Baltimore

"''"We like it here in Baltimore There's so much love in Baltimore Working hand in hand To make this place a better land In Baltimore Love is what you'll find So stop and take the time I've got Oriole Baseball on my mind"''"

- by Tori Amos

Baltimore is the largest city in the state of Maryland. It is located in the central area of the state along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore was founded in 1729 and became an independent city (separated from Baltimore County) in 1851. Information about the distinct neighborhoods of Baltimore City can be found at the Other Wiki.

Fort McHenry, the birthplace of the National Anthem, is part of Baltimore City.

The Preakness Stakes, an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds (and the "second jewel" in the Triple Crown ), is held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course.

Fans of the Baltimore Ravens (pro football) have a long-standing rivalry with fans of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Artistically speaking, Baltimore City is home of Baltimore Rock Opera Society, Baltimore School for the Arts, and the Peabody Institute.

Baltimore City is also the home of Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Hospital, the Domino Sugar refinery (known locally as "the sugar factory"), and the Inner Harbor, a tourist location of shops, restaurants, boat slips, and the National Aquarium.

As a port city, Baltimore was kind of important during things like the colonization of America, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War.

Film

 * Sleepless in Seattle: Meg Ryan's home in the movie is in Fell's Point.
 * All John Waters movies
 * Movies by Barry Levinson
 * Diner
 * Tin Men
 * Avalon
 * Liberty Heights
 * He Said/She Said
 * He's Just Not That Into You

Live Action Television

 * Ace of Cakes
 * Homicide: Life on the Street
 * Roc: An early 90's sitcom starring Charles S. Dutton. (set in Baltimore, filmed in a studio in Los Angeles)
 * The Wire
 * The character Tony DiNozzo of NCIS was originally a Baltimore City cop.

People

 * Ric Ocasek
 * Dwight Schultz
 * Tupac Shakur (attended the Baltimore School for the Arts; not a Baltimore native)
 * Jada Pinkett Smith
 * John Waters

Film

 * The Blair Witch Project

Television

 * NCIS occasionally sends the team into "Maryland". It's never actually Maryland.
 * The X-Files would have you believe that parts of Maryland and Baltimore City look a lot like Vancouver.

People

 * Tori Amos
 * John Astin
 * Josh Charles
 * Charles S. Dutton
 * "Mama" Cass Elliot
 * John Glover
 * Dashiell Hammett
 * Barry Levinson
 * Francis Scott Key (the guy who brought you the US national anthem)
 * Gina Schock (drummer for The Go-Gos)
 * Oprah Winfrey (Not a native of Maryland, but was a staple of local news for decades)
 * Frank Zappa

People

 * Edgar Allan Poe
 * Cal "Iron Man" Ripken
 * The Baltimore Colts
 * The Baltimore Ravens
 * The Baltimore Orioles

Events

 * The middle-of-the-night move of the Baltimore Colts football team to Indianapolis. Decades later, some people still haven't gotten over it.