My walk in Frederick, Md. (Baltimore, Middletown: city hall, house, theater)

[barante]

Frederick may be my favorite town in Maryland. And oh my, how has it changed. It now is part of the Washington, D.C. suburbs, with prices to match. All this has been good to downtown businesses, as the Setting Sun Walkers found out when we braved the chilly weather yesterday.
One reason why Frederick is such a great destination is that the county tourist operation has its act together. You should start at the tourist office at 19 East Church Street to pick up a profusely illustrated free guide to Fredercik (If you park next door, they will validate your card for three hours of free parking).
Here is the Frederick tourism site:
The Official Tourism Website of Frederick County, Maryland
We basically walked over to City Hall Square, a delightfully harmonious architectural gem, then to the carillion. We stopped at the Tivoli, an old movie house also known as the Weinberg Center after the local founding family (and totally different from Harry and Jeanette whose names grace so many Baltimore institutions). They were getting ready for the New Year's celebration but the major domo, a Montgomery County resident, found time to show the center to us. Another nice booklet told us that it has a very extensive schedule of concerts, plays and films. And its attendance has broken records each year, including 2008.
In talking about the theater's history, our guide also mentioned that downtown Frederick had flooded repeatedly before the meandering Carroll Creek park was built. They essentially tunneled the creek, leaving only a shallow strem to run on top of the tube. The result is something similar to River Walk in San Antonio, with restaurants and antique stores on the banks. Lots to see in the rest of the county as well, as the web site explains.
We worth the 45-minute drive from Baltimore. Before Frederick is New Market, a nice village of antique stores. Beyond Frederick is Middletown, another picturesque place.