Downtown

It is not an exaggeration to say that the Annapolis Historic District Commission has been holding the heart of the city in the palm of its hand. Had the commission refused to approve plans to expand the Anne Arundel County courthouse and thus keep it downtown, it would have drained the lifeblood from that heart.The commission delayed long enough to make us worry. In the end, though, it did the right thing, allowing the county to proceed with the $43 million expansion before County Executive Robert R. Neall leaves office and his successor gets a chance to move the courthouse elsewhere.

USF&G Corp.'s decision to move out of its Inner Harbor signature tower to its corporate campus in Mount Washington is another blow to Baltimore's downtown business district. Earlier this week, First Fidelity Bancorp caused a shock by announcing that about 500 employees of the Bank of Baltimore it acquired would lose their jobs by summer.These moves symbolize the strictly bottom-line approach of managements that are turning around companies previously teetering on the brink of disaster as a result of 1980s excesses and misjudgments.

Downtown Westminster could become an after-dark shopping area where well-lighted storefronts welcome pedestrians, police on foot patrol assure safety and signs make it easy for strangers to find the parking lots.City Council members, local business leaders and interested citizens considered those ideas and others last night in a discussion session on how to make downtown, in Councilman Stephen R. Chapin Sr.'s words, "alive and bustling with people."The discussion focused on recommendations in a market analysis of downtown Westminster released in November.

Maryland National Mortgage Corp. will consolidate two major offices into a single downtown location, the company said yesterday, quelling widespread fears in the real estate community that the company would leave the city for Baltimore County."

SEATTLE -- Its setting on Puget Sound, surrounded by the Cascade and Olympic Mountains, has prompted many to call Seattle one of the most livable cities in the world. For those in the real estate industry, it may also be one of the most bankable."Seattle's physical beauty is only half the story," Seattle Mayor Norman Rice said. "It also has a lot to do with the spirit and commitment of the people in the city. The development and business communities as a whole are dedicated to the well-being of the city, and that is important."

I'M AS frustrated as the next guy at all the traffic tie-ups downtown, now knotted up in one of its periodic frenzies of new construction. I watch the meter on my taxi click away as the line of cars remains immobile, while a concrete mixer deposits a fresh batch to Fayette and Howard streets. So, one day, I said "enough" and just got out and walked and walked. Along the way, I did some snooping and investigating. It's time to take a look at the new Baltimore that has been refreshed and rebuilt over the summer and fall of 2003.

One morning when I was 5, my grandfather put his shaving brush down and told me it was time he unlocked for me the secrets of downtown Baltimore. Edward Jacques "Pop" Monaghan Sr. was a transplanted Pennsylvanian who often cursed Baltimore and its inhabitants. But he loved to chaperon his 5-year-old grandson on an outing to Calvert and Baltimore streets. Pop believed that when you went to town, you looked the part. He wore suits, often brown or dark grayish green.

Downtown Partnership public safety guides are available upon request as escorts for employees leaving businesses in the 106-block Downtown Management District. Escorts are available daily from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. to walk people to a car or a transit stop. To request an escort, call 401-244-8778.

Trucks banned downtown for July Fourth festivities Commercial vehicles, except those making local deliveries, will not be allowed downtown and at the Inner Harbor between noon and midnight tomorrow because of Fourth of July festivities, the city's Transportation Department announced. Trucks with tanker-trailers will be prohibited downtown. Streets affected by the temporary restrictions will include Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard between the Interstate 395 split and Fayette Street; President Street from Aliceanna Street to Fayette Street; and Light Street from Pratt Street to Key Highway.