Fort Mchenry

Forty-seven years had passed since the last star had been added to the American flag, before two new designs were flown for the first time over Fort McHenry within months in 1959. Arizona became the 48th star in 1912, and the new flags adding Alaska and Hawaii each made their debut in Baltimore — both on the Fourth of July. An executive order signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Jan. 3, 1959, after the admittance of Alaska to the Union, reconfigured the stars on the old 48-star flag to seven rows of seven stars each, staggered horizontally and vertically.

A disabled vehicle in Baltimore City on Interstate 95 South/North at Bore 1 of the Fort McHenry Tunnel has closed one of four southbound tunnel lanes at 8:48 a.m. The Maryland Transit Administration reported minor delays on the MARC train at 9 a.m.

At Fort McHenry, even in winter, Greg McGuire and his platoon have enough work to keep busy from dawn's early light to the twilight's last gleaming.Their orders: to defend the fort against aging, the elements and a human tide that scours every surface, from grass to glass, and compresses the earthworks.The number of visitors always increases as spring approaches, and the fort's National Park Service protectors have mixed emotions about this year's coming invasion."The British were a one-shot deal," says Mr. McGuire, the maintenance chief, but tourism is relentless and "can be an even bigger challenge than what the elements do to the place."

More than 100 gloved volunteers, some in boots and others in waist-high waders, streamed along narrow paths and historic sea walls Saturday in a secluded nook of wetlands just south of Fort McHenry, their eyes scanning for trash or the perfect spot to plant a sapling. The volunteer cleanup and tree-planting event mostly centered on collecting garbage and removing large pieces of driftwood smothering growth areas for grasses. But from time to time, a more novel item turned up. "Here's a tennis ball," said Gail Hoffer, 48, a volunteer from Elkridge, who decided to join the cleanup after getting an email about it from the National Aquarium in Baltimore , where she's a member.

A second of Baltimore's historic treasures on the Inner Harbor is in serious need of repair. Unlike the Constellation at the heart of the harbor, Fort McHenry at its mouth has the funds to correct its deterioration. And it can be fixed without disturbing the 600,000 tourists who visit the historic fort each year. The Constellation, unfortunately, will have to be placed in drydock for at least the most urgent repairs -- when, and if, the money to do the work is raised.Thanks to the fact Fort McHenry is part of the National Park Service -- a national shrine as well as a national monument -- federal funds are available for the $3 million of work required to rebuild crumbling or eroded walls.

More than 100 gloved volunteers, some in boots and others in waist-high waders, streamed along narrow paths and historic sea walls Saturday in a secluded nook of wetlands just south of Fort McHenry, their eyes scanning for trash or the perfect spot to plant a sapling. The volunteer cleanup and tree-planting event mostly centered on collecting garbage and removing large pieces of driftwood smothering growth areas for grasses. But from time to time, a more novel item turned up. "Here's a tennis ball," said Gail Hoffer, 48, a volunteer from Elkridge, who decided to join the cleanup after getting an email about it from the National Aquarium in Baltimore , where she's a member.

Ever since Tina Cappetta Orcutt and her family moved to Maryland last summer, she says, her 9-year-old son Adam has been paying close attention to Maryland license plates, especially the commemorative tags that tout the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812. "He'll go, there's another Fort McHenry fan!" whenever he spots one of the red-white-and-blue plates featuring the Star-spangled Banner and the fort, Cappetta Orcutt says. "I don't correct him. " Cappetta Orcutt recently became superintendent of Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, one of Baltimore's best-known attractions and the scene of the battle in 1814 that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem that became the national anthem.

The walls that saved Baltimore from the British now need to be saved themselves.And soon they will be: Congress has allocated $3 million to restore the cracked and crumbling brick walls of Fort McHenry, the military bastion where U.S. troops repulsed a British naval attack on Baltimore in 1814 and a young lawyer named Francis Scott Key was so moved that he wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner."Set to begin next month, the three-year project will be the most comprehensive reconstruction of the famous "star fort" since the 1930s, when the Army turned the South Baltimore landmark over to the National Park Service.

IT'S BEEN 177 years since that long night of Sept. 13-14, 1814, when British ships hurled more than 1,500 rockets, bombs and shells at defenders of Fort McHenry. It was that repulse of the British naval attack that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the "Star-Spangled Banner."Today, the Fort is having difficulty standing firm. Its battery walls are threatened by erosion and its historic buildings are in desperate need of repair. That's why the fund-raising efforts of the Patriots of Fort McHenry are so necessary.

Baltimore's Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, site of a key battle in the War of 1812 and birthplace of "The Star Spangled Banner," will be in the spotlight during many of the Star Spangled Sailabration events June 13 to 19. Officials say they expect 20,000 or more people to visit the star-shaped fort on each of two days, June 16 and 17, for shows by the Blue Angels and for fireworks and a concert on the evening of June 16....

M. Faysal Thameen, a retired structural engineer who headed the city's role in the 1980s construction of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, died of cancer April 9 at his home in Millbury, Mass. The former Parkville resident was 75. "He was a quiet force in the Interstate Division," said former Maryland Transportation Secretary William K. Hellmann, who was recently appointed to the state's Transportation Authority board. "He was soft-spoken, knew his business and was the key coordinator with the designers of the Fort McHenry Tunnel, which was then the largest single contract in the history of the Interstate Highway System.

The sales pitch to 46 uniformed men was simple: Welcome to Baltimore. Next time, bring a tall ship. City and state officials and the nautical community have begun a marketing drive aimed at filling the Inner Harbor with majestic sailing vessels and gray-hulled warships for the War of 1812 commemoration finale, Sept. 6-14, 2014. On Wednesday, they pitched military attaches from 40 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Turkey and Sri Lanka. Navies begin planning their sea exercises and courtesy calls about a year in advance, and there's a lot of jockeying among East Coast seaports to secure the biggest and best ships for summer events.

A month after across-the-board federal spending cuts began, there are signs that one of the most troubling potential consequences for Maryland — the furloughing of federal employees — might not be as widespread as initially feared. But the state has not gone unscathed by the $85 billion in cuts known as sequestration, and some of the first tangible changes in the Baltimore area are beginning to emerge as federal services are trimmed. Fort McHenry in Baltimore and the Hampton National Historic Site near Towson plan to cut hours this summer, limiting visits by tourists.

There was a flutter on Facebook yesterday over an article about Baltimore. A newspaper of some repute had engaged a writer with low esteem for the city to venture here and write about his discoveries. He followed a familiar pattern: Writer from the Big City comes to a quaint little burg and discovers that some of the locals have adopted bipedalism and tamed fire to cook their victuals. Then, with an air of condescension as pungent as the aroma that wafts off the Inner Harbor in July, he departs for civilization.

A truck caught fire at the Fort McHenry Tunnel toll plaza on northbound Interstate 95 near Keith Avenue on Monday evening, causing traffic delays as emergency personnel worked to control the blaze, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. The Ford F-150 came through the tunnel and its driver paid the toll about 5:15 p.m. before realizing the vehicle was on fire and pulling over to the right-hand shoulder, just north of the toll booths, said Sgt. Jonathan Green, a police spokesman.

As of 8:30 a.m. Monday, one westbound lane and shoulder of Liberty Road at Washington Avenue in Baltimore County was closed due to a utility problem, the state highway administration reported. In Baltimore, on Interstate 95, one northbound should was closed before the Fort McHenry Tunnel due to a disabled vehicle. MARC is operating on an "S" schedule on the Penn and Brunswick Lines. Trains with an "S" under their train number in the timetables are running due to the New Year's Eve holiday, according to the MTA website.

While Fort McHenry's cannons blasted at schooners in the Baltimore harbor Tuesday, the voices of children from several city schools rose above the din. The young singers quivered a bit but stayed on key as they sang patriotic anthems. Four choirs and one wind ensemble performed at the fort's first maritime and musical education experience as the 1814 Battle of Baltimore was re-enacted - with ersatz cannon blasts and authentic smoke - in the background. A few children held their ears or jumped at the suddenness of the volleys, but they kept on singing.

After nearly 200 years, Francis Scott Key has come back to Fort McHenry. A life-sized bronze statue of the Maryland lawyer who wrote "The Star Spangled Banner" stands in the $15 million Visitor and Education Center that opens Thursday. Other elements include a film told from Key's perspective and touch-screen panels providing details about his life and views. It's a fitting tribute to man whose words help draw about 650,000 visitors a year to the site of the 1814 Battle of Baltimore at the tip of Locust Point, said Vincent Vaise, chief of interpretation for Fort McHenry.

Two back-to-back crashes at the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore on Thursday afternoon left one person injured and closed one of the tunnel's four traffic bores for more than an hour as emergency crews responded, according to Maryland Transportation Authority Police. Emergency personnel responded about noon to the third northbound bore of the Interstate 95 tunnel and found two accidents involving three vehicles and a commercial truck, one just outside the tunnel and one inside of it, said Sgt. Kirk Perez, a police spokesman.