Fells Point

THE ROLAND PARK Second Presbyterian Church looked absolutely stunning last Saturday for the wedding of Natalia Pia Melanie Sommer and Richard Matthew Dohler. Thousands of wildflowers, miles of lace ribbons and tulle, and window sills decorated with Singapore orchids set the stage for the nuptials of the daughter of pop music star Donna Summer and her first husband, Helmut Sommer,and the son of Dick and Bonna Dohler, he's an Ellicott City builder.The church was filled with the music of German trumpeteer Langston Fitzgerald and selections of Bach, Beethoven and Vivaldi, played by the church's music director Margaret Budd on the organ.

Millard R. Hart Sr., a retired master woodworker and lifelong tugboat enthusiast, died May 11 of congestive heart failure at the Maples, a Towson assisted-living facility. The longtime Hamilton resident was 85. Millard Raymond Hart born at his family's Belt Street home in Locust Point. His father, James F. Hart, was captain of the tug A.G. Laun, and his mother was a homemaker. Mr. Hart demonstrated an aptitude for woodworking and he studied at the old Thomas A. Edison Vocational High School at Howard and Centre streets "I didn't have to draw anything," he told Jim Burger, a Baltimore photographer and writer in a recent interview.

A multicolored grouping of four clapboard rowhouses in Fells Point stands out like Gerbera daisies against the Formstone and brick fronts of its neighbors on either side. Architect Myrna Poirier calls one of these gems home and will soon invite visitors beyond her threshold as part of the Historic Harbor House Tour of Fells Point on Mother's Day. In keeping with the facade of her home, the interior is a color-infused, uplifting space. "Color is so important," she said. "A lot of people don't realize what color does for your spirits," pointing to an open interior 50 feet deep, with soft pastel paint on the walls in each room, richly embellished textiles from all over the world hanging on them and the morning sun bursting through ceiling skylights.

Townhouse Kitchen and Bar has announced its opening date. The restaurant will open on May 24 in Fells Point, next door to RA Sushi. This is the fourth Townhouse, which is operated by the Glenview, Ill.-based Restaurants America. The menu, which specializes in contemporary American fare with Latin, will offer a variety of shared plates, salads, fire grilled skewers, tacos and more. Bryan Perdue has been hired as executive chef. Townhouse will feature more than 40 local beers on tap, as well as" table tap" system located at four individual tables for diners.

Soon after Crabby Dick's opened on South Broadway in 2000, co-owner John Buchheit started catching one of the best compliments a restaurateur ever gets. "I would sit on the bench out front and hear people say, `Oh yeah, Crabby Dick's -- they been there forever,'" Buchheit said. "That's what you want to hear." In a couple of years, Buchheit and business partner Dale Slotter built a Fells Point tourist staple. And when the restaurant closes Sunday, they'll be leaving Baltimore the best possible way -- on top. "We're closing on a high note," Buchheit said.

When you park at a sign in Fells Point that says "2 Hour Parking Limit in Area #16," please pay careful attention to the preposition (which I italicize for those of you who, like me, didn't pay much attention in sixth grade English). It does not mean move your car to another space before your two hours is up — it means evacuate your car from Area #16 entirely or you will be ticketed $52. Do not evacuate on Area #16, no matter how strong the urge! Prepositions make a critical difference in Area #16, and those you evacuating in the street will surely get a citation.

Millard R. Hart Sr., a retired master woodworker and lifelong tugboat enthusiast, died May 11 of congestive heart failure at the Maples, a Towson assisted-living facility. The longtime Hamilton resident was 85. Millard Raymond Hart born at his family's Belt Street home in Locust Point. His father, James F. Hart, was captain of the tug A.G. Laun, and his mother was a homemaker. Mr. Hart demonstrated an aptitude for woodworking and he studied at the old Thomas A. Edison Vocational High School at Howard and Centre streets "I didn't have to draw anything," he told Jim Burger, a Baltimore photographer and writer in a recent interview.

John Houser III reviews Nanami Cafe in Fells Point for Friday's Live section. Yes, this is where Kawasaki was. It looks all new and shiny. This is the Ann Street space where Kawasaki used to be. With a great view of the water, Nanami makes for a romantic destination for (sushi) lovers, John decides. Here's a link to his review.

A new restaurant will open in the Living Classroom's Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Museum in late October. Waterfront Kitchen will feature a menu of "spirited American cuisine" designed by Jerry Pellegrino of Corks and will "emphasize seasonal ingredients," some of which will be grown by students in Living Classroom 's BUGS (Baltimore Urban Gardening with Students) program in a greenhouse located on the school's nearby Caroline Street campus.  The new restaurant, which will seat 75 inside and 100 outside on a waterside promenade, is owned by Charles Nabit and Michael Klein.

Bond Street Social opens Thursday night in Fells Point. This is the old DuClaw space in the Bond Street Wharf building, although you'd have trouble recognizing it. The few hundred friends and neighbors who turned out for Bond Street Social's Wendesday night preview party got a feel for the space, which has been radically transformed. The urban lodge look has been introduced into a space that DuClaw tried to make work as a suburban sports bar. Upon its closing, the DuClaw operators honorably acknowledged their formula, so successful elsewhere, was wrong for the neighborhood.

There are a lot of stories I remember reading in The Sun , many of them about sports - the story about Baltimore getting an NFL football team, and the story about the St. Louis Browns moving to Baltimore. But the review of "Diner" is the one that sticks out, because "Diner" was the first movie I wrote and directed, and The Evening Sun 's Lou Cedrone, who reviewed it, was an established and important critic in Baltimore at that time. It was one of those reviews where you pick it up and go, "Oh, my God. This is devastating.

A multicolored grouping of four clapboard rowhouses in Fells Point stands out like Gerbera daisies against the Formstone and brick fronts of its neighbors on either side. Architect Myrna Poirier calls one of these gems home and will soon invite visitors beyond her threshold as part of the Historic Harbor House Tour of Fells Point on Mother's Day. In keeping with the facade of her home, the interior is a color-infused, uplifting space. "Color is so important," she said. "A lot of people don't realize what color does for your spirits," pointing to an open interior 50 feet deep, with soft pastel paint on the walls in each room, richly embellished textiles from all over the world hanging on them and the morning sun bursting through ceiling skylights.

In their quest to cure Baltimore's ailing harbor, advocates and authorities have tried one gadget after another: floating wetlands, a solar-powered aerator, even a trash wheel. Add now the "algal turf scrubber," a long wooden sluiceway through which harbor water is pumped over a bed of slimy green algae. The gutter, 350 feet long by a foot wide, uses native algae to strip nutrients, suspended sediment and carbon from water and inject oxygen into it before returning it to the harbor.

In February, Spike TV announced "Bar Rescue," a design makeover show, would take up the cause of J.A. Murphy's in Fells Point. The show was coming at the request of owners Keith Murphy and Joel Gallant. Theirs was one of more than 200 bars to apply for a guest spot on the show, the network said. Two months later, a new J.A. Murphy's, now dubbed a cliched Murphy's Law, quietly reopened. You could be forgiven for not knowing about it. While the bar got a new draft system and upgraded look, it seems the show's producers - or the owners - forgot to fix some things.

For 96 years, one thing has remained constant at T.G. Tochterman & Sons, Baltimore's oldest bait and tackle shop: There's always a Tochterman behind the counter. It started with Thomas in 1916, who handed the keys over to his son, Thomas Jr., in 1936, who handed them to his son, Tony, in 1981. Tony runs the store with his wife, Dee. But Tony's dad is still on the premises, his ashes in a fishing rod case behind the counter, surrounded by a collection of old reels and vintage photos.

On the eve of Easter, a religious group is coming down hard on the Fells Point bar Ale Mary's. Why? Well, its name for starters. And all of the other things the church-themed bar does for kitsch value. They decorate with photos of nuns. They post their draft list on a hymn board. They offer Father Luies Grilled Wings and Father Tom's Fried Ice Cream Sundae. And, possibly their most serious transgression according to the group: the bar's "chalice" club where people can get their beer served in a chalice.

City police were investigating the discovery of a dead body found floating in the Inner Harbor near Fells Point Wednesday morning. Details were not immediately available, but fire officials confirmed that medics were called to the 900 block of S. Bond St. at about 9:40 a.m. for a report of a body in the water. Fire officials could not immediately say whether the body was of a male or female, or whether foul play was suspected. > > Most recent updates Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

While Matt Snow assures us that he loves both dogs and cats, he has to admit, "Cats edge out the dogs by a hair. " Good thing he's not discriminating during National Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, or April as you know it, as his Baltimore-based clothing company Ex-Boyfriend is donating 100% of the net proceeds from poster, magnet and keychain bottle opener sales to the Maryland SPCA from now through April 15th. Ex-Boyfriend, the "clothing that starts conversations," gets its name from that one awesome item your ex left behind after a messy break-up that you just can't bear to part with because of the awesome compliments it gets you. Snow's designs stay true to that concept, with quirky images and phrases that bring the monsters, zombies, and "foodie cuties" back to your wardrobe, and the shirts have been worn recently in TV shows including Modern Family and Tosh.

What has three bedrooms, three and a half baths and a whole lot of Baltimore star appeal? Michael Phelps' Fells Point condo. And it looks like it could be yours if you've got a spare couple million. The listing was spotted (with the help of Sun reporter Jamie Smith Hopkins) on the website of chi-chi Realtor Heidi Krauss. (The news was reported in strangely mysterious fashion by The Real Estalker blog earlier this week.) Phelps name is not mentioned in the listing.