Baltimore's Fells Point, meanwhile, looked like it was holding a huge yard sale, with every resident and business offering merchandise on the streets. In fact, many were pulling belongings and merchandise out to dry.
The city had placed Dumpsters along most streets and they were filling up fast. Basement entrances were open and pumps worked furiously to pump water out into the street. Residents hauled the contents of their basements onto the sidewalks.
Philip Smith, president of CAPTEL, a public affairs and communications firm with a branch office in Fells Point, lamented the damage to a building renovated a month ago. Despite his best efforts to sandbag, water had gurgled up 20 inches deep into the first floor, ruining electronic equipment and floors.
Still, several owners of flooded businesses on South Ann Street tried to salvage their goods, such as the Oriental carpets at Silk Road.
Some areas once choked with floodwater, like Baltimore's Inner Harbor, showed few signs of the storm.
Around the harbor, Isabel had left a few small calling cards: the flotsam and jetsam of the harbor and storm drains, the stench of soaked carpeting, the sound of generators pumping water out of garages and basements.
Otherwise, joggers ran along streets submerged 24 hours earlier, and restaurants set up tables.
The only thing missing were flowers for the beds around the promenade, and they were due to arrive the next day.
Some businesses were closed, but most appeared to be opening back up or at least opening to dry out.
Thanks to sandbags, no water had entered the two buildings on the harbor, though it had spilled over the promenade and flooded the street behind it.
Even the five-story underground garage at the Rennaisance Harborplace hotel across the street was dry, according to Kent Digby, vice president and general manager.
The Rouse Co., which owns the development, had trucked in 220 tons of dirt Friday and built a dike around the building, which prevented water from coming in. As the flooding drained away, they trucked the dirt away and cleaned up.
The Constellation and its museum on the pier were set to open yesterday, despite the flooding they experienced.
"Three days of preparation really helps," said Christopher Rowsom, executive director of the museum. The ship sustained no damage.
But that wasn't the case at the World Trade Center, where crews were pumping out a basement that had flooded. The Port Administration, which operates the building, doesn't expect to be able to open for another week, said spokeswoman Darlene Frank. It will take days to pump the water out and deal with the building's electrical systems.
While the Living Classrooms Foundation's main building had only minor damage, other facilities were not so fortunate. The foundation lost an old pier and much of the machinery in its boat-building shop.
The Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel remained closed Saturday because it still had no power. It had to evacuate visitors Friday because employees worried the backup generator would give out.
Lost revenue
Not a drop of water seeped into Victor's Cafe in Fells Point, but owner Victor DiVivo couldn't open and was forced to throw out $9,000 worth of spoiled food because power was out.
DiVivo said he'll lose $60,000 in potential business if he stays closed today.
Legal Sea Foods on Pratt Street also remained shut down, the restaurant surrounded by Disaster Kleenup International vans and trucks, and a Water Out Emergency Dry van. Two huge pumps were attached to the front door and an industrial-size fan sat in the middle of the dining room.
The deaths of the father and daughter in Pasadena were a reminder, fire officials said, to keep generators outside houses.
Capt. Bob Rose, an Anne Arundel Fire Department spokesman, said fire officials urge residents not to use generators in the house, no matter how well-vented it is. Carbon monoxide gas is invisible and odorless and cannot be detected by a smoke alarm, he said.
"We don't want them in the building at all. They should be outside and away from the house," he said. "You just don't know [carbon monoxide] is there, and it is extremely deadly."
Rose said another family that lived in the 7800 block of Tick Neck Road also ran a generator inside and they became ill from carbon monoxide around 10:30 a.m. They were transported to North Arundel Hospital but were not seriously injured, he said.
Sun staff writers Tricia Bishop, Liz Bowie, Andy Faith, Andrew A. Green, Chris Guy, David Kohn, Eric Siegel, Andrea Walker, Rona Kobell and Kimberly A.C. Wilson contributed to this article.
