Location: Corner of Broadway and Eastern, Baltimore, MD
Rating: 2.3/5
Description: One of my earliest memories is in Fells Point having a guy who, looking back, was an obvious drug addict make me a balloon animal which I thought was the coolest thing in the world. This was longer ago than I care to admit, back when Fells Point was known for the haves and the have-nots rubbing shoulders in the bar and not just about small plate restaurants and new water-view condos.
I guess I bring that up because amazingly enough, all these years and hundreds of millions of dollars of investment later you still can find a dude, who doesn’t look all that much different from this gentleman, making animal balloons for kids in Fells Point.
I think that’s why, even at a time when most gentrified places in Baltimore quickly gain a few chain shops and become “anywhere USA”, Fells Point still has a soft spot in my heart. Somehow, even with all the condos, yuppie eateries, and bro hangouts, Fells Point has been able to remain distinctly Baltimore and I can’t wait for the day when I walk my kids down by the water and pay some toothless junkie to make them a balloon sword which looks eerily like a syringe.