Between the water and the Light Rail station is Wenburn St. Take it heading south (right if you’re facing the water; Wenburn heading north becomes Kloman St.). At the time of this writing, the area parallel to Wenburn St. is a massive open area of cranes and bulldozers. What’s coming here is something truly extraordinary. But first, what used to be here:The area’s industrial beginning dates to 1773, when John Moale built an iron furnace at the mouth of the Gwynns Falls where it spills into the Patapsco. Many of the foundry workers were African American, both freedmen and slaves. By the 1800s, Westport was growing, with several major rail lines—B&O, Western Maryland, Annapolis Short Line—running through the neighborhood. In the 19th century, this area was popular for city dwellers to swim, fish, crab, and boat. Shad, herring, perch, rockfish, and soft-shell crabs were abundant. In 1889, Carr & Lowrey set up a glass factory on the 16-acre parcel just north of where you stand now; mostly second-generation German immigrants filled those jobs. Soon after, Baltimore Gas & Electric’s predecessor, Consolidated Gas, Electric Light & Power, built the massive Westport Power Station; at the time it was the largest reinforced-concrete power-generating station in the world, also a bit north of where you are now. All this industry required workers, and the housing stock to accommodate soon followed. The residential neighborhood of Westport, behind you, was built primarily in the 1920s. Jobs were abundant, and residents of Westport enjoyed shops and services after Baltimore City annexed the neighborhood. Westport, for better or worse, had a distinctive identity compared to neighboring Cherry Hill to the south: Westport for whites, Cherry Hill for blacks. But as the 20th century wore on, many of the industrial jobs began to disappear. Today’s I-295, the Baltimore–Washington Parkway, built in the 1950s, split Westport in half. Soon after, white residents left for the suburbs, and Westport, like Cherry Hill, became overwhelmingly black (more than 90% of the population today) and increasingly poor and neglected. Some 20% of the housing in the neighborhood was vacant as of 2010. But because the neighborhood sits so near water, and because that shoreline is five times the size of the Inner Harbor, Baltimore’s jewel, its redevelopment seems as obvious as it is essential. The city has partnered with private developers, and both parties have invested great sums of money into transforming Westport. There are still many families in Westport who care a great deal for their neighborhood and desperately want improvements.
Look northeast, over the water, and you will see the swing bridge across the Middle Branch. It was used for CSX rail. The novel, swinging structure allowed ships to pass without requiring a drawbridge. The plans for the CSX swing bridge include incorporation as a 5-mile hike-and-bike trail, to link with the Gwynns Falls Trail (GFT). North of the bridge, a planned 236-foot sculpture will be, if realized, the largest contemporary sculpture on the continent, dramatically altering Baltimore’s skyline. The sculptor, John Henry, developed a fondness for Baltimore after undergoing surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Between the bridge and Waterview Ave., to the south—where you’re headed next—will be the extraordinary Westport Waterfront. The development plan involves 50 acres and $1.5 billion. The goal is to have the entire neighborhood LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) platinum certified for Neighborhood Development, a first on the East Coast. The LEED designation depends upon many factors, such as housing density, wetlands conservation, public transportation, and energy efficiency—all areas where Westport excels. Light Rail is already in place, of course, and easy access to waterfront also plays a large part in the plans. Middle Branch Park and the GFT are integral to city plans for the entire Middle Branch region to serve as a future green and environmentally conscious gateway to south Baltimore. A planned 8-acre forest-conservation area with some 70,000 new trees will aid in this effort. As for the development itself, there will be some 2,000 apartments, condos, and town homes, plus 3 million square feet of office space, 300,000 square feet of retail, and 500 hotel rooms.Part of the plan is to have the developer also work on existing housing stock in Westport. In other words, what the city and other interested parties are trying to avoid is to have a brand new gleaming playground for wealthy folks while leaving the blight in Westport alone. Already, there have been substantial improvements along Westport’s main street, Annapolis Road. Also, a significant percentage of the new development will be classified as affordable so that some existing residents of Westport and neighboring Cherry Hill can live in the new housing.
Take a right on Wenburn St. and follow it to a left onto Waterview Ave. The GFT parallels Waterview Ave. Just 500 feet to the west is historic Mount Auburn Cemetery; it’s not a terribly pleasant walk there, but it might be worth checking out. Recently cleared and finally cared for after many years of neglect, Mount Auburn was once known as the City of the Dead for Colored People. It contains 55,000 graves of African Americans and dates to 1872, when cemeteries were segregated, making it one of the oldest “colored” graveyards in the country. Many prominent African Americans are buried there.
At Cherry Hill Rd., the trail splits away from Waterview Ave. and heads toward the water. The change from urban to wetland is as dramatic as it is swift as you here enter 27-acre Middle Branch Park. John Smith, founder of the Jamestown colony, passed through here in 1608. Take the wooden wildlife observation boardwalk from the GFT to the viewing deck over Smith Cove. The area is lovely and green, surrounded by milkweed, cattails, goldenrod, and wildflowers. There are always many water birds about as well—a somewhat incongruous but pleasing sight against the backdrop of the city skyline. The Middle Branch acts as a migratory stop on the Atlantic Flyway, so keep your eyes open for non-native avian visitors. As noted, there will be further buffering of wetlands, plus the installation of two new piers specially designed as put-ins for kayakers and crew. There’s another observation deck to the right.
Head back to the GFT and go left, following the trail as it emerges from the trees and parallels the Middle Branch, soon coming to the Middle Branch Marina. Just beyond, in the red-roofed building, is the home of the Baltimore Rowing Club (baltimorerowing.org). Follow the path as it winds along the water, passing picnic benches and shade trees. Across the water from the marina is the proposed spot for a $50 million expansion of the National Aquarium in Baltimore. The 20-acre site will include an aquatic-life center, a park, and a fishing pier. Animal-care operations, classrooms, and research space will also be part of the future development.
Continuing along the GFT through Middle Branch Park, you’ll soon come to the distinctive Hanover Street Bridge (renamed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge in 1993). This 1916 Beaux Arts drawbridge connects Port Covington/Locust Point and Cherry Hill, the north and south banks of the Middle Branch. Apart from its utility as an important city roadway, the bridge has four attractive towers, one on each corner. The hike-and-bike trail that will take in the CSX swing bridge will incorporate Hanover Street Bridge to create a 5-mile loop.
Go under the Hanover Street Bridge as the GFT cuts through Broening Park and passes the Broening Boat Ramp just beyond, yielding to a lovely little section that continues to wind along the edge of the Patapsco. Broening Park used to be home to the Baltimore Yacht Club, which held competitive races in these waters, events many Baltimoreans attended. To the right is Harbor Hospital, buffered by a hill of wildflowers. Note: There’s parking available at Harbor Hospital, so you can arrive by car and do this walk in reverse. To do so, take I-95 to Exit 54, Hanover St. Go over the Hanover Street Bridge and turn left at Cherry Hill Rd. or Reedbird Ave. The parking lot is at 3001 S. Hanover St.There’s a bit more of the GFT left in this area. (Future plans call for linking it with trails that head into Annapolis, such as the B&A Trail, as well as linking it with Masonville Cove in Brooklyn to the south. All of this is part of the East Coast Greenway, a network of trails running from Maine to Florida.) You’ll notice a few more fishing piers near S. Hanover St. as the GFT moves under the bridge and under Potee St., and then emerges into Cherry Hill Park. Across the water is Reed Bird Island Park. Here is where you’ll need to turn around and retrace your steps to your starting point.