Baltimore for dummies: the inside scoop on your new hometown

No, my dear froshies, you aren't in Kansas anymore. (And if that really is where you hail from, I certainly do apologize.) No, you're now in "Charm City," "Mobtown," and the "City that Reads." It's a port city and the largest the state of Maryland has to offer. It's a peculiar place called Baltimore...unless you were born here, in which case it's "Bawl-mer."

Now you may have heard a few things about Baltimore. There are those heroin and gonorrhea statistics roaming around. Or maybe you've heard about our kitschy Hampden neighborhood, where beehive hairdos and the word "hon" are still socially acceptable. Our reputation certainly precedes us, but regardless, I urge you to make up your own mind about your new home base and to get off IM and off campus to see a bit more of it before you do.

To help you become more familiar and intimate with the city you're now to call home, here's the scoop on the self-proclaimed "Greatest City in America."

The Basics

Crabcake-infested and row house-lined Baltimore was founded in 1729 and named after its founders, the Barons Baltimore, the Britons who also established the Maryland Colony. Baltimore is located in northern Maryland, at the head of the Patapsco River near its mouth on the Chesapeake Bay. It occupies 81 square miles and lies adjacent to Baltimore County.

You were probably paying attention during your high school American history courses, so I don't have to tell you about the British bombardment of Baltimore's Fort McHenry in 1814 that inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the poem that would become "The Star-Spangled Banner."

And whether you were paying attention in class or not, you may not know that in 1904, the city encountered a catastrophic fire that engulfed 86 city blocks. Throughout the course of this year, the 100-year anniversary of the fire, there have been events celebrating the renaissance and rebuilding of the city post-fire.

Today you will find over 200 neighborhoods in Baltimore. The city's population, according to the 2000 census, is over 600,000, with African-Americans, at about 64 percent, and whites, at 30 percent, being the most represented racial categories. In 1999, Baltimore's median household income was $30,078, and 22.9 percent of residents lived beneath the poverty line.

Notable Names

Michael Phelps is not the only successful and well-known athlete to come out of Baltimore. Babe Ruth was born in 1895 on Baltimore's Emory Street, an address that is preserved as a museum for the baseball great. Ruth also lived on Hanover Street and West Conway Street, in a location that is now short centerfield at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Edgar Allan Poe wasn't born in Baltimore, but he lived here for a time, and it's probably safe to say that Baltimore Poe House and Museum is the most interesting thing on Amity Street in West Baltimore. The poet, whose death in Baltimore is attributed to everything from alcoholism to rabies, rests at Westminster Burying Ground at Fayette and Greene Streets.

Speaking of creepy, one can't list "Mobtown" natives without mentioning filmmaker John Waters. Perhaps most famous for his 1988 film Hairspray, the inspiration for the Broadway musical of the same name, "The Pope of Trash" and the "Baron of Bad Taste" got his start in local church basements.

Bit O'Current Events

When Baltimore City's mayor, Martin O'Malley (a Democrat who plays in an Irish rock band and has been head honcho since 1999) asks you if you believe, it's not Santa or the Easter Bunny to which he refers. O'Malley's administration is responsible for the "Believe" campaign, an advertising, community-based effort aimed at reducing drug trafficking, drug violence and drug use in Baltimore. Word of initiative is spread through buttons, t-shirts, bumper stickers and, more recently, a BelieveMobile. You won't have to be in Baltimore long before you'll see these things floating around.

And while we're on urban dilemmas, add Baltimore's school system to the list. Not typically noted for its stellar performance, the school system now also is known for the budget crisis it experienced last school year that led to a near-collapse. Though the city eventually bailed out the school system, the system's financial problems are far from solved. Stay tuned.

For future reference, your local city news sources as a Baltimorean include our major daily, our weekly alternative and your basic variety of major station television affiliates.

Randomness

Baltimore ain't called the "City of Firsts" for nothing. In addition to boasting the first sugar refinery in the U.S., the first candy factory to produce licorice, and the first American umbrella factory, Baltimore has several transportation firsts -- the first commercial electric street car line in the U.S. from Baltimore to Hampden, and the first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, for commercial transportation of passengers and freight. You'll probably find today's transportation system to be lacking, however. Tough luck, hon.

As "Monument City," Baltimore also holds the first monuments in the U.S. dedicated to Columbus and to George Washington.

And note to self, the first Ouija board was invented and patented by Isaac and William Fuld in B'more in 1892.

Now Baltimore is not Philly, it's no Boston, and it will never be New York. But it knows all of this, and if you accept it for what it is, you can have a fantastic four years here.

Emily Yoon is an area native and appreciates the charm of "Charm City."

"I think Baltimore is a very eclectic city with a lot of character," the sophomore said. "A lot of its neighborhoods have some sort of history behind them."

And for those new to the area, she encourages exploration. "I would say definitely check out some of the historic and artsy neighborhoods like Highlandtown and Mt. Vernon."