Get Down to Ball'mer, Hon: Discovering Baltimore

Caf� Hon - a flamboyant restaurant/ bar/ headquarters for all things outlandish, retro and kitschy - is in Hampden, a Baltimore neighborhood. A gigantic pink flamingo adorns the Caf�'s edifice. Inside are paintings and assemblages, many of them created by kids from nearby Reisterstown Elementary School.

"Old-timers come in here and remember when this was a hardware store," says Deborah Harris, who, on this particular Saturday summer morning is sporting teased hair, costume jewelry and a leopard print blouse, replete with matching earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets. "It's quite different here now, of course. We're expanding to another store across street, and embracing the neighborhood in many different ways."

Affectionately known as "the Avenue," 36th Street in Hampden is home to antique stores, the Atomic Bookstore (on nearby Fells Rd.), bars, and many other LGBT-owned businesses including Flaunt, Ma Petite Shoe, NV Salon Collective and others. All are prospering.

A conspiracy of fun takes place every June when Caf� Hon and the neighborhood businesses pool resources and host a block party known as Hon Fest (www.cafehon.com), which often falls during the city-wide Gay Pride celebration.

"There are always some people that don't like the Hon Fest," Harris tells me, "but, for the most part, it's a hoot. Men and women get dressed up with wigs and feather boas. The children are featured in a Mini Hon parade."

Baltimore is bit like the Push-Me Pull-You, that two-headed creature from Dr. Doolittle, joined at the middle, straining from opposite sides to get someplace. On the one side, the city cannot distance itself from being a gritty haven of dereliction, while on the other side it is morphing into a livable, historic, whacky, inclusive and fun urban center.

There are pockets of despair remaining, streets that have the look and feel of the popular television show The Wire, filmed in Baltimore, which exploited racial tension, drug abuse and violence in fictional episodes. But there are also wonderful neighborhoods and lots to do and see for the LGBT traveler.

Fells Point: Waterfront Reclaimed

Fells Point, which hugs Baltimore harbor, is the home of the Admiral Fell Inn (www.harbormagic.com), a modern hotel that occupies several interconnecting renovated row homes, some dating from the 18th century.

Connected to the hotel via a corridor is the Meli, a cozy restaurant that also has sidewalk service, and faces the harbor (http://www.kalisrestaurantgroup.com/). On weekends, the Meli features a popular jazz brunch and was voted the best new restaurant last year by Baltimore magazine.

"We refer to Baltimore as 'Small-timore,'" says Larry Noto, marketing guy for Harbor Magic Hotels, owners of the Admiral Fell Inn. "The neighborhoods are closely-knit and they haven't lost their ethnic flavor." There was no time in my schedule, but Noto rattled off several neighborhood festivals taking place the weekend I visited, including a feast in nearby Little Italy.

In truth, there was no Admiral Fell, Noto says, but that hasn't stopped the Inn from creating stories about the Admiral's fictitious life in popular audience participatory ghost tours. According to the folks that run Baltimore Ghost Tours (www.baltimoreghostours.com), both neighborhoods are "hot spots of paranormal activities." One of the ghosts surely must belong to Edgar Allan Poe, who reportedly consumed his weight in drink at a Fells Point tavern before roaring out his last words, "Lord, help my poor soul." (www.eapoe.org)

Fells Point Inn is ideally located across the street from Fells Point Pier that connects you to the rest of Baltimore's attractions (Inner Harbor, Aquarium, Science Center, Maritime Park, Fort McHenry and others) via a water taxi (www.thewatertaxi.com). For a nominal fee you can purchase a ride that allows you to exit and re-board the taxi at various spots along the harbor all day and ceasing at 11 o'clock at night.

Federal Hill and the Visionary Art Museum

Barry Werner and his partner Jeff Finley own and operate Scarborough Fair Bed and Breakfast (http://www.scarboroughfairbandb.com) on Federal Hill. While neither of them hails from Baltimore, they have found their adopted community "very friendly and supportive" of gay folks.

"There are some crusty older Baltimore citizens who do not embrace diversity," Werner says after giving me a tour of the immaculately restored inn. "But mostly, I've found that each neighborhood in the city just gets better and better."

Werner and Finley participate in the annual Pride festival and support the Baltimore Bear Boogie (www.baltimorebearboogie.com), which this summer held its third annual gathering of the "bears" at the Sheraton City Center Hotel in downtown Baltimore. The number of participants, Werner noted, grows each year as word spreads.

A short walk from Scarborough Fair is the fabulous - and highly unique - American Visionary Art Museum (www.avam.org) that brings so many disparate elements - film, photography, assemblage, painting, drawing and visual poetry - together, all created by relatively unknown artists from around the world.

GLCCB and Mount Vernon

Baltimore's first Pride event took place 35 years ago. Each June, an estimated 30,000 people flock to the city for a weekend that features a parade and other activities, including a popular beer garden.

"Baltimore is a friendly, smaller city, proud of its working class roots," says Craig Wiley, executive director of GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (GLBCC), which is housed in its own building at 241 West Chase Street, in the city's Mount Vernon neighborhood. The Center features men's, women's, and transgender programs and publishes a weekly community newspaper, Gay Life (www.baltimoregaylife.com).

"While we are often overshadowed by events in the gay community in Washington, D.C., only 35 miles away," Whitney says, "I'm told by participants that our annual Pride festival is notable for being inclusive, family-oriented, and welcoming to all people to mix with one another."

Whitney meets me at one of the city's oldest gay bars, The Hippo (www.clubhippo.com), an intimate tavern on the corner of West Eager St. and North Charles St., founded 35 years ago by Chuck Bowers, who still owns it. The Hippo hosts Baltimore's Pride opening night party and other events, like a same-sex wedding themed night. (Maryland, unlike nearby Washington, D.C., has not legalized same-sex unions). The bar has a friendly, warm atmosphere. The bartender, Jack, serves not only fabulous mixed drinks, but also offers visitors homemade cookies.

"The challenge we have in Baltimore," Whitney continues, "is that Baltimore doesn't have the reputation of being a sought after gay destination like, let's say Provincetown or Key West. But once folks get here, they discover that this place is really a neat town."

One of the challenges the gay community faces, Whitney notes, is archiving its history, a project he hopes will be tackled soon with help from the University of Maryland, which has offered to assist the Center with archiving their vast gay memorabilia now housed in boxes.

After enjoying drinks at Club Hippo, I dined next door to the bar at Red Maple (www.930redmaple.com), a dusky tapas restaurant with a cool interior where one eats hunched over low tables in dim lighting. After a scrumptious repast, I explored the Mount Vernon area which has numerous other bars and restaurants and is only a short cab ride away from the more boisterous scene at Fells Point.

Baltimore: Self-Discovery

Walking around Baltimore, one is amazed by the spirit of the neighborhoods. In the Waverly neighborhood near Johns Hopkins University, diversity and unity can be found alive and well in a farmer's market held every Saturday. Fresh produce from nearby farms and loaves of baked breads and pastries are for sale as families and individuals from all walks of life crowd the closed-to-traffic streets and shop for their groceries al fresco.

Baltimore is a city that has suffered from neglect. But it is discovering how to heal itself. There are challenges galore. The city must improve its economic core so that all neighborhoods can be revitalized and be made more livable.

Yet, despite these struggles, the friendliness of the people shines through. It is for this reason that I intend to return to explore Baltimore again, in a continued search of its hidden treasures.