Signs of change: Fall colors around Baltimore
The leaves are turning, there’s a chill in the air – all signs of the changing seasons.
Posts by Barbara Haddock Taylor:
Baltimore neighborhoods
Baltimore street photographers
Year in review
Freddie Gray: protests, aftermath
24 hours with...
A. Aubrey Bodine
Viewing Baltimore from above
Reconstructing the past at the B & O Railroad Museum’s restoration shop
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
Roland Park cobbler wants to save your sole
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
Time traveling at the B&O Railroad Museum
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
Inside Baltimore’s iconic Bromo Seltzer Tower
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
Viva House, a Baltimore blessing for almost half a century
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
Making rolls for Thanksgiving
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
James W. Hamlin, who grew up in the Druid Heights neighborhood, wanted to bring people back to Baltimore’s historic Pennsylvania Avenue. He hoped to provide the community with a valuable service and offer a unique product to entice visitors.
The result is The Avenue Bakery, which opened in the summer of 2011. The bakery makes cakes, pies, muffins, cookies, croissants and cobblers. By Thanksgiving of that year, word was out that the Avenue’s signature item, “Poppay’s” dinner rolls, were something unique. The rolls, which Mr. Hamlin has been making for around 20 years, were named by his granddaughter Bria.
Poppay’s rolls at Thanksgiving have quickly become a tradition for many Baltimore area families. They draw people from Virginia and Pennsylvania as well. Customers place orders well in advance, but the bakery also makes dozens more available on a first-come, first serve basis on the day before Thanksgiving.
Mr. Hamlin and his family and friends baked around 400 dozen rolls this week, working around the clock since Monday night. Jules Howie, a regular customer, picked up her rolls on Wednesday afternoon and said the bakery is “a treasure, a beacon of light in the community.”
EWA’s Last Rites Match: A Bruising Good Time
Photos and text by Barbara Haddock Taylor
More →
Conowingo Dam: Keeping the lights on for a generation
Motorists who travel along Route 1 between Harford and Cecil counties across the Susquehanna River over the mile-long Conowingo Dam might wonder what’s inside the large facility that’s owned and operated by Exelon Generation Corporation.
The Conowingo Hydroelectric Station, which includes the Conowingo Dam and Powerhouse, took two years to construct and started generating power in 1928. The dam is one of four hydroelectric dams along the Susquehanna. Its turbines produce 572 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power 159,000 households.
Entering the plant is like stepping back in time into an oddly beautiful scene. The giant turbine hall contains over 3000 windows overlooking seven enormous turbines. Morning light floods the large open space, which faces the river.
Exelon general manager Archie Gleason states, “The Conowingo Dam is undoubtedly a special place that is reflected in its historic heritage. The fact that so much of the original structure, equipment and fixtures still exist in such pristine, working condition is a testament to the quality and care that was taken when the dam was built in the late 1920’s. There is so much rich history preserved here that makes the Conowingo Dam much more than the concrete, steel and glass you see – it is a reflection of the shared memories and goals of the generations who worked
Restoration of the 1309
For the past two years, the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad has been restoring a Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad 2-6-6-2 steam locomotive. When completed, the No. 1309 will be the largest and most powerful steam locomotive still in regular operation in the United States.
More →