I wear my love for Baltimore on my sleeve. I mean that literally: I have a tattoo sleeve of iconic Baltimore and Maryland imagery. And when I travel to conferences, it’s one of the first things that people learn about me.
Sadly, while most of the people I meet are curious about my hometown, they nearly always come with preconceptions: “Oh! Like ‘The Wire!’,” they say. No, not like ‘The Wire.’ Well… yes, exactly like ‘The Wire.’ Ugh, it’s complicated.
As I imagine is the case with most large cities, Baltimore is a place full of contradictions. It has both beautiful neighborhoods and decaying communities, a thriving biotech industry and abandoned industrial buildings, a growing ‘creative class’ and a seemingly entrenched underclass. One of these cities is barely known to the country at large, and one was depicted on ‘The Wire.’ And they’re both quite real.
This drone video, which I first saw this morning, really captures the essence of the city that I love. I hope you’ll watch it — especially if you’ve seen ‘The Wire’ — because I think it’ll show you Baltimore in a different light.
