Baltimore is a city to watch for design

June 30, 2008

Baltimore barely missed being ranked as one of "America's Best Cities for Design," according to a new survey that measures factors such as the number of award-winning contemporary buildings in a city and examples of environmentally friendly architecture.

Recent columns

• Designs big, small win awards

  June 23, 2008

  Ten years ago, St. Anthanasius Chapel in Curtis Bay appeared destined for the wrecking ball, after the Archdiocese of Baltimore closed it out of concerns that the 1891 building was structurally unsound.

• Architects and planners ponder a city design center

  June 17, 2008

  Paris has one. Copenhagen has one. San Francisco just opened one.

• Documentary explores redevelopment of Baltimore's waterfront

  June 9, 2008

  For Baltimoreans accustomed to seeing their hometown depicted in less than glowing terms on television series such as The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street, a new production takes a rosier point of view.

• After troop withdrawal: a soundstage?

  June 2, 2008

  Baltimore's 5th Regiment Armory could become a soundstage for film production in Maryland under a proposal to revitalize the 28-acre State Center renewal area.

• Architects argue for a different site for a new arena

  May 13, 2008

  Did Baltimore make a mistake by opening what is now called the 1st Mariner Arena on a prime downtown parcel 46 years ago?

• Bold ideas advanced for revamping Columbia

  May 5, 2008

  Some longtime residents will readily admit that one of the flaws of Columbia - the scrupulously planned Howard County community that urban visionary James Rouse launched as a development model in the 1960s - is that it opened without a cemetery, as if no one would ever die there.

• Construction changes birdseye view at Camden Yards

  April 21, 2008

  The field is as lush and green as ever. The ushers look sharp in their bright orange jackets. Fans are once again strolling along Eutaw Street, enjoying Boog's barbecue and hoping for a good season.

• Center designed to put Gettysburg into perspective

  April 14, 2008

  Gettysburg has been a magnet for visitors ever since scavengers began scouring the land for dead soldiers' weapons, knapsacks and belt buckles shortly after the epic Civil War battle ended there in July 1863.

• Short-term lease for old station

  April 7, 2008

  Preservation planners in Baltimore have found a temporary occupant to reopen the historic but shuttered President Street Station this spring, while the city seeks a long-term tenant.

• Another source of inspiration

  September 10, 2007

  Besides being known as the birthplace of the national anthem, Baltimore's Fort McHenry is considered one of the finest examples of fort design in North America.

• Future of Mechanic hinges on its design

  August 13, 2007

  Of all the arguments for designating Baltimore's Morris A. Mechanic Theatre a city landmark, one of the strongest comes from the owner itself.

• Proposal for Constellation rocks the boat

  July 16, 2007

  What would Baltimore's Inner Harbor be without the Constellation?

• World's grand avenues shape visions of Pratt Street

  June 25, 2007

  Will Baltimore's Pratt Street ever be the equivalent of Chicago's Michigan Avenue or New York's Fifth Avenue, or perhaps even the Avenue des Champs-Elysees in Paris?

• Design panel balks at hotel's 'severe' look

  August 29, 2005

  Is Baltimore spending $305 million to build a downtown hotel or a prison?

• Another revival for restaurant?

  July 28, 2003

  Can a venerable Baltimore restaurant make a comeback on its own after nearly 15 years of dormancy, or should the city intervene?