Baltimore'S Historic Charles Street
Department of Transportation.
A trek along Charles Street is an all-inclusive way to experience the heart of Baltimore. It's an adventure that captures 400 years of historic transformations, including the exciting urban renewal of the Inner Harbor and Charles Center that grew into a phenomenon and spread to cities around the world. Linking the Inner Harbor and its attractions to many of Baltimore's world-renowned destinations, the byway travels through an eclectic mix of urban and suburban neighborhoods; great places to sight-see, shop, and dine. Visit Charles Street, and you'll want to stay a while.
Directions
Getting to the Byway:
Baltimore/Washington International Airport (BWI), MD
- Follow the airport exit signs to I-195 West
- Then take MD295 North, exit onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway
- Continue northeast on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which becomes Russell Street in Baltimore, MD.
- Turn right at Hamburg Street through the historic neighborhood of Sharp- Leadenhall on your way to Charles Street.
- When you intersect with Charles Street in Federal Hill, you may turn north or south on the byway to explore.
Washington, DC
- Take I-295, the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, northeast from the D.C. area toward Baltimore.
- Continue on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, which becomes Russell Street in Baltimore, MD.
- Turn right at Hamburg Street through the historic neighborhood of Sharp- Leadenhall on your way to Charles Street.
- When you intersect with Charles Street in Federal Hill, you may turn north or south on the byway to explore.
Navigating the Byway:
The byway corridor includes the entire 12-mile length of Charles Street and portions of parallel streets required to create a return path (due to portions of Charles Street being one-way north) and are essential to the full byway experience.
* The byway extends from the Charles Street-Beltway (695) traffic circle in Lutherville in the north to the end of Charles Street in South Baltimore, just below the Beltway viaduct.
* At the intersection of Charles Street and E. Lee Street, Charles Street becomes one-way going north.
* St. Paul/ Light Street (Charles Street's One-Way Pair): To drive the byway from north to south you are guided towards
St. Paul Street to continue south. St. Paul splits off from Charles Street just south of the Cold Spring Ave intersection in the Guilford neighborhood. From here St. Paul runs roughly parallel to Charles Street heading south and changes name to Light Street near the Fayette Street intersection.
* Heading south, choose to stay on Charles Street south of Greenway to 29th Street past Johns Hopkins Homewood Campus and the Baltimore Museum of Art (Art Museum Drive at North Charles and 31st Streets, three miles north of the Inner Harbor) and then cut over to St. Paul Street at 29th street.
