A Photo Essay: Walking around Looking on a Saturday...Art and Nature (Part I)

I have always strongly felt that, for me, tied for spending an afternoon in a museum is wandering around a beautiful neighborhood. For the architecture lover, you are in an a museum. More than that, on a nice late summer/early Fall afternoon you can find art in nature and sculptural art in some unsurprisingly places all working together to create a beautiful and calming atmosphere.

Today, I'll share photos from my walk around Guilford this past Saturday, focusing on art and nature, and next week I'll share images of all of my dream houses in that neighborhood. Back in college, I would wander around for hours in Guildford just to unwind and get away from the pressures of school and work. I would imagine the cars and the street signs weren't there, and I would be transported to another time...

I started my walk in "upper" Charles Village, so I might as well share one of my favorite Baltimore images. Looking down Charles Street, you can see all the way to downtown and see the Washington Monument in Mt. Vernon.

Then, I walked north to take pictures of one of my favorite little parks. Here's a few from the park in general and one which shows the amazing sculptural centerpiece from afar.

Don't see it? See the red arrow!

Here are the close-ups from different angles!

If  the cars weren't there, well, you could definitely be in another century!

Then, I moved north to Sherwood Gardens.

I just love this tree:

 I see faces! Maybe Falcor and Mark Twain (a friend's suggestion)?

  

Then, I got these cool shots of this guy in front of a house. 

I moved right along to this area near Loyola.

On one side of the street a bit farther north, there is a sculpture of Simon Bolivar and on the other, two columns which do not hold up anything, but lead down to a park area. I've always been incredibly fascinated by this. Timeless columns leading you back into another world, and a dated sculpture of a specific historical and political figure, both in clear view from a main street in Baltimore, but also hidden if you're not looking. Read this City Paper article for an explanation of why there's a Simon Bolivar monument in Guilford.

Here's Bolivar:

 

Here are the columns and the park:

And that's it for today! Stay tuned for next week's awesome houses!

--Lael