A merryland for all - historic, recreational and cultural places for tourists to enjoy in Maryland - Advertising Supplement: Maryland's African American Culture

American Visions, April-May, 1993 by Patricia J. Bacchus

Wide sandy beaches beaten by the surf of the Atlantic, lush green mountains in summer that later are capped with winter's snow, rolling pastures and picturesque farmland, and the birdfilled marshes and dramatic cliffs of miles and miles of the Chesapeake Bay offer sweet retreat and a stark contrast to the urgent urban beat and many treats of Maryland's cities - which is just as well if you're traveling with a family whose interests are diverse.

First the escapades; then the escapes. The centerpiece of Baltimore is its famed Inner Harbor, one of the Mid-Atlantic's true treasures. While the Harborplace and the Gallery. at Harborplace are justly renowned pavilions, providing an astounding range of eating and shopping selections, the Inner Harbor offers far more in the way of feasts for the eye and the mind. The National Aquarium in Baltimore is one of the largest and most sophisticated in the world, with more than 5,000 marine and freshwater creatures in 12 major theme exhibits. The shark tank is hypnotic; the new Marine Mammal Pavilion, where beluga whales and bottlenose dolphins romp, is a compelling joy. If you can't enjoy yourself here, seek prompt medical. attention - you're suffering from hydrophobia!

A stroll to the other side of the harbor leads you to the Maryland Science Center, and soon to greater knowledge of the mysteries of space, physics, energy and the ecosystem of the Chesapeake Bay. Relax; it's all done with easy-to-understand, hands-on exhibits that. the kids will enjoy and you will comprehend.

Anchored in the harbor is the U.S. Constellation, the oldest American warship continuously afloat. Launched in Baltimore in 1797, this frigate was the first ship ever commissioned in America's Navy and saw service for nearly a century and a half

Just around the bend of the harbor is the star-shaped Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, where o'er the night of September 13, 1814, an American flag kept flying through "the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air," inspiring witness Francis Scott Key to pen the words of what became our national anthem. Still more history of the British attack during the War of 1812 lies close at hand at the Star Spangled Banner House and Museum, where Mary Pickersgill, who sewed that flag, lived during the war.

Staying in tune with the Federal era while exploring one of the city's many small, food-filled neighborhoods requires a walk around Baltimore's best-kept secret, Fell's Point. The charm of Fell's Point lies not only with the neighborhood pubs and taverns, but as well in the tucked-away maritime community that dates back to the 1700s. Its, tiny harbor was once Baltimore's major seaport, and it still has 350 original residential structures of American Federal architecture.

From the master' of the macabre, through the Sultan of Swat, to a saint, the homes of American giants abound in Baltimore. For three years, Edgar Allan Poe lived at 203 North Amity Street. Here, at the top of the house in a tiny room still open to the visitor, he wrote some of his greatest works, including the haunting, lyrical and unnerving poem "The Raven." As you tour the Edgar Allan Poe House, you walk through the rooms in which one of America's few 19th-century literary geniuses dined, entertained, slept and worked - but rarely found peace of mind.

Genius of another sort, though equally indisputable, is to be found at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Baseball Center, America's second-largest shrine to the national pastime. Ruth's talent was truly preternatural and is sketched, though not completely captured, on films, in exhibits and with the memorabilia of the game's most dominating player. The museum also traces the history of the Baltimore Orioles, including the careers of Frank Robinson and the team's other African-American heroes, and periodically exhibits memorabilia of the stars of the Negro League.

It's entirely fitting that the first American-born Roman Catholic saint is from Maryland, the historical seat of Catholicism in America. Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton lived in what is now called the Saint Elizabeth Seton House for a year in 1809 and founded the order of nuns that became the Daughters and Sisters of Charity.

Just a few blocks away is the B&O Railroad Museum. Located in the Old Mount Clare Station, the oldest railroad station in the country, the 1884 roundhouse features an extensive collection of trains chronicling the history of railroading in America.

One could go on and on and on in Baltimore, but then Maryland's numerous other pleasures would never be experienced - which would be sad, because the state's true charm is found in the little towns dotted around its counties. Howard County's Ellicott City, a small mill town whose origins go back to 1772, is the epitome of a late Colonial American town. With its original stone buildings lining Tongue Row (fine examples of early mill workers' homes), its antique and specialty shops and its historic sites, a walking tour through this town is a delight.