Mt. Vernon in Baltimore's midtown is my favorite neighborhood anywhere. It also has some of the best architecture you'll find anywhere as well, especially in its many churches. I snapped these photos today, but please excuse the poor quality of some of the photos. I was forced to use my old camera which only has one zoom setting. Enjoy.

I saw this when I stepped out of my car....
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0004.jpg

Corner of Cathedral and Read St., I believe.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0005.jpg

Skyscrapers across the street from Mt. Vernon's Basilica of the Assumption
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0006.jpg

St. Alphonsus Catholic Church. It was too tall to fit in my camera, so I got the middle potion of the steeple. Oh well.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0007.jpg

Facades
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0008.jpg

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0009.jpg

Grace and St. Peter's Episcopal Church
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0010.jpg

Another church across the street from Grace and St. Peter's. I forgot the name of this one.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0011.jpg

Same church as above, closer up.
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0012.jpg

Baltimore School For The Arts
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0013.jpg

Mt. Vernon stoops
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0014.jpg

Emmanuel Episcopal Church
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0017.jpg

Interesting office building
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0018.jpg

More facades
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0019.jpg

The Stafford and other buildings
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0020.jpg

Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0021.jpg

Peabody Court Hotel
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0022.jpg

Washington Monument
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0023.jpg

Around Mt. Vernon Place
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0024.jpg

Peabody Court Hotel again...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0025.jpg

Facades
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0026.jpg

Walters Art Gallery
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0027.jpg

Looking down Charles St from Mt. Vernon Place
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0028.jpg

Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church again
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0029.jpg

More facades
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0030.jpg

North on Charles St. with the Belvedere Hotel emerging on the horizon
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0031.jpg

Vandalism in Mt. Vernon Place. Hopefully this will get fixed soon...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0032.jpg

Around Mt. Vernon Place
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Peabody Music Students take a break in Mt. Vernon Place
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0035.jpg

The Stafford again...
http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c294/PeterSmith410/AAAA0036.jpg

This last picture I didn't take, but it's of the Basilica of the Assumption in Mt. Vernon. It's the nation's first Catholic Cathedral It's currently undergoing a $32 million renovation, so it's completely engulfed in scaffolding, so I didn't photograph it. For those interested, during the renovation they just uncovered four wall-sized frescos painted in 1865, but hidden behind an earlier renovation. Hopefully they'll leave them exposed. My great-grandfather's signature was found on two of the frescos, so I'm especially eager to see them.
http://www.wam.umd.edu/~jlehnert/basilica.jpg

I am continually amazed that poeople would rather live in some crappy suburb or sprawl hell south west wasteland than in a great city like Baltimore

Awesome place. Awesome architecture. :)

Great shots. Just want to point out that the streets are deviod of people. This is quite common when pix of Baltimore are posted. Especially disturbing was the shot looking south on Charles Street from the Washington Monument. There wasn't a soul to be found.

It was a rather quiet day in Mt. Vernon, but not so much as the pics would make you believe. I try to take photos with as few people in the way as possible after an incident in Towson where a man tried to take my camera because he was in the line of my photo. Ever since then, I try to keep people out of my photos if possible.

But this time of year, the streets in the city tend to be the emptiest because it is just starting to get cold and no one wants to be outside. Once people get used to the cold, they'll start coming out again.

How much longer will you be in Baltimore, Peter?
Could you get a few requested shots? :D
I'd love a shot or two of the 414 light street property, one or two of the 300 east pratt property and maybe a couple of the future cityscape property. :D
I've been looking on the internet to see some and havn't had any luck. Just thought if you had the time and it wasn't out of your way. :D :runaway:

I'll be in Baltimore through the end of December. I'll definitely get those shots for you at some point. Hopefully I'll get my better camera back soon, but if not, this one isn't all that bad - especially for photographing empty lots.

What is the intersection that cityscape will be at again?

I'm gonna try to get some street shots of the highrise canyons in downtown as well. I think people have seen enough of the harbor and skyline shots for a while. It'll be a nice change of pace - maybe some of the new Ablemarle Square as well.

Great pics! Not sure, but the church you couldn't identify might be Presbyterian, but I can't think of the name.

thanks, Peter.
as for the address for Cityscape, I'll have to get back to you on that one. I know it's right behind the 100 east pratt tower, if that helps. :D
as for the different perspective of shooting those "canyon" shots, I'm ALL FOR IT. :D

Great shots. Just want to point out that the streets are deviod of people. This is quite common when pix of Baltimore are posted. Especially disturbing was the shot looking south on Charles Street from the Washington Monument. There wasn't a soul to be found.

New York it isn't but foot traffic in Mt Vernon is very dependent on weather and time of day. Most of the area is residential and pretty quiet although there are some office buildings, lots of bars and restaurants, a major museum, a scattering of stores, 4 theaters and 3 colleges to stir things up. Things tend to perk up around lunch time, late in the day, bar and restaurant time on weekends and when there are events at the Lyric or Meyerhoff. I walk through the area a few times per week at lunch and if you are there at 11:30 it is pretty darn quiet until people get hungry.

Great pics! Not sure, but the church you couldn't identify might be Presbyterian, but I can't think of the name.

I think it's called "First and Franklin Presbyterian". The spire was once the tallest building in the US. There was an interesting story that the spire was a wonder of early cast iron structure, covered with masonry, at least according to the architect's drawings. During renovations a few years ago after a roof fire, workers entering the spire for the first time in at least a century found that the 1850 construction team had grossly cheated and not followed the plans at all when they built it. The cast iron structure was mostly not there, having been substituted with a maze of improvised logs and timbers that were very precarious. It could have collapsed in any strong wind, but stood for 130 years. A modern aluminum structure was put in place to reinforce the inside of the structure. It's one of many remarkable Victorian Gothic churches in Mt Vernon and nearby Bolton Hill, most of which have amazing stained glass windows.