By Siobhan McKenna, written June 2021
As a freelance writer, there are few things that motivate me to sit down and write more than the promise that I’ll be able to sip on a latte as I string sentences together. For me, writing is an experience, and being able to cultivate that experience by writing at a coffee shop or in a park prevents me from being distracted by the dirty laundry calling out or the bathroom that suddenly needs a deep clean. Finding a space to write whether it’s professionally, therapeutically, or for pleasure is not only a great way to focus but can also inspire creativity. Writing outside your home office is also a great way to support local businesses and see flyers for writing and reading events as they slowly emerge once more.
Below is a list of some Baltimore old and new favorites to bring your laptop, notebook, and a pen to in order to get your caffeine fix and channel your creative process. Remember to check a café’s Instagram or website for its most up-to-date policies regarding COVID-19.
Pitango Bakery + Café, 903 S Ann Street
Neighborhood: Fell’s Point
IG @pitango_bakery_cafe; pitangogelato.com/location/pitango-bakery-cafe/
The Fell’s Point Pitango’s corner location, tucked away from busier Thames Street and situated along a quiet harbor inlet, makes it a classic spot for writing. Many times, I have found myself heading down early in the day to take in the morning light scattering off the water as I shake away brain fog. Between sentences, you can admire joggers and stroller-pushing parents cruising along the waterfront path as tiny bakery birds flit around searching for croissant crumbs. Currently, the café has ample outside seating underneath umbrellas as the Baltimore summer saunters in.
Charles M Halcott Square, 104 S Duncan Street
Neighborhood: Butcher’s Hill
baltimoregreenspace.org/charles-m-halcott-square/
In spring and summer, this “secret” park (as I like to call it) is alive with butterflies swooping from petal to petal. Halcott Square is not truly a secret, but because of its location down an alley and its lack of visitors whenever I come to write, I often feel like I’m the only one who knows about its location despite the well-maintained flowers and free, up-to-date copies of the local neighborhood newsletter. In this quaint pocket park, there are picnic tables and benches that enable you to post up underneath the shade of a tree after grabbing an iced oat milk latte and muffin from Charmed Kitchen just a short walk down the street as you concentrate on writing your novel’s next chapter.
Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral Street
Neighborhood: Midtown
Named after Emma Goldman, a Lithuania immigrant to the United States and activist who fought for many causes including women’s rights (1), Red Emma’s is a bookstore, coffee shop, and community event space that is completely worker-run and strives to create a strong social justice network in Baltimore. Located in the midtown section of the city, Red Emma’s is a spot I often find myself when I want to gain insight into the minds of other writers and more information on specific social movements. I appreciate perusing Red Emma’s extensive collection of books that expound the reasons for the inequality and injustice that has plagued Baltimore and ultimately the entire country and being able to reflect in my journal over a vegan breakfast sandwich and latte.
Druid Hill Park, 900 Druid Park Lake Dr.
Neighborhood: Druid Hill Park
bcrp.baltimorecity.gov/parks/druid-hill
Built in 1860, Druid Hill Park is a wilder version of Patterson Park. While the park is landscaped beautifully, there are more opportunities to lose yourself deep among the 745 acres (vs Patterson’s 137) of forest and winding paths past The Maryland Zoo and Victorian-era Rawlings Conservatory. I love this park because there are spots where I can completely immerse myself in nature and trade in the hum of trucks for the rustle of wind through the leaves and the trickling offshoots of the Jones Falls stream. On my way to a shady patch of trees, I’ll pick up coffee and breakfast at Dovecote in Reservoir Hill which reopens with a community celebration the weekend of Juneteenth for the first time since it closed during the pandemic.
Good Neighbor, 3827 Falls Road
Neighborhood: Hampden
IG @goodneighborshop; goodneighborshop.com/
Despite opening amid the pandemic (2), Good Neighbor has been able to woo Baltimore café fanatics (aka me) with its unique collection of local and global goods (think ceramics, Scandinavian design, and glassware), flower-filled wood patio, and of course, it’s coffee. Good Neighbor’s outdoor space is situated on a hill overlooking Falls Road with The Greenhouse at Good Neighbor—a plant and flower studio with fresh and dried blooms—nestled on top of the incline. When I write here, I can feel the creative energy that flows through the space. Co-owners, husband and wife, Anne Morgan and Shawn Chopra, set up both the inside and outside of their shop to be an aesthetically delightful and comforting atmosphere where I can admire tangerine and periwinkle buds under the cover of umbrellas while finishing up my most recent blog post for Yellow Arrow Publishing.
The Parks of Mount Vernon Place
Neighborhood: Mount Vernon
Bathed in the shadow of the Washington Monument, Mount Vernon Place is four squares that surround the first monument to our earliest president. All four parks are great spaces to write, but West Mount Vernon Place has always been my favorite. Many times, I have found myself in the west green space writing poetry on one of the green benches as a cellist from the nearby Peabody Conservatory tests a new composition. I take a moment between lines to admire the Gothic-style churches, fountains, and Victorian buildings along the perimeter of the square. And yet, as with most historical spots in Baltimore, prejudice is planted among the beauty. In the north square, the empty pedestal of Roger B. Taney stands as a reminder of what has fed the soil. In August 2017, the Taney statue, along with three other Confederate sympathizing monuments in the city, was removed in the dark of night (3). Taney, a Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wrote the Dred Scott court decision, “which stated that African Americans—enslaved and free—were property and could never be citizens of the United States” (4). As a white writer in Baltimore, it is important for me to acknowledge and sit with the legacy of white supremacy that grew and continues to fuel Baltimore and the rest of our country. The dichotomy of writing about intense topics among the flowers, fountains, and empty pedestals helps me to reflect and write about where our city and country have been and the path that I am taking to reconcile our past and current history of discrimination.
Other Inspiring Coffee Spots & Parks
Coffee: OneDo, Bird in Hand, Café Dear Leon, Vent Coffee Roasters
Parks: Canton Waterfront Park, Wyman Park Dell, Sherwood Gardens
(1) “Who is Emma?” Red Emma’s. https://redemmas.org/about.
(2) Dash, Julekha. “A stylish and eclectic ‘Good Neighbor’ moves onto Falls Road.” Baltimore FishBowl. August 2020. https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/hampden-adds-a-good-neighbor-to-falls-road/.
(3) Pitts, Jonathan M. “Four Confederate statues once stood as Baltimore landmarks.” The Washington Post. March 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/baltimore-confederate-statue-pedestals/2021/03/30/56543c2a-9170-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html.
(4) “Roger Brooke Taney Monument, 1887.” Baltimore Planning. https://baltimoreplanning.wixsite.com/monumentcommission/taneymonument.
Siobhan McKenna was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She stumbled upon Yellow Arrow while living in Baltimore and has loved every minute of working as an editorial associate. Siobhan recently began working as a travel nurse on the West Coast. As she moves to a different city every three months to work as an ICU nurse, Siobhan looks forward to writing about all that this crazy, broken, and beautiful country holds. She holds a BA in writing and biology from Loyola University Maryland and an MSN from Johns Hopkins University. You can follow her on Instagram @sio_han.
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