Market Place

A 250-seat American bistro named Kettle Hill will open in the old Babalu space on the corner of Water Street and Market Place. Kettle Hill is partnership between area newcomer Keystone Hospitality and former Baltimore Oriole Rick Dempsey. The principal partners of Keystone Hospitality, formerly based New York City , are Desmond Reilly and Kristopher Karr. According to the press release from the property's landlord, Reilly and Karr were "inspired by local legend Rick Dempsey, who had been looking for some time to launch a restaurant project.

It all started back on a Sunday morning in July 1977. The Farmers' Market spent a few years down on Market Place (oddly enough) before moving to its present location. Back then, the market season started in July. MayorStephanie Rawlings-Blakeand the Baltimore Office of Promotion will be on hand to celebrate the market's anniversary. They will also be announcing the introduction to the market of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and debit services. In addition to the program introduction, a new Welcome Center will be dedicated, which will serve as center of operations for SNAP and guest services for the market.

Baltimore's Market Place may be rebuilt at a cost of up to $12.5 million to resemble a canal, complete with a fleet of old-time barges and fishing schooners doubling as vendors' kiosks and outdoor cafes.Nautical flags atop the boats and a wide array of food and crafts would bring a burst of color to the corridor, and cranes with large banners would be positioned at each end of the "canal" to call attention to nearby attractions.Alongside the real vessels would be a series of beached "ghost boats" -- cast replicas of oyster tonguing vessels, banana barges and other work boats that once plied the waters of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

A 250-seat American bistro named Kettle Hill will open in the old Babalu space on the corner of Water Street and Market Place. Kettle Hill is partnership between area newcomer Keystone Hospitality and former Baltimore Oriole Rick Dempsey. The principal partners of Keystone Hospitality, formerly based New York City , are Desmond Reilly and Kristopher Karr. According to the press release from the property's landlord, Reilly and Karr were "inspired by local legend Rick Dempsey, who had been looking for some time to launch a restaurant project.

An article in The Sun on Monday about a proposed children's center reported incorrectly that the Maryland Committee for Children is a tenant of the Brokerage, the complex on Market Place that would house the center.In fact, the committee owns a building at 608 Water St. that is surrounded by and connected to the Brokerage.* The Sun regrets the error.Despite a history of failed projects, Baltimore's Market Place would be an ideal location for a proposed children's museum and center, consultants are telling city officials.

BALTIMORE'S Market Place corridor would be redesigned to serve as a staging area for ethnic festivals, farmers' markets, crafts fairs and other outdoor events, if city leaders adopt the recommendations of design consultants hired to suggest ways to add life to the east side of downtown.The architectural firm of Cho, Wilks and Benn heads a design team that has proposed several strategies for converting a two-block stretch of Market Place, from Pratt Street to Water Street, into a temporary market place and festival site by narrowing traffic lanes and increasing the amount of land available for pedestrians.

Terry Reed asks me to remove the cash-filled cardboard coffee cup from the split-hook prosthetic claw that serves as his right hand. "Just put it in my coat pocket, please," he says, as breezes from the brisk traffic along President Street add some wind chill to the dropping temperature. President Street is where Terry Reed does most of his panhandling, and he's hard to miss — a thin man who stands on the solid white line that marks the left-turn lane. He wears a dark blue winter coat and a pair of pants that stop at his knees, revealing chocolate-colored prosthetic limbs below that.

Concert Kansas performs At Market Place FYI Kevin Cowherd is on assignment. His column does not appear today.

A possible buyer has emerged for The Brokerage at the Inner Harbor, the troubled retail and office complex that a Bank of America subsidiary purchased at a foreclosure sale in January.M. P. Investments Inc., a Maryland corporation, signed a contract Sept. 4 to purchase the 278,000-square-foot complex at 34 Market Place, according to Charles C. G. Evans of Evans Land Company, the asset manager for the Bank of America subsidiary.Mr. Evans said M. P. Investments now has at least four months to decide whether to move ahead with the acquisition of The Brokerage, which is in and around the block bounded by Market Place and Baltimore, Frederick and Water streets.

Most people go to a subway station for transportation. But at one of the Metro stations that opened in Baltimore this week, patrons get a history lesson along with the ride.On the mezzanine level of the Shot Tower/Market Place stop, a small but informative exhibit traces the successive layers of construction that have shaped the surrounding area, one of the first sections of Baltimore to see extensive development."Few of us would ever think of a subway train as a time machine," curators note in the introduction to the exhibit, which visitors can see without paying a fare.

Terry Reed asks me to remove the cash-filled cardboard coffee cup from the split-hook prosthetic claw that serves as his right hand. "Just put it in my coat pocket, please," he says, as breezes from the brisk traffic along President Street add some wind chill to the dropping temperature. President Street is where Terry Reed does most of his panhandling, and he's hard to miss — a thin man who stands on the solid white line that marks the left-turn lane. He wears a dark blue winter coat and a pair of pants that stop at his knees, revealing chocolate-colored prosthetic limbs below that.

A Florida man repeated Sunday as champion of the U.S. National Oyster Shucking Contest held in St. Mary's County. The 2010 champion, Michael Martin, of Panama City Beach, won again, based on how quickly and completely he shucked 24 oysters, according to Beverly Brown, administrator of the St. Mary's County Oyster Festival. George Hastings of Nick's Inner Harbor Seafood at Baltimore's Cross Street Market finished in third place, Brown said. The victory qualifies Martin to compete in the world championships at the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival in Ireland next fall.

Submit notices via email: booster@patuxent.com ; fax: 410-332-6336; or mail: Northeast Booster Reporter, 501 N. Calvert St., 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21278. Include sponsor or host, date, time, address of event, contact name and phone number. Deadline is noon the Wednesday before publication. Arts Canticle Singers of Baltimore — is holding auditions for the 2011 season. 410-374-9312. Hamilton Gallery — 5502 Harford Road is hosting a Sew Fabulous Sewing Workshop, Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Margaret Garland, 443-676-7465 or sewfabulousss@yahoo.com . Benefits Blue Jean Ball Raffle — a fundraiser for the Maryland Food Bank through May 30. $10 each or 12 for $100.

There were no strawberries or asparagus — yet — but there were cases of kale at the Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar on Sunday, and crates and crates of collard greens. And plenty of people. Crowds thronged to the marketplace under the Jones Falls Expressway to see what Maryland's bounty looked like in early April, the market's earliest opening by a full month. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who dropped by the market on her way to church, was among the crowd's respectable but not record opening-day numbers.

A McDonald's restaurant near the Port Discovery Children's Museum in downtown Baltimore will close in mid-April. Thomas Maddux, a principal of retail brokerage KLNB Retail who is handling leasing at the Shops at Harbor Park at Market Place and Lombard Street, said the fast-foot restaurant decided not to renew its lease after being in the location for a little more than 10 years. Subway and 7-Eleven stores will remain in the building. Staffing firm Manpower recently agreed to move into a 1,100-square-foot space in June, Maddux said.

Concert Kansas performs At Market Place FYI Kevin Cowherd is on assignment. His column does not appear today.

At night, it would hover above downtown Baltimore's skyline as bright as the moon. By day, it would offer dizzying views of the Inner Harbor and Chesapeake Bay. A Pikesville businessman is proposing to build a balloon ride next to the Port Discovery children's museum on President Street that would lift customers 400 feet into the air -- higher than the city's tallest building. Lee Raskin, a representative of Sky High of Maryland balloon company, hopes to win a lease on the city-owned plaza near the Market Place subway station after a presentation this morning before a city design review panel.

SURPRISINGLY, my old friend Joe Beckwith is heartily in favor of the announced plan to transform Market Place into an urban park beginning at Pratt Street and leading to a children's educational and entertainment complex from Water to Baltimore streets. I thought he would react as if he had heard an old house he had inhabited for many years was slated for demolition.Joe is a retired produce merchant who operated in the old Marsh (Mash) Market at Market Place and Lombard streets from 1930 to 1960, when it moved to the 6400 block of Pulaski Highway.

BARRING ANY unforeseen salary cap casualties during the next two weeks, the Ravens should stay their course of re-signing quarterback Jeff Blake and, if possible, select a quarterback in the NFL draft. The only change they should make is not guaranteeing Blake the starting job and instead opening it up for competition between Blake and fourth-year player Chris Redman. Of course, Blake's return could depend on the team's offering him a starting spot, and if that's the case, then say goodbye.

The 126th running of the Preakness Stakes takes place tomorrow at Pimlico Race Course on Northern Parkway (Exit 10-West off I-83). Gates open at 8:30 a.m., first post is 10:45 a.m. The Preakness is scheduled to start about 6:05 p.m. Infield tickets are $30 ($35 on race day); standing room only clubhouse, $18; standing room only grandstand, $15. Several free race-related events are scheduled for today: Phillips Preakness Celebrity Crab Picking Contest: Contestants vie to pick the most crab meat in three minutes.