These 20 cultural tours of Baltimore will change your perspective of the city

A set of tours will take you to unexpected murals, hidden paths and into the past.

The MuseWeb Foundation announced the projects that received funding as part of a new effort to collect cultural stories about Baltimore in the form of interactive tours.
Be Here: Baltimore is looking to put the experiences on various platforms, including project partner izi.TRAVEL, as well as YouTube and SoundCloud. The projects are set to be available by Aug. 15.
Here’s a look at the projects, which each received $1,000 in funding:
A Godmother’s Pilgrimage

• Street theater performer Edna Lawrence will produce a presentation on active theater engagement at a number of Baltimore museums.

Baltimore Bookstores, Then and Now

• A tour of bookstores through the city that will be available on izi.TRAVEL. Jean Lee Cole of Loyola University Maryland proposed the project.

Bromo Arts District

• This project will feature themed, guided tours encompassing Bromo, which is on the west side of downtown Baltimore.

Eubie Blake’s Ragtime

• A digital walking tour of African-American music in Baltimore, proposed by Shellée Haynesworth.

Ghetto Artsy Kids on the Rise

• A mix of photos and audio about 10 creatives. Mia Smith’s will be showcased on the platform Invisible Majority, and at discussion events.

History & Community in the BROMO Arts District: A Place Based Perspective

• The Baltimore Sound Society will create a geo-located tour of the westside of Baltimore.

Jewish Baltimore: Living History from Port to Pikesville

• Sheri Allen and Robert Half will lead a tour through Baltimore’s Jewish history.

Merchants of Early Baltimore

• Abby Schreiber is creating a walking and driving tour that looks at the city’s history through the lens of the port.

NoisePlaque Podcast

• Ryan Patterson of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts will produce episodes about the stories behind public art, which will be clustered into tours. Each episode will also be geo-located.

North Baltimore’s Evolving York Road Corridor – A Cultural and Educational Tour

• Michael Puma of Loyola University is creating a tour of York Road.

Sandtown: Exploring community building through the arts at Ground Zero

• Looking to “obliterate the prevailing narrative” of the West Baltimore neighborhood that was a focal point of coverage of the unrest after Freddie Gray’s funeral, “as a dysfunctional den of hopelessness,” E. R. Shipp of Morgan State University is bringing journalism students and residents of the area together to create a tour focusing on the arts.

Station North Arts and Entertainment District

• The group will create a mile-long mobile tour of the area that spans the past and future of the area.

The Dignity of Work: The History of Industry in Baltimore

• This project will feature experts from the Baltimore Museum of Industry talking about the industry that once defined the region’s economy.

The Hidden Paths of Roland Park

• Sara Blumberg of Roland Park Place is set to take walkers down hidden paths in the North Baltimore neighborhood.

The Murals of Baltimore: A Walking Tour

• Heidi Gerber-Salins is developing a geo-located walking tour of at least 10 of the city’s murals.

Baltimore Voices

• Stoop Storytelling Series organizer Laura Wexler will select 10 stories from the regular live events and repackage them as audio-tour stops at specific locations.

THIS IS BALTIMORE TOO!

• Linda Goss of the National Association of Black Storytellers is creating a 17-location tour that showcases the city’s cultural diversity.

Walking Together in Baltimore: Building a Collaborative, Neighborhood App

• Working with Wide Angle Youth Media, Samuel Collins of Towson University is creating a one-hour app experience about the Sharp Leadenhall neighborhood.

Washington Rochambeau National Historic Trail

• This tour looks at Revolutionary War history in Baltimore, specifically connecting to the Yorktown Campaign of 1781-82. It was proposed by Robert Reyes of the Baltimore Civil War Museum.