Baltimore, Maryland

 Got to spend some time in Baltimore, Maryland, last week and enjoyed my walkabouts in downtown and around the Inner Harbor. The mixture of old and new throughout the area was interesting.

 I found this owl underneath some scaffolding of a building under renovation. The whole front of the building was covered by this ornamentation.

 The Bromo Seltzer tower was probably the tallest structure in the area for quite a while, but is now dwarfed by skyscrapers in the area.

 All the old buildings retain their original exteriors but the interiors have been repurposed. This building, above, was closed but its last occupant was the Dubai Nightclub.

 Some ornate brickwork on one of the buildings downtown. I wonder how it would look if it could ever get a good scrubbing?

 This Catholic Church was swallowed up by the skyscrapers around it.

 I loved these two guys holding up this building. I would have a cramp by now.

Chinatown in D.C.

 Spent some time in Chinatown on a recent trip to Washington, D.C. It doesn't take much to entertain this ol' country boy. I enjoyed the massive wooden doors on a Catholic Church, above, and the Chinese writing on all the signs.

 Click to enlarge the photo above to see the imagery on the building. Pretty awesome.

 I ate in the place above one day. They have ducks and octopi hanging on their right.

 This church was interesting for its burned-out steeples. But it still had a message for me in its stained glass below. Click to enlarge if you like.

 Only I could go to Washington and be fascinated by rocks in a grate, above.