Federal Hill

Blue Agave has new owners, Brian Acquavella and Nicole Callender. They closed the Federal Hill restaurant right after Cinco De Mayo for renovations. They plan to have it back open on May 17. In the meantime, they're asking the dining public to weigh in on what the new Blue Agave should be like. A message on the restaurant's website says: "We plan on making some changes, but want to make the right ones. Please send us a message via email, Facebook , Twitter , or if you're feeling adventurous stop by in person to give us your feedback.

In a moment, you will hear the story of Georgia B. Martin and her exasperating efforts to get someone in government to help her remove a groundhog from her garden in historic Federal Hill. But first, I must think out loud, among patient readers of The Baltimore Sun, about how a groundhog got to Federal Hill in the first place. Federal Hill is in the city of Baltimore, surrounded by water on one side, and on the other three sides by a gentrified urban landscape of rowhouses, retail establishments, restaurants and many barrooms.

Like yours, my mind is still swirling. It doesn't exactly hurt like a hangover, and it's not racing like Jacoby Jones' record-setting kickoff return. It's simply still comprehending, ever so slowly, that our city's football team was crowned world champions last night. But I saw something extraordinary last night, and after the clock ran out, I was positive there was no place I'd rather be than Federal Hill, the neighborhood many love to hate, or at least love to roll their eyes at like, "Really, Fed?

Federal Hill seems to be one of those places where the more things change, the more they stay the same. So it is with the tunnels in the hill, which pop into public notice every few decades. The contractor shoring up the unstable north face of Federal Hill Park unearthed a large cavern 20 or 30 feet below the surface. Meticulously carved and arched, it runs some 200 feet, with a large chamber. An archaeologist got a quick look, and the entrance was quickly sealed before the curious could get in.Existence of tunnels under the park and, indeed, under a considerable area of the surrounding neighborhood, has long been documented.

A pair of side-by-side brick townhouses might be two of the most lovingly restored homes in the historic neighborhood of Federal Hill. They sit off a wide, brick-lined street. Separated on the ground level by a sally port (a narrow, open passage way), each has a door painted soft gold, each features third-floor garrets and each has windows cloaked in black shutters. These are the homes of Dr. John Hawkins, a dentist who practices in Federalsburg, a small town on Maryland's Eastern Shore, where he lives in another home during the week.

On a recent, unseasonably warm Thursday night, Federal Hill was jumping with people out on dates - out for happy hour, out for dinner. But Spoons, the laid-back coffee shop that's been a Cross Street fixture since 1999, was quiet, with just a few tables filled. With a menu featuring an intriguingly global mix of comfort foods and service that's friendly and prompt, Spoons is worthy of a little more bustle at dinner time. But, please, not too much more bustle. When the restaurant's owners, Shane Anderson, John Allen, Bernard Kayes and Deborah Cogan, decided last fall to add dinner to Spoons' repertoire, they recognized that the mellow atmosphere offered a welcome alternative to many of Federal Hill's more manic spots.

MaGerk's in Federal Hill has a reputation. If we're being charitable, we could say it's a sports bar for young people. More accurately, it can be referred to as meat-heat central - especially upstairs. But that reputation obscures the fact that MaGerk's is, above all, a highly accommodating sports bar, with lots of flat-screens and several specials just on game days. And, it should also be noted that MaGerk's is not just for Ravens fans. They're also a proud Eagles bar. On Sundays, the sound is split in the building so that fans of each teams can hear their games.

City Councilman William H. Cole IV said Wednesday evening that his office told state assessors several years ago that they had mistakenly valued a large Federal Hill home as if it were a fraction of its true size. And Cole said others in the neighborhood had complained as well, yet the error was not fixed. "For whatever reason, this house has slipped through the cracks nine different ways to Sunday," Cole said during a hearing at City Hall. Assessment officials could not explain why the tips went unheeded.

A man who wrestled a handgun away from a bank security guard before fleeing through the Cross Street Market in Federal Hill was shot by police Monday afternoon after witnesses helped officers track him several blocks away in South Baltimore, officials said. The shooting was the latest incident of daylight violence in well-traveled downtown areas, following a stabbing near Lexington Market on Friday, a fatal shooting at a downtown barbershop Saturday and a rash of armed robberies that swept through the Mount Vernon area on Sunday morning.

Excavators have begun a $900,000 reconstruction of Federal Hill. It is feared that without a new drainage system and other improvements, the steep slope overlooking the Inner Harbor might slide onto Key Highway, 50 feet below.This is an uplifting project. Federal Hill deserves it. Fort McHenry may have repulsed the British attackers but Federal Hill has repulsed Americans. During the Civil War federal troops mounted cannon on the hill facing the city to intimidate the many confederate supporters here.