Thames Street, Fells Point

Thames Street, originally uploaded by bikerphoto.

Fells Point is a bar hoppers paradise. The area is an eclectic mixture of trendy shops, upscale restaurants and dive bars, with clientele ranging from yuppies to college students to gritty city folks. If you want to talk with a diverse collection of characters, Fells Point is the place to go. Pictured on the right side of the street is The Horse you Came in On Saloon. “The Horse” is well known for live music. I found one blog that has an entry about this bar as being the place the blogger met his wife. This building is circa 1775. In 1972 Howard Gerber and a partner opened The Horse and give it the unique and memorable name. Howard sold the bar in November 2006. Rumor has that the ghost of Edgar Allen Poe was at the auction. Legend has it that in 1849 Poe was found near death on a street not far from here.

Not shown in the picture, but on the right side of the street is Ledbetters Tavern. The City Paper (a free weekly paper in Baltimore) had this writeup about Ledbetters when they named it one of the best dive bars in Baltimore in 2006:

“Sometimes you just want a damn drink--not a green faux-tini, not a nutmeg-and smoke-infused microbrew--and you don't want to have to put on heels or a clean shirt, or even necessarily shower to go out and have one. Thank God Leadbetters remains a watering hole of little-to-no repute, where the fanciest beer you might want is a Sam Adams, and you can sit at a slightly dingy, albeit welcoming, bar and listen to bands and singers that range from rocking to ridiculous. And you know what? You don't care. Because you're shooting the breeze with Fons, the bartender, the walls look like they might crumble in a few days, the floor is swept with questionable frequency, and you're drinking a damn cold brew in a damn fine place, and you don't have to worry about impressing a soul.”

The night I was in Ledbetters there was a great acoustic band in there playing a rocking rendetion of Steve Earle’s Copperhead Road. It was a Saturday and the place was packed. People were very friendly and really enjoying the band. The entire bar seems to be only about 15 feet wide, with the band lined up on the right side wall as you come in, and only enough room for people to pass between the band the people sitting at the bar on the left side. Very simple, yet very cool.