It's a Balmy 47 Degrees Out ...

So lets go ride bikes!!

First up ... Clifton Park.  In 1838, Johns Hopkins bought the farmland to create his estate which was home to a large sculpture collection and man made lake.  

A few hundred feet away from the mansion is the Clifton Park Valve House, an eight sided house which supplied water for adjacent farms and village.  The house has fallen into disrepair, but holds the pro-golf shop (yup there is a golf course in the park). 

The Park is also home to Real Food Farm, a 6 acre urban farm which is managed by Civic Works, Inc.  This local NGO is providing experiential educational opportunities to students of Baltimore City's public schools (there are several located within blocks of the farm), demonstrate the economic potential of urban farming and increasing food access for neighborhoods around the park.  I think that they come to our local farmers market - something to check out next weekend!

For weeks I have seen a beautiful building off in the distance from where I live, so I figured that today would be the day I would go see it up close.  Turns out it is the American Brewery, built in 1887, was one of the largest breweries in Maryland.  Sixty one workers kept the operation going until prohibition forced the brewery to shut down.  A few years later it was sold to the American Malt company and continued to operate the brewery until the building was listed on the National Registry of Historic Sites in 1973.  

For years the building sat untouched until the City of Baltimore approved renovation plans in 2004 which would allow Humanim to turn the structure into its headquarters.  Humanim's vision:

"is that all people in our community have access to the human services that they need. We believe that a diversity of human services within one company fosters expedient access to care and encourages a holistic approach to services. Diverse and complimentary programs benefit the individual served, their families, referral sources and the local community."

The area surrounding the area have been forgotten by the city; many urban developers and community members hope this new building will help revitalize the area.

From there down the hill to the water for a quick trip around Fells Point.  A strong headwind picked up so it was time to head back home.  

The colorful windows in the background are JHU