Monthly Archives: January 2012

Bar Odyssey: Dundalk to Fells Point

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Scott Huffines

By Tom Nugent (The Baltimore Sun, 3/10/1978) Friday night, Marie’s Tavern, and Shotgun Hank is getting into the Pabst. “Listen here,” says Shotgun, swiveling around on his bar stool, grinning wide as an Oklahoma freeway beneath his blue, Peterbilt trucker’s … Continue reading →


Posted in 1970s, Baltimore Babylon, Baltimorons, Beer, Booze, Dundalk, Fells Point, Highlandtown, Neighborhoods, Nightlife, Nightspots, Strip Clubs, Vices | Tagged | 1 Comment

Now Playing in Baltimore: Saturday, June 6th, 1972

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Scott Huffines

(The Baltimore Sun, 6/6/1972)


Posted in 1970s, Decades, Films | 1 Comment

The Peabody Book Shop: One for the books… Or Not.

Posted on January 24, 2012 by Scott Huffines

The Peabody Book Shop was ‘a place where respectable people could come for a sandwich and a glass of beer.’ By Mary K. Zajac (Style Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009) Come in,” the sign above the basement door at 913 N. Charles … Continue reading →


Posted in Baltimore Babylon, Baltimorons, Beer, Dining, H.L. Mencken, Nightspots, Vices | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Towson Priest Busted With Pants Down in Adult Theater

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Scott Huffines

By Evann Gastaldo (Newser.com, 1/23/2012) Father Mark Stewart Bullock went from priest at the Church of the Immaculate Conception to creepy guy standing around pants-less in a porn shop, Baltimore cops say. Police say they responded to complaints of indecent … Continue reading →


Posted in 2010s, Baltimorons, Crime, Towson | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Original Flagpole Sitter (Alvin Aloysius “Shipwreck” Kelly)

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Scott Huffines

1929: `Shipwreck’ Kelly inspired 20 Baltimoreans to engage in what Cosmopolitan termed `competitive imbecility.’ By Frederick N. Rasmussen, (The Baltimore Sun,11/20/1999) It was perhaps the last giddy excess of the Jazz Age when, during the summer of 1929, Baltimore for … Continue reading →


Posted in 1920s, Baltimorons, Pranks | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Was David Franks the Poe Toaster? Mystery his last performance piece, perhaps

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Scott Huffines

By Jason Policastro (Baltimore Brew, 1/20/2010) Artist and poet David Franks was found dead January 14 (2010). The famed “Poe Toaster” failed to show up on January 19 (2010). Coincidence, or the final flourish of a dedicated prankster? The article … Continue reading →


Posted in Baltimorons, Edgar Allan Poe, Obituaries, Pranks, Urban Legends | Tagged | Leave a comment

Poe fans call an end to ‘Toaster’ tradition

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Scott Huffines

By Sarah Brumfield (Associated Press, 1/19/2011) BALTIMORE (AP) — Edgar Allan Poe fans waited long past a midnight dreary, but it appears annual visits to the writer’s grave in Baltimore by a mysterious figure called the “Poe Toaster” shall occur … Continue reading →


Posted in Baltimorons, Edgar Allan Poe, Museums, Obituaries, Pranks, Urban Legends | Tagged | Leave a comment

A Bar with a View

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Tom Warner

Unflappable Esther Martin Has Run the Club Charles Since 1951. Who Better to Tell of Her Block’s Boom, Bust, and Possible Rebirth? By Brennen Jensen (Baltimore City Paper, 2/16/2000) “There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man by … Continue reading →


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Club Charles History: Esther W. Martin

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Tom Warner

From the Club Charles web site: Esther W. Martin, longtime owner of a well-known Charles Street bar that evolved from Tenderloin to trendy, died Sunday at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center of complications after surgery. She was 80. She retired … Continue reading →


Posted in Baltimorons, Booze, Club Charles, Nightspots, Roadside Attractions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Esther Martin (1923 – Jan. 19, 2003)

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Tom Warner

By Brennen Jensen (Baltimore City Paper, 1/29/2003) Esther Martin, owner and founder of the Club Charles bar on the 1700 block of North Charles Street, died Jan. 19 following surgery to correct the debilitating effects of diabetes. The 80-year-old Oklahoma … Continue reading →


Posted in Baltimorons, Club Charles, Nightspots, Obituaries | Tagged | 2 Comments

Club Venus

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Scott Huffines

By Don Lehnhoff, baltimorejam.org The Club Venus opened in May of 1966 in the Perring Plaza Shopping Center. It was much anticipated and very popular. Club Venus represented the evolution of Mihalos’ success in presenting name entertainment to Baltimore audiences … Continue reading →


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Memories, music and a meal for Morris

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Tom Warner

“Oh, Mon Dieu! Those mouse turds, too!” by Fern Shen and Mark Reutter (Baltimore Brew, Jan. 16, 2012) The people Morris Martick screamed at, cooked with, cooked for, fired, rehired, insulted and nurtured – in other words, the people who … Continue reading →


Posted in 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, Baltimorons, Deaths, Decades, Dining, Events, Food, Nightlife, Nightspots, Obituaries, Roadside Attractions, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment