Portal:Baltimore

Hairspray is a 2007 musical romantic comedy film based on the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on John Waters's 1988 comedy film of the same name. Produced by Ingenious Media and Zadan/Meron Productions, and adapted from both Waters's 1988 script and Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell's book for the stage musical by screenwriter Leslie Dixon, the film was directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman and has an ensemble cast including John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney, and Nikki Blonsky in her feature film debut. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows the "pleasantly plump" teenager Tracy Turnblad (Blonsky) as she pursues stardom as a dancer on a local television dance show and rallies against racial segregation.

The film began development in 2004, and Dixon reworked Meehan and O'Donnell's first draft of the screenplay to tone down the musical's campiness. In 2005, Shankman agreed to direct the film. Composer/lyricist Marc Shaiman and lyricist Scott Wittman reworked their songs from the Broadway musical for the film's soundtrack, and also wrote four new songs for the film. Principal photography commenced in September 2006 with a budget of $75 million, and ended in December of that year; filming took place on locations in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada and on sound-stages at Toronto's Showline Studios. Recording sessions for the film's songs and soundtrack took place in San Diego, California in the United States. (Full article...)

Mary Pickersgill (born Mary Young; February 12, 1776 – October 4, 1857) was the maker of the Star-Spangled Banner hoisted over Fort McHenry during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. The daughter of another noted flag maker, Rebecca Young, Pickersgill learned her craft from her mother, and in 1813 she was commissioned by Major George Armistead to make a flag for Baltimore's Fort McHenry that was so large that the British would have no difficulty seeing it from a great distance. The flag was installed in August 1813 and, during the Battle of Baltimore a year later, Francis Scott Key could see the flag while negotiating a prisoner exchange aboard a British vessel and was inspired to pen the words that became the United States National Anthem in 1931.

Pickersgill, widowed at age 29, became successful enough in her flag-making business that in 1820 she was able to buy the house that she had been renting in Baltimore, and later she became active in addressing social issues, such as housing and employment for disadvantaged women. From 1828 to 1851, she was president of the Impartial Female Humane Society which had been founded in 1802 and incorporated in 1811, and helped impoverished families with school vouchers for children and employment for women. Under Pickersgill's leadership, this organization built a home for aged women and later added an Aged Men's Home which was built adjacent to it. These, more than a century later, evolved into the Pickersgill Retirement Community of Towson, Maryland which opened in 1959. (Full article...)

• ... that one Baltimore Orioles player compared the 2024 Major League Baseball jerseys to knockoffs from TJ Maxx?
• ... that Richard Worley played in minor baseball leagues and is now the commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department?
• ... that the Hotel Brexton in Baltimore was once home to Wallis Simpson, the American divorcée who married Edward VIII?
• ... that a Baltimore TV station aspired to be "the Cadillac of independents"?
• ... that the Harlem Park Three were awarded US$48 million, the largest sum in Baltimore history, after being falsely imprisoned for murder?
• ... that a great-grandfather and a grandfather of a commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department also served in the department?

May 20, 2024 – Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

The container ship Dali is freed from bridge debris since its initial collision on March 26 and is escorted by tugboats back to the port of Baltimore. (AP)

May 13, 2024 – Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

The final remains of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, which killed six workers, are demolished with explosives. (East Bay Times)

March 26, 2024 – Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

The Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, collapses after the container ship Dali strikes a bridge column, causing multiple vehicles to fall into the water below. (CBS News)

January 28, 2024 – 2023 NFL season

In American football, the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers defeat the Detroit Lions to advance to Super Bowl LVIII. (USA Today)