Visitor Center

Besides being known as the birthplace of the national anthem, Baltimore's Fort McHenry is considered one of the finest examples of fort design in North America. In 1939, it was designated a national monument and historic shrine -- the only fort in the country to have that double distinction. Now it appears the fort finally may get a visitor center worthy of the historic site it promotes. Drawings unveiled last week by the architect GWWO Inc. of Baltimore indicate that the $14 million visitor center will be a vast improvement over the nondescript brick box that has served as front door to the fort since the 1960s.

A new visitor center will open today in Fells Point, designed primarily to capitalize on the many people who travel to the neighborhood by water, encouraging them to explore and spend money at local businesses.The $400,000 center at 808 S. Ann St. has been constructed in and around the partial shell of a house that dates from 1775 and had its second story removed in the 1930s. Designed by Swanston & Associates, the center is bright with sunlight from a raised triangular glass skylight and will serve as an orientation gallery and briefing area.

Here is an excerpt of an editorial from the Philadelphia Inquirer, which was published Tuesday.IN THE rolling hills around Gettysburg, there's once again talk of wholesale casualties -- this time, if the National Park Service charges ahead with its creative plan for a makeover of the battlefield's visitor center.No bloodshed, of course. The feared victims are the merchants who serve the tourist trade around the hallowed territory of Pickett's Charge.Because the Park Service would build its new visitor center and museum about a half-mile from the present site atop Cemetery Hill, merchants nearby worry that their livelihoods would retreat along with the footsteps of Gettysburg's 1.7 million annual visitors.

Hampstead will sell its interest in the town's historic depot to the nonprofit Hampstead Train Station Committee, which has agreed to restore the building and maintain it as a museum and visitor center.The price is $9,200, which the committee would pay in quarterly installments over 10 years at 5 percent interest. No closing date has been set, but the town and committee have come to an agreement, and are waiting for lawyers to draw up a formal contract, said Kenneth Decker, town manager.Both parties have agreed to conditions set by the town to ensure the integrity of the project.

Hampstead will sell its interest in the town's historic depot to the nonprofit Hampstead Train Station Committee, which has agreed to restore the building and maintain it as a museum and visitor center.The price is $9,200, which the committee would pay in quarterly installments over 10 years at 5 percent interest. No closing date has been set, but the town and committee have come to an agreement, and are waiting for lawyers to draw up a formal contract, said Kenneth Decker, town manager.Both parties have agreed to conditions set by the town to ensure the integrity of the project.

HOPING TO MAKE Fells Point more of a daytime attraction, preservationists are about to begin construction of the first phase of a $2.2 million Maryland Maritime Center that will provide a gateway to the waterfront historic district.The Society for the Preservation of Federal Hill and Fell's Point has planned a block party for 5 p.m. June 14 to mark the groundbreaking for the $350,000 visitor center at 808 S. Ann St., next to the Robert Long House museum and garden.The visitor center has been designed by Swanston & Associates to serve as an orientation gallery and briefing area expected to attract thousands of people.

GETTYSBURG, Pa. -- So, you want to learn about the Civil War.You go to Gettysburg. Big battle. Museum. Artifacts everywhere: cannon, muskets, pistols, bullets, flags.Slavery?Didn't slavery have something to do with it? You navigate through the halls of the Visitor Center of the Gettysburg National Military Park, past the exhibits on Civil War navies, medicines, canteens.Then you come to the closest thing on slavery -- a glass case the size of, say, a Yugo. It is an exhibit about U.S. Colored Troops.

Learn all about naval hero John Paul Jones Saturday at the Armel-Leftwich Visitor Center of the U.S. Naval Academy. Witness the laying of a wreath in the crypt of Jones, watch the raising of the Bon Homme Richard colors over the Visitor Center, see dramatic presentations of Jones by John Wilson, hear live bagpipes, meet Clara Ann Simmons, author of "John Paul Jones: America's Sailor," and tour the exhibit, "Life Aboard Ship During the American Revolution," to...

A profitable use for City Life's Blaustein buildingDespite its financial problems, the City Life Museums did three things well. It told the story of Baltimore and Baltimoreans; it oriented visitors and newcomers to the city; and it played host to a variety of meetings, conferences, receptions and parties in wonderful indoor and outdoor spaces.City Life's role as storyteller has been absorbed (along with its collections) by the Maryland Historical Society, but its buildings could continue to serve profitably as a visitor orientation and conference/event center.

In the aftermath of massive January flooding damage to Yosemite Valley and other parts of California's most-visited national park, Park Service officials are scrambling to devise a system that reopens popular park areas in time for the summer crush, but also limits visitor access. (Yosemite gets more than 4 million visitors a year.) The leading prospect is a plan requiring reservations from every visitor, not just those who plan to spend the night. Officials say the system could go into effect as soon as May.Although rangers say they're aiming for a limited reopening of Yosemite Valley March 15, none of the valley's former 780 campsites will be open until later, and at least two campgrounds are targeted for closure.

KEMPTON, Pa. -- It begins before the leaves lose their green and ends after they have fallen to the ground: thousands of humans and thousands of birds of prey converging on a speck of granite to watch and be watched. Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, not far outside Allentown, Pa., rises up into the migratory superhighway used by hawks, eagles and falcons as they make their way to their wintering grounds down South. Soaring birds conserve their energy by using air currents deflected and warmed by the mountain, corkscrewing upward on rising thermal columns and drafting close to the slope to propel themselves onward.

When Thomas Jefferson left the U.S. presidency 200 years ago this spring, no one needed to build a library or memorial to commemorate him. Jefferson already had a memorial in the form of Monticello, the mountaintop estate he created near Charlottesville, Va., long before he became the nation's third president in 1801. Jefferson felt so completely at home at Monticello that he almost never left the grounds from the spring of 1809 to the day he died in 1826. "I am as happy nowhere else and in no other society," he wrote in 1787, "and all my wishes end where I hope my days will end, at Monticello."

Brad Knudsen, manager of the Patuxent Research Refuge, has announced that the National Wildlife Visitor Center will open to the public Jan. 21 after being renovated. Its new heating and ventilation systems are designed to be more energy-efficient and cost-effective. The annual National Wildlife Refuge System birthday celebration will be held March 14 at the visitor center, and the Friends of Patuxent Wildlife Art Show and Sale will be held at the newly renovated facility March 28 and 29. The visitor center will be open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except federal holidays.

We have built no national temple but the Capitol," U.S. Rep. Rufus Choate of Massachusetts said in 1833. "We consult no common oracle but the Constitution."

I grew up in Pennsylvania, near Valley Forge and Independence Hall, two of the most exalted places in American history. But it was always a little town to the west that stole the show - Gettysburg, where thousands fought to the death for the very soul of our country. And yet, despite numerous school field trips and family visits, Gettysburg and its sprawling Civil War battlefield always left me a little cold. I know that's heresy, especially for a native Pennsylvanian. Even worse, one of my ancestors was a Civil War veteran.

The state Board of Public Works has awarded Anne Arundel County $2.3 million to improve three parks, including building a visitor center at a popular Millersville park, developing a Crownsville park and improving athletic fields in Pasadena. Kinder Farm Park in Millersville will receive the bulk of the Program Open Space funding, with $1.1 million going to the design and construction of a 5,600-square-foot visitor center, the state announced. The 288-acre farm was purchased by the county in 1979 to educate visitors about Maryland's agrarian heritage and direct visitors to activities that include fishing, biking, hiking and picnicking.

Gettysburg has been a magnet for visitors ever since scavengers began scouring the land for dead soldiers' weapons, knapsacks and belt buckles shortly after the epic Civil War battle ended there in July 1863. But many who traipse around the rolling countryside, gaze at monuments to fallen generals and shop for souvenirs end up leaving the area without knowing exactly what they have seen or why it is important. Starting today, visitors will have a new way to learn about the Battle of Gettysburg and the role it played in U.S. history, when a $103 million Museum and Visitor Center opens at the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The Volunteer Center Serving Howard County, in cooperation with CERN (the Community Emergency Response Network) is recruiting and referring members of the community to local nonprofit and government agencies in need of volunteers for disaster preparedness and recovery. An orientation for prospective volunteers will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. April 17 at the Savage branch library, 9525 Durness Lane. Registration is required. Information or to register: 410-715-3179. Exhibit showcases Laurel advertising The Laurel Museum's newest exhibition, "Buy It Here: Laurel Advertises," explores how advertising illustrates the town's story and how advertising techniques were used to sell everything from housing to circus tickets in Laurel.

Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks will hold its annual Spring Egg Hunts from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday at two locations. The hunts, for children ages 2 to 10, will be at Schooley Mill Park, 12975 Hall Shop Road, Fulton, and at Laurel Woods Elementary School, 9250 N. Laurel Road, North Laurel. Children should bring a basket to collect the eggs and arrive promptly. Games, crafts and other activities are also planned. The children will be divided into groups according to age. The cost is $5 a child; $15 for a family of up to four children.

The Savage Boys & Girls Club is accepting spring registration for recreational baseball and softball. The club holds evaluations in order to create balanced teams, but players of all skill levels are welcome. Registration is available online. The club is also seeking volunteer coaches. Information: www.SavageBGC.org. Turkey hunt at refuge open to public The Patuxent Research Refuge in Laurel will be the venue for a spring wild turkey hunting season in April and May. The hunt, which is being conducted in partnership with the National Wild Turkey Federation, Wheelin' Sportsmen and Meade Natural Heritage Association, is open to youth, the disabled, those whose mobility is impaired, and the general public.