Baltimore's historic watering hole

One thing is certain: This waterfront community just southeast of the Inner Harbor knows how to serve up the good times.

Maybe it's the proximity to the sea, or the fact that Fells Point has been quenching the thirst of sailors and seafarers since the early 1700s. With several dozen pubs, taverns and inns, it is the place to go in Baltimore to unload that urban angst.

But this authentic Federal period village is more than a bar district. With more than 350 structures dating back to the 1760s, Fells Point is one of Baltimore's best-preserved neighborhoods, and was the first district in Maryland to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was once a thriving center for shipbuilding, trade and other nautical activities, and the still-bustling harbor echoes this past.

What is perhaps most alluring about Fells Point is that despite its proximity to the touristy and often-crowded Inner Harbor and Baltimore Aquarium - just a 10-minute ride away by water taxi or a half hour's walk - it's still relatively undiscovered.

Purchased by English shipwright William Fell in 1731 and settled in 1765, Fells Point was blessed with a deepwater port. By the turn of the 19th century, the community had become the maritime heart of Baltimore. Shipyards lined the waterfront and produced more than 600 vessels from the colonial era through the Civil War.

This was where the famous Baltimore clippers - the fastest sailing ships of their time - were crafted. The U.S. frigate Constellation, which is on display in the Inner Harbor, awaiting renovations, was built in Fells Point and launched in 1797.

The area has always been working class, the home of sea captains, sailors, shipbuilders, merchants and tradesmen. This unpretentiousness has been preserved by restorations that followed Baltimore's "urban comeback" of the 1960s and '70s.

A walk through Fells Point reveals a neighborhood of Belgian block streets with familiar British names, such as Thames, Fleet and Shakespeare. Winding lanes are lined with 18th-century Flemish-bond brick rowhouses, their sand- brown facades beautifully restored. The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point has taken a large stake in the community with its purchase and restoration of the Robert Long House and Garden (812 S. Ann St.). One of the oldest homes in the city, it was built around 1765 by Long, a young merchant. The preservation society's efforts can be seen in the home's carefully restored exterior as well as the pre-revolutionary antiques in the house.

The adjacent L-shaped garden provides an exact idea of how a colonial garden was cultivated, with plants serving as medicines, food seasonings, scents or fabric dyes. The Robert Long House is open Thursdays for tours, or by appointment by calling 410-675-6750. The garden is open weekdays, 9 to 5 p.m., and admission is free.

Speaking of gardens, Fells Point has countless tiny English-style gardens next to residences. The neighborhood itself is a palette of colors: lush green ivy, flower boxes with yellow and purple pansies, and everywhere colorful pub signs such as the painted colonial "wench" on a swing in front of Bertha's (famous for the "Eat Bertha's Mussels" bumper stickers). The pub signs add to the British atmosphere.

Maybe another aspect that makes the area seem more European is that the streets are remarkably clean. Even the adjacent harbor is clear of trash, thanks to a fleet of funny-looking vessels that vacuum the waters daily. But even with the painstaking restoration, Fells Point's face-lift didn't squeeze the life out of the neighborhood. It lives and breathes - yes, real people live here - and the best place to take the town's pulse is in one of its many pubs.

Baltimore, and especially Fells Point, has always been a "wet" town - some old evidence of this can still be seen in the hand-painted sign on the side of a building at Broadway and Shakespeare: "Vote Against Prohibition." So if you're a latter-day prohibitionist, you'll want to go elsewhere.

But if you like the taste of a good, hearty ale and the atmosphere of a traditional Irish or English pub, you'll have your pick of some prime places. You might start with the Cat's Eye Pub, 1730 Thames St., where the chalk message on the sidewalk outside reads: " . . . you are getting very thirsty." Soon you'll be inside this dusty Irish pub with its dark wood bar, dartboard and small stage.

Flags from every nation - except England - hang from the ceiling. There is live music nightly, and some afternoons as well - everything from jazz, zydeco and Irish music to one of the best blues jams in the area. Usually there is no cover charge.

The Phil Cuniff jazz trio played the night I was there with a friend. A vibraphonist, upright bass, tenor sax and Cuniff himself on drums jammed long into the night.

Live music abounds. Bertha's, 734 S. Broadway, has jazz and blues; the Full Moon Saloon, 1710 Aliceanna St., has live blues daily, with a jam session on Saturday afternoons. Also on Thames Street, the Horse You Came In On Saloon (which ties with Wee Peter's for best pub name) features acoustic rock and alternative music daily.

Friendly, unpretentious Leadbetter's, 1639 Thames St., is a great place to mingle with the college crowd and hear rock and alternative music live, seven days a week. The night we were there, a guitarist/vocalist named Eddie Lauer played his heart out on a Gibson hollow-body, doing songs by Pearl Jam, R.E.M. and the Smithereens.

Should your tastes run more to browsing for bargains, Fells Point is also known for its many antique and thrift shops, all within walking distance of the waterfront. There's a nice cluster of shops on Aliceanna Street between Broadway and Ann Streets, including Saratoga Trunk, 1740 Aliceanna St., which doubles as a clay studio for owner Vicki McComas. Check out her whimsical pottery: wizards with cat heads, purple pickup trucks filled with beer- drinking seals, and Baltimore rowhouse shrines, kind of a cross between a dollhouse and an Advent calendar. McComas can tell you the story behind each piece.

Back near the water on the Ann Street wharf is the China Sea Marine Trading Company. Dark and cavernous, it is packed with maritime antiques, from World War II Soviet navy badges and medals to ships' lights, portholes, wheels and rudders, and naval attire from all over the world. The nautical atmosphere is made complete by the presence of two cocky, pampered parrots - one of which was being hand-fed sushi by the store's owner when we looked in.

Then there's Flashback, 728 S. Broadway, which is a treasure trove of '60s and '70s stuff. Flashback is also home to an awesome collection of filmmaker John Waters' memorabilia. The Baltimore-born trashmeister's movie career is marked with items such as autographed cans of hairspray - from the film Hairspray, of course - and signed "glamour" shots of Waters' perennial star, the late Divine, a 300-pound transvestite. Johnny Depp fans would love the autographed photos of their favorite star from the film Cry-Baby. One poster signed by Depp read, "Baltimore is the belly button of the world. . . . " Who could argue with that?

Another Fells Point brush-with-Hollywood is the Wharf Rat Barat 801 Ann St. This popular pub with the Canadian flag hanging outside was sometimes used as a set for the NBC drama Homicide: Life on the Street, which is shot entirely on location in Baltimore. In fact, the former municipal building at 1701 Thames St. provides the main exterior shots of the building where the Homicide detectives work, as well as the show's production offices.

If the Wharf Rat is too crowded (and it tends to get crowded because of its connection with Homicide), keep walking up Ann Street, above Fleet, and you'll find Peter's Inn, 504 S. Ann St. Too small for live music, Peter's is a great spot to sit, have a cold National Bohemian, and let the congenial, laid-back Peter Denver himself spin the tunes.

A huge stack of jazz and blues CDs rests near the owner's portable stereo. The sounds of such song stylists as Jimmy Scott or Carmen McCrae or Dinah Washington mix with patrons' conversation, as the smells of crabmeat-stuffed artichokes or green chili pie with salsa drift through the kitchen door.

Denver likes to restore motorcycles, so don't be surprised if there are a few Harley-Davidsons parked outside. If there's no room at the bar, try the little "living room" adjacent to the main room. Comfy chairs, a sofa, lamp and TV make it homey and intimate.

But be warned: Denver's dog is the unofficial bouncer and she doesn't like drunks, salesmen, Casanovas - "and yuppies." Denver told this story to the small crowd the Saturday afternoon I was there:

"Once I let these well-dressed people - strangers - in, and the dog growled and barked at them. I told her to calm down, that they were all right, and they came in and sat down. But after awhile, I realized that the dog was right."

That about sums up Fells Point: This is a working person's community - no need to impress anyone. In fact, it's discouraged.

Two hundred and fifty years next to the sea has given this funky neighborhood some perspective. It might give you some, too.

Originally at: http://www.phillynews.com/online/travel/journ19.htm