I come from a long line of lush spring mornings in my grandmother's farm, long afternoon walks on autumn trails, summer nights under the stars and a combination of many other spontaneous adventures year round with my family. So leaving this routine of a very adventurous life to start living in Baltimore City, a very compact urban city, was a big transition for me.
Life here can a little hard. From just living on-campus at Morgan State University, exploring areas downtown and through some of the many neighborhoods its easy to see contrast from my suburban life to my current city state.
I remember many times being in a car, riding past Druid Hill Park and seeing this strange jewel Box shaped structure. Its placement always puzzled me because I wasn't used to seeing random structures like this in the city.
I never knew what was inside
So one random weekend, as part of my weekend adventure, my friend and I decided to go check it out and boy was I in for a surprise. This Jewel Box is the Howard P. Rawlings Conservatory. It's the second oldest conservatory in the country, named after Howard P. Rawlings, and has 3 large rooms, a orchid room and the Palm House.
Maneuvering this conservatory, walking from room to room, was truly a magical experience. I've had the privilege to visit places in my world travels with similar aesthetics so traversing through the different gardens put me in this state of nostalgia and discovery. This wasn't an experience I thought I would have in Baltimore.
It's really amazing to see that Baltimore has put effort to enrich the city's culture with places like the Rawlings Conservatory.
Life in Baltimore City can be rough and draining. And consequentially there aren't that many free ways to decompress but a place like the Rawlings Conservatory adds a nice contrast to the toughness of this city's life.
Baltimore City should invest more in recreational spaces. Not only would it be nice to have but would also increase the engagement and change the culture of the city. The dynamic of the city is changing, more young people are coming out and diving into art, entertainment and entrepreneurship. And with all this young development we need more spaces to further cultivate this development.
Investment in the youth is important, the benefits this city would reap would be amazing!