Observation Deck

The observation deck on the 107th floor of New York's World Trade Center has been reopened to tourists, nearly two months after the blast that killed six people and injured more than 1,000.The deck figured prominently in early reports of the blast because a group of touring schoolchildren was there at the time.Soot and other smoky residue had to be cleaned up before the reopening atop the center's south tower.Stanley Brezenoff, head of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, owner of the twin towers, said security has been tightened.

Miguel Perez cast his fishing line into the Chesapeake Bay, one last attempt before he'd be on his way. The Aberdeen man waited until he noticed a slight tug on the line before pulling it slowly out of the water. He had caught what he estimated to be about a 15-pound catfish. "This is the biggest fish I've ever caught," he said taking out his cell phone and shooting a quick picture. The hearty catch was due partly to luck, perhaps, but Perez also credited his location: the new pier at Swan Harbor Farm.

The 27th-level observation deck of Baltimore's World Trade Center reopened to the public yesterday for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but with heightened security and reduced hours. The Top of the World observation deck had been closed while public officials hammered out a security plan and waited for visitors to overcome any reluctance to visit. "We needed to make sure it was safe and we needed to make sure people wouldn't be afraid to come up," said Bill Gilmore, executive director of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the agency that manages the observation deck.

RENE TREVINO maps the relationship of two lovers from a variety of angles, intimate and iconographic, sexual and symbolic, cultural and crass. He does it in a series of 100 images printed over hand-painted lacy wallpaper. He calls it The Propaganda Series, Part I. Geoff Grace puts up a tree, painted with liquid clay and whiskey, that soars to the 30-foot height of a wall. Entering the gallery you can't help but look up. How small you feel standing beside this towering tree whose leafy top maps a series of island nations.

After nearly 22 years of operation and 4 million visitors, one of Baltimore's best-known harbor attractions is taking a brief hiatus. The Top of the World Observation Deck, which offers panoramic views of the city from the 27th floor of the World Trade Center, will close to the public beginning March 12 to receive $500,000 worth of renovations. It's scheduled to reopen by Memorial Day. The work is part of a two-year, $1.5 million project that Mayor Martin O'Malley's administration is launching to increase attendance, and make the Top of the World one of the city's premiere attractions.

It's the view that draws more than 500,000 visitors a year -- almost 1,400 a day -- to the 94th-floor observation deck of the John Hancock Center in Chicago. But soon there will be even more incentive to visit the 1,127-foot-tall magnet anchoring the Magnificent Mile's north end.The John Hancock observatory, shuttered since Jan. 1, is getting a face lift."This is the first time since 1970, when the building opened, that the observation deck is closed," said Jill Lewis of U.S. Equities Realty, which manages the Hancock Center.

New York's Empire State Building reopened its 86th-floor observatory Sept. 29 -- 18 days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Sears Tower reopened its 103rd-level Skydeck on Oct. 29 President Bush has encouraged all Americans to return to business as usual. But a full two months after the attacks on America, the 27th-level observation deck atop Baltimore's World Trade Center is still closed. It's one of the few public attractions of any kind in the country that closed for security purposes on Sept.

Architectural Design Works Inc., a Bel Air-based architectural design firm, has completed a new observation deck at the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary.The firm was commissioned by the county Recreation and Parks Department through an agreement with Anne Arundel County.Construction required a minimum of disturbance to the wetlands while providing maximum panoramic vies of Jug Bay.Most of the deck was completed by hand in an effort not to disturb wildlife with bulldozers, pile drivers and cranes.

In 1968, when the I.M. Pei-designed World Trade Center was built, Inner Harbor renewal was still just a gleam in planners' eyes. Since then, the pentagonal tower at water's edge has become one of the defining architectural elements of the downtown Baltimore skyline. Because of an observation deck on the 27th floor, it is also a popular tourist attraction.Last night, after some controversy involving amateur astronomers and ornithologists, this state-owned office tower was turned into a story-book candle with the help of new lighting.

Naval Academy to start building visitor centerThe Naval Academy will break ground Tuesday for a $4.5 million visitor center.The two-story, 27,000-square-foot building will be on the south side of the Halsey Field House. It will replace a visitor center in the first floor of Ricketts Hall.The new center will include a gift shop and an 80-seat auditorium that will show a film about midshipmen life at the academy and the academy's history. On the second floor, an observation deck will allow visitors to view the Annapolis harbor, the city and part of the academy.

The 27th-level observation deck of Baltimore's World Trade Center reopened to the public yesterday for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, but with heightened security and reduced hours. The Top of the World observation deck had been closed while public officials hammered out a security plan and waited for visitors to overcome any reluctance to visit. "We needed to make sure it was safe and we needed to make sure people wouldn't be afraid to come up," said Bill Gilmore, executive director of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the agency that manages the observation deck.

Baltimore's Top of the World Observation Deck may be closed after the Sept. 11 attacks on America, but concern over terrorism hasn't kept down the Hi-Flyer balloon or its passengers. Between 20,000 people and 30,000 people have taken rides in the helium balloon that offers panoramic views of Baltimore's Inner Harbor - and many of them have done so after the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and New York's World Trade Center. In all, the balloon went up 2,144 times between July 19 and Nov. 9, according to computer records maintained by its operator, Sky High of Maryland.

New York's Empire State Building reopened its 86th-floor observatory Sept. 29 -- 18 days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The Sears Tower reopened its 103rd-level Skydeck on Oct. 29 President Bush has encouraged all Americans to return to business as usual. But a full two months after the attacks on America, the 27th-level observation deck atop Baltimore's World Trade Center is still closed. It's one of the few public attractions of any kind in the country that closed for security purposes on Sept.

After nearly 22 years of operation and 4 million visitors, one of Baltimore's best-known harbor attractions is taking a brief hiatus. The Top of the World Observation Deck, which offers panoramic views of the city from the 27th floor of the World Trade Center, will close to the public beginning March 12 to receive $500,000 worth of renovations. It's scheduled to reopen by Memorial Day. The work is part of a two-year, $1.5 million project that Mayor Martin O'Malley's administration is launching to increase attendance, and make the Top of the World one of the city's premiere attractions.

For more than 10 years, the replica Chesapeake Bay lighthouse stood 150 feet tall at the Baltimore Marine Center at Lighthouse Point in Canton.The structure -- a converted century-old smokestack -- became a symbol of the center, a 14-acre commercial and residential development in the 2600 and 2700 blocks of Boston St. But the wood foundation became unstable, and the brick tower began to list."

When you know the answers to these questions, go to http://www.4Kids.org/detectives/1. What was Wolfgang's sister's name?2. At the current rate, when might the rain forests disappear?3. How should teens deal with sports injuries? (Go to http://www.kidshealth.org to find out.)HANG AROUND WITH WOLFGANGIf you want your day to end on a high note, try tickling the ivories with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (you know, the child genius who went on to become one of the world's greatest musical composers)

For more than 10 years, the replica Chesapeake Bay lighthouse stood 150 feet tall at the Baltimore Marine Center at Lighthouse Point in Canton.The structure -- a converted century-old smokestack -- became a symbol of the center, a 14-acre commercial and residential development in the 2600 and 2700 blocks of Boston St. But the wood foundation became unstable, and the brick tower began to list."

AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas tower, symbol of the nation's largest campus and the bullet-pocked landmark of tragedy, could soon be opened to the public for the first time in almost 24 years.Under a proposal made this week by university President Larry Faulkner, the tower's 231-foot-high observation deck could be reopened by late spring. His recommendation goes to the Board of Regents, which ordered the tower closed Jan. 31, 1975, in response to several students' suicide leaps.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The University of Texas tower, symbol of the nation's largest campus and the bullet-pocked landmark of tragedy, could soon be opened to the public for the first time in almost 24 years.Under a proposal made this week by university President Larry Faulkner, the tower's 231-foot-high observation deck could be reopened by late spring. His recommendation goes to the Board of Regents, which ordered the tower closed Jan. 31, 1975, in response to several students' suicide leaps.

Wildlife in a crystal and emerald nook off the Chesapeake Bay in eastern Baltimore County soon will be having visitors.With a ceremonial groundbreaking today, the county is moving ahead with the $2.7 million Marshy Point Nature Center near Chase, phase one of a 500-acre, state-of-the-art complex that includes a learning center, trails, observation deck and canoe docks.Situated on Dundee and Saltpeter creeks -- once the elite hunting ground of President Benjamin Harrison and baseball legend Babe Ruth -- the environmental education pavilion will serve as the centerpiece for visiting schoolchildren and tourists who want to meander through the pristine expanse of woods.