BALTIMORE — After a successful Sail 250, where organizers' estimates of 200,000 attendees were well exceeded, there are views tourists may never see again, including the two green-roofed pavilions that have marked the Inner Harbor since the 1980s.
MCB Real Estate, the group behind the planned $900 million in renovations of Harborplace, has remained tight-lipped about specific timelines.
But hearsay on the harbor seems to indicate that movement will be happening before the end of this year.
On Sunday, the "Made in Baltimore" brick-and-mortar store that featured locally-made goods in the Light Street pavilion closed its doors for good according to the Baltimore Fishbowl, an online news publication.
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As tall ships set sail, changes on the horizon for Harborplace
It's not clear why, but in a few months the other tenants are expected to follow suit as the pavilions will soon be demolished. Nor is it clear if there will be another event as large as Sail 250 to send off Harborplace as we now know it.
Many visitors brought in by Sail 250 were hit by a wave of nostalgia seeing the city's well-known pastime once again.
“When I came here years ago, it was really spectacular. There were lots of shops and restaurants and a very vibrant community," Wanda Higgins who is visiting from Virginia said.
“Currently, right now we're just having a little problem finding a place to eat. Things are closed up.”
"All those memories. It's gonna be gone," Baltimore native Sunshine P. said.
An In Focus look at the master plan for Harborplace
The sight of this weekend’s crowds at the Inner Harbor was something Sunshine remembers well about her home city when it was much more common to have grand events there. She fondly remembers the time she came to a Father's Day festival with her grandfather.
She hopes when the new Harborplace is unveiled, there will be more like it to come.
“I am excited to see new things coming in here," she said. "I just hope they kind of keep it just like kind of down-to-earth Marylanders and Baltimoreans, and it'll still be something that all of us can enjoy while we're here."
