nd. Call 410-523-8150 to register. (The GBUL also offers courses on mortgage defaults and foreclosure prevention.)

If you’re thirsty for more knowledge on home buying, because, hey, it’s a buyer’s market, check out the Department of Housing and Urban Development website. They run through the basics of the process and give tips about federal programs and how to qualify for them. They also answer a bunch of questions that first time homebuyers often have.

Homeland:

A spacious master bedroom.

115 Churchwardens Road

This brick colonial is everything we’d want in a dream house.  Five spacious bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, wood floors throughout, and a stunning, granite-paved back porch all add up to a place where a lot of people could be very comfortable.  There are other little things that get our real estate heart thumping too, like the long, pretty front yard, for instance, and three wood-burning fireplaces. Open Houses on Saturday June 27th and Sunday June 28th. Listed at $799,000.

Guildford:

Perhaps some travelers once stopped by on their way to Canterbury.

3800 Juniper Road

We’ve always found stone houses particularly charming – they remind us of fairy tales and the English countryside – and this Guilford home, with its white trim and blue shutters, is no exception.  The three-bedroom, two-bath domicile has a cool kitchen: granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a “farm sink.”  With a four-season glassed-in porch and Sherwood Gardens (only a short walk away) you’ve got the room to breathe some fresh air in the city.  Open Houses on Sunday July 5 and Sunday July 19.  Priced at $488,500.

4306 Saint Paul Street

We suspect Professor Plum, with the candlestick, in the BILLIARD ROOM!

We need to get something out of the way up front: this house is priced at $1,395,000.  Yup.  We don’t care though; it’s super-fancy.  If you don’t believe us, here’s a quick list of the kitchen features: a six-burner gas range, an extra refrigerator/freezer, a double, self-cleaning oven, a cooking island and (a probably huge) dishwasher.  Before you call that gratuitous, remember that this is an eight-bedroom house, so a lot of people have to eat in that kitchen.  Plus if you have a library, den, foyer, and billiard room to watch over you might lose track of how many people are actually in your house.  So it’s necessary, really.  Or at least we like to think so.  Open House this Sunday June 28.

Speaking of newspapers, the Baltimore Sun has a great rundown of local farmers’ markets.

And speaking of the New York Times and farmers’ markets, Baltimore Brew has the story of NYT reporter Scott Shane and his smoothie.

In honor of A Midsummer Night’s Dream Urban Turf presents “The Theory of Two Bottoms.”  Or maybe it’s a think piece about economic indicators as applied to home prices.  Whichever.

On the Town has a Q&A with our favorite band of the moment (and hometown boys), Animal Collective.  And if that doesn’t slake your Animal Collective thirst check out The Onion A.V. Club’s interview with the band from earlier last week.

Baltimore Grows knows about a new wine bar opening up in Hampden.

We just really like this insulated studio idea that Urban Palimpsest found.

We’re not the only ones talking about Beer Pong.

Photo by flickr user r.s.m.b. Sees.

Keep your eyes peeled and your blood pumping, because this week’s socially engaged events aren’t for those of a lukewarm temperament:

I know we already mentioned Baltimore Pride, but the twenty-four-year-old annual festival bears elaboration. Pin a rainbow flag to your lapel and make it a schmancy one, because Pride’s first event is Twilight on the Terrace this Friday, June 19 at 8:00 p.m., an evening of high culture in and around Gertrude’s restaurant at the Baltimore Museum of Art in Charles Village (10 Art Museum Drive). Tickets are $75, but that gets you into the swankiest of Pride’s sub-fêtes, featuring hors d’oeuvres, an open bar, and a silent auction. Proceeds go to the obvious good cause. Then Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (just after the high-heel race), the parade begins down Charles Street through the heart of Mount Vernon, followed by musical performances, drag contests, and spontaneous revelry. Sunday afternoon brings a whole ‘nother lineup. This year’s costume suggestion: overly supportive PFLAG parents.

Ignite Baltimore is not an incitement to arson, but rather a community performance/meeting in which sixteen presenters each take five minutes and twenty slides to pitch an original idea. The time limit is rigid, which means the whole thing lasts about an hour and a half. The third iteration of this conceptual feat goes up Thursday, June 25 at the Wind-up Space in Station North (12 W. North Avenue). Register here or show up at 6:00 p.m. feeling lucky. Admission is free, and that’ll get you free pizza, too. Topics this go-around include Better Tea, the Capitalist Redemption, and the Meaning of Life.

Finally, here’s a chance to do a good deed… and then get some swag for doing it. The Red Cross is holding a blood drive this Saturday, June 20 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Oriole Park at Camden Yard (333 W. Camden Street) in the Warehouse. Bleed a little and you’ll get yourself a t-shirt and two tickets to an Orioles game. Also the gratitude of Baltimore’s blood-needing children. Sign up here.

What’s keeping you engaged this week?