Baltimore Grows

A friend of mine recently said to me that he thought Baltimore was a bad place for theatre.  I was fairly surprised to hear him say this, because even though Baltimore is not NYC, I had always felt there were a surprising amount of theatre options for a city the size of Baltimore.  Now, I’m not a huge theatre buff, but there seems to be plenty of places for everyone to get their cultural fix whenever they feel the need.  The Hippodrome and Lyric are the only places that can really host the big Broadway style productions, but there’s plenty of other venues to see some great shows.  I took a crack at putting together a list of what I could think of.  Please let me know if I’ve left anything off!

Hippodrome Theatre (aka France-Merrick Performing Arts Center) – Westside – Upcoming Show: Grease - http://www.france-merrickpac.com

Lyric Opera House – Mt. Vernon – Upcoming Show: Jesus Christ Superstar – http://www.lyricoperahouse.com/

Centerstage – Mt. Vernon - Currently Playing: Fabulation or, The Re-education of Undine - http://www.centerstage.org/

Everyman Theatre – Station North – Currently Playing: I am my Own Wife – http://www.everymantheatre.org/

Fells Point Corner Theatre – Fells Point – Currently Playing: The Homecoming – http://www.fpct.org/

Single Carrot Theatre – Station North - Upcoming Show: Killer Joe - http://www.singlecarrot.com/

Vagabond Players – Fells Point – Currently Playing: Romance/Romance - http://www.vagabondplayers.org

Strand Theatre – Station North – Currently Playing: Bermuda – http://www.strandtheatercompany.org/

Spotlighters Theatre – Mt. Vernon – Currently Playing: London Suite – http://www.spotlighters.org/

Run of the Mill Theatre – Mt. Vernon - Upcoming Show: James McBride - http://www.runofthemilltheater.org/

Baltimore Theatre Project – Mt. Vernon – Currently Playing: The Eagle has Landed – http://www.theatreproject.org/

Riverside Stage - Sobo - Upcoming Show: Til Death Do Us Part – http://www.musicalartiststheatre.com/riverside.html

Toby’s Dinner Theatre – Southeast Baltimore – Currently Playing: Sophisticated Ladies - http://www.tobysdinnertheatre.com/

Performance Workshop Theatre – Federal Hill – http://www.performanceworkshoptheatre.org/

Creative Alliance – Patterson Park – http://www.creativealliance.org/

 jeffcantonite@yahoo.com

It’s easy to get depressed about the economy…but some of us in Baltimore need to get a grip and just think about how lucky we are.  The biggest thing that people have been freaking out in Baltimore is whether the Four Seasons will be Twenty-some stories vs. Forty-some. 

At least most of us are still employed.  Forbes recently ranked Baltimore #7 out of the top ten cities for job growth in 2009.  They cited growth in education, professional services, and business services, as well as the proximity to government jobs in Washington DC.  Incidentally Washington DC was ranked #2 on the list.  Combine this with the BRAC jobs that are starting to head this way, and we’ve got a lot to be thankful for.

Click Here to see the full ranking from Forbes

Compare this to dour news from the Associated Press today which ranked New York as the top city for job losses (181,000 job losses), followed by LA (164,000), Miami (85,000), and Chicago (80,000).

Click Here to see the AP Article

So to the unfortunate that find themselves without a job…well then…Welcome to Baltimore!

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com

What might be the first project already underway that has been scaled back due to the economic downturn, the condominium portion of the Four Seasons/Legg Mason towers in Harbor East has been delayed.  The 256 room/18 story hotel portion of the project will still be constructed along with the neighboring 24 story Legg Mason Tower.

Click here to read the article

Although rumors of the delay have been circulated for the past few weeks, the news came to a major blow to many who wanted to see the 44 story tower rise at the waters edge.  The building would have been the city’s tallest, exceeding the existing Legg Mason tower by 4 stories.  According to the article, the condos will be built atop the hotel when the market improves. 

When you look at the big picture, this news is really not a surprise considering similar situations in other cities across the country.  According to The Sun, only 14 buyers out of the 113 contracts for Ritz Carlton condos across the harbor have gone to settlement.  This is remarkable, considering the hefty deposits that are typically required to reserve these condos…meaning a lot of people walked away with a lot of money on the table.  The Four Seasons would be similar development to the Ritz.  On the bright side, Baltimore’s existing condos may have a better chance of holding their value, since the condo market is not as overbuilt as in other cities (think Miami and Houston).  Let’s hope the market improves more quickly in Baltimore as well!

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com

It looks like 2009 might be the year for upscale casual restaurants in Baltimore.  It seems like a whole slew of them are in the works across the city, despite the current economic conditions.  Maybe they’re counting on the regulars at Charleston, Prime Rib, and Tio Pepe to cheapening up a little bit.  However, it’s probably more likely that that the upscale casual dining option is just becoming more popular.

The Maryland Daily Record recently reported on a bunch of these types of eateries opening on the West Side of the harbor, including Frank & Nic’s West End Grill, which just opened in the Zenith Apartment Building across from Oriole Park at Camden Yards.  Click below to read the article.

http://www.mddailyrecord.com/article.cfm?id=10390&type=UTTM

The article also gave us some updates on two other restaurants that BaltimoreGrows has been tracking.  Sullivans Steakhouse  http://www.sullivansteakhouse.com/is set to open in February or March, with Kona Grille http://www.konagrill.com/ set to open in April.  Both will be located in the Verizon Building at Pratt and Light Streets. Supposedly, Redstone Grill  http://www.redstonegrill.com/ was going to set up shop in the same building, but may back out of the deal.

jeffcantonite@yahoo.com