Head north. Take a right onto Aliceanna St., named for Aliceanna Webster Bond, wife of John Bond, who helped settle Fells Point. Your next destination is two blocks away, where you’ll take a left onto S. Wolfe St. to the 600 block. But be on the lookout for the historical marker at the corner of the first block, S. Durham St., which gives you the lowdown on Frederick Douglass and the time he spent living here on Aliceanna St. The houses at 612–614 Wolfe St. are unique. Each is one and a half stories and built of wood, surviving from circa 1775, before fire mandates required houses to be built of brick. Three more wooden houses can be seen on S. Ann St., at #533, #717, and #719. The story behind the name of this street is interesting as well. The Wolfe here is British General James Wolfe, a victorious soldier in a 1759 battle against the French in Canada. That the street name retained its association even after the revolution is rather striking.
Return to Aliceanna and take a right, following it to S. Broadway. If you didn’t before, take some time to poke around the shops here, or head into the terrific Broadway Market, on the right. Broadway Market has been at this location in one form or another since 1786. It was originally known as Fells Point Market and retained that name until 1797, when it became known by its current name. Recent work has refurbished some of the market, making it an even more inviting place to come and get some great food.
Continue north on S. Broadway to Bank St. (three blocks north). At the corner is St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, which is the second-oldest church in the Baltimore diocese, founded in 1792. The current structure is not that old, however; it was built in 1897, replacing the original church building. The locally beloved Cardinal James Gibbons served his first assignment at St. Patrick’s, in 1861, before being named a cardinal and pushing for the creation of the Catholic University of America, eventually becoming its first chancellor. The church suffered some minor damage during the freak 5.8-magnitude earthquake Baltimore suffered in 2011. If you’re hungry, this is a great place to be. You’re now in the vicinity of what is known as Upper Fells Point, and it’s likely that you are hearing more Spanish than English. Many immigrants from Mexico and Central America have settled in this area in recent years. One of the benefits for longtime locals is a plethora of Latin restaurants. You’ll find plenty by heading a few blocks north.
Once you’ve had your gustatory fill, return south on S. Broadway, back to Fleet St., and take a right. In three blocks, you’ll reach S. Dallas St. On this corner, in 1773, you would have seen Baltimore’s first Methodist meetinghouse. It’s no longer there, but head north on S. Dallas to see Douglass Terrace. When Frederick Douglass returned to Fells Point a half century after his time there as a slave, the then world-famous orator, ambassador, and author built five houses here and named them Douglass Terrace. The houses still stand today.
Continue north on S. Dallas for a few hundred feet until you reach Eastern Ave. Diagonally to the right is the Baltimore Tattoo Museum, dedicated to the art of tattooing dating back to the 19th century. Because the museum also houses a fully functioning tattoo parlor, you might consider leaving with a more permanent souvenir.
Return to Fleet St. and take a right. The next block is S. Caroline St. Take a left there. Your starting point is two blocks south.
Bond Street Wharf
Near Broadway Market
BACK STORY
Perhaps more than any other person in this country’s history, Frederick Douglass represents the ideals behind what is commonly referred to as the American Dream: that if you work hard enough, you will be rewarded. Douglass’s rise and what he accomplished in his life are nothing short of astonishing. Born into slavery on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Douglass was moved to Baltimore as a very young man, a move for which he was grateful, as he stated that city slaves were generally treated better than those in rural areas. Douglass wrote, “Going to live at Baltimore laid the foundation, and opened the gateway, to all my subsequent prosperity. I have ever regarded it as the first plain manifestation of that kind providence which has ever since attended me, and marked my life with so many favors.” He lived on Aliceanna St. in Fells Point and worked as a ship caulker. Inviting brutal whippings, Douglass taught himself to read, employing tricks on neighborhood kids and paying poor white kids with bread to teach him. In the end, Douglass rose from illiterate slave to eventually penning several books, earned international fame as an eloquent orator and abolitionist, and achieved the rank of U.S. ambassador to Haiti. He lived long enough to see slavery abolished and pass into the mists of history. But the man always carried the scars. His story and his writings are essential to every American wishing to understand this country.
CONNECTING THE WALKS
The starting point of this walk is essentially the same starting point (though moving in the opposite direction) of Walk 5: Harbor East.
POINTS OF INTEREST (START TO FINISH)
Frederick Douglass–Isaac Myers Maritime Park douglassmyers.org, 1417 Thames St., 410-685-0295
George Wells House / London Coffee House Northwest corner of Bond and Thames Sts. / 854 S. Bond St.
Brown’s Wharf Broadway and Thames St.
Fell Family Grave Marker 1607 Shakespeare St.
The Vagabond Theatre vagabondplayers.org, 806 S. Broadway, 410-563-9135
Seaman’s Hall 802 S. Broadway
Admiral Fell Inn harbormagic.com, 888 South Broadway, 410-539-2000
The Horse You Came In On thehorsebaltimore.com, 1626 Thames St., 410-327-8111
Broadway Pier Broadway and Thames St.
City Recreation Pier 1700 block of Thames St.
Merchant’s House 1732 Thames St.
Tavern / Sweatshop 1738 Thames St.
Robert Long House 812 S. Ann St.
Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fells Point preservationsociety.com, 410-675-6750
Captain John Steele House 931 Fell St.
Belt’s Wharf 936 Fell St.
Henderson’s Wharf Fell and Wolfe Sts.
Swann’s Wharf 1001 Fell St.
William Price House 910 Fell St.
St. Stanislaus Kostka Roman Catholic Church Aliceanna and S. Ann Sts.
Wooden Houses 612–614 Wolfe St.
Broadway Market 600 and 700 blocks of S. Broadway
St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church Broadway and Bank St.
Douglass Terrace Dallas St.
Baltimore Tattoo Museum baltimoretattoomuseum.net, 1534 Eastern Ave., 410-522-5800
ROUTE SUMMARY
1 Start at S. Caroline St. and go south to visit the Douglass-Myers Maritime Park.
2 Take a right onto Thames St.
3 Turn left onto S. Bond St.
4 Turn