The white sand at South Shore Beach still sits along the promenade near The Rusty Scupper. The six volleyball courts are still lined up below Key Highway, and the curved stone Skyline Steps still face the open lawn. What's different now is the light. Rash Field Park Phase II opened on Wednesday, Sept. 9, while the summer evenings were still long. This is its first stretch of short November days, and the park keeps a firm schedule: the South Baltimore Peninsula Post reported that Baltimore City Recreation and Parks now manages it from dawn to dusk.
For anyone living on the hill above it, that rule sets the season's routine. Rash Field is a daytime park this winter. After dark, the harbor activity moves to a free weekend water taxi that stops at the park's edge and a holiday market on the Inner Harbor's west shore, both running past the park's closing time. Put together, the three make a good harbor day that starts at the bottom of Federal Hill.
Seventeen Months of Work, Built Around Daylight Use
The second phase covers 5.3 acres between Key Highway and the Inner Harbor's southern shore. It took a year and a half of construction, and the Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore documented much of it in weekly site photos taken from Federal Hill Park. According to the Peninsula Post, the phase cost $18 million, funded by the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore. More than 200 people came to the ribbon cutting at the new Triangle Plaza, where Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Senate President Bill Ferguson joined the project team.
Waterfront Partnership president Dan Taylor opened the ceremony by calling it "the greatest waterfront in America" and said "this is a park for all of Baltimore," as the Peninsula Post reported. Baltimore Fishbowl's opening coverage named Plano-Coudon as the construction manager and Mahan Rykiel Associates as the lead designer.
The way the park is run explains why it suits short days. Recreation and Parks sets the hours, and the Waterfront Partnership handles daily cleaning and greening, as it does along much of the Inner Harbor's public space. Nearly everything that opened in September works without an attendant, a ticket or a reservation, so the park doesn't need a full season to be useful.
The Parts That Work Without Anyone Running Them
Phase II added these features:
- South Shore Beach. The white-sand area along the promenade near The Rusty Scupper, with seating, shade and hammocks.
- Rash Field. The name now belongs to the large lawn of thick grass at the center of the park.
- Skyline Steps. Curved stone bleachers that overlook the lawn toward the harbor.
- Nature Walk. A winding path through the native plantings, which the Waterfront Partnership invites visitors to try to identify.
- Fitness course. SouthBMore.com described it as an 11-station obstacle course for a range of ages and fitness levels.
- Courts. Six beach volleyball courts and two pickleball courts. The pickleball courts are open for public use and aren't managed by a league operator.
The Phase I features from 2021, closer to the Maryland Science Center, are still part of the same park: Jake's Skate Park, with its ramps, rails and community skate programming, plus the playground areas and the BGE Pavilion with its green-roof overlook.
Nothing on that list needs good beach weather. The nature walk and the lawn work on a cold, clear afternoon. The Skyline Steps give a seated view of the harbor in any season, and the open pickleball courts don't require a signup. On a short winter day, this is the part of the park that's always available until dusk.
What Was Announced on Opening Day
Some pieces of the park were described as upcoming when it opened. Taylor said Volo Sports was finalizing an agreement with Recreation and Parks to run sand volleyball leagues and open play, with pickup games first and leagues later. The Waterfront Partnership also said it expected to install rental kiosks for volleyball and pickleball equipment. In May, SouthBMore.com described a café space at the BGE Pavilion intended for OneDo Coffee.
For a winter visit, plan on the free features above. Bring your own paddles and ball, and take Rash Field as the open, unstaffed park it was built to be.
After Dusk, the Water Taxi Is Still Running
The free Harbor Connector added weekend service starting Oct. 17, and SouthBMore.com reported that it runs Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. through Dec. 6.
The Federal Hill stop is at The Rusty Scupper, next to South Shore Beach. The Baltimore Department of Transportation lists the Inner Harbor Loop stops as Pier 1 at Harborplace, Harbor East at E Falls Avenue and Aliceanna, The Rusty Scupper, Fells Point at Thames Street and Broadway, and Locust Point at the northern end of Hull Street. A second route, the Outer Harbor Loop, links Fells Point, Locust Point and Canton Waterfront Park.
That means a Saturday can start on the Rash Field lawn in the early afternoon and keep going by boat after the park closes. With service running until 7:30 p.m., the Connector operates past dusk on every remaining weekend of its season. There are four weekends left after this post goes up:
| Weekend | Harbor Connector | Christmas Village at West Shore Park |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 14–15 | 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. | Not yet open |
| Nov. 21–22 | 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. | Opens Saturday, Nov. 21 |
| Nov. 28–29 | 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m. | Sat. noon–9 p.m., Sun. noon–8 p.m. |
| Dec. 5–6 | 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m., final weekend | Sat. noon–9 p.m., Sun. noon–8 p.m. |
Christmas Village, and a Promenade That Stays as It Is
The Christmas Village in Baltimore returns to West Shore Park from Nov. 21 through Dec. 27, with more than 70 local and international vendors. According to the village's published schedule, it's open noon to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and noon to 9 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It's closed Mondays and Tuesdays, plus Nov. 25 and Dec. 25. Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve hours are noon to 5 p.m., and the village makes an exception to stay open Monday, Dec. 21, and Tuesday, Dec. 22.
Its evening hours start right where Rash Field's end. The village stays open hours past dusk on Fridays and Saturdays. On the three weekends when both run, the Connector's Inner Harbor Loop links the Federal Hill stop with Pier 1 at Harborplace.
The walk to the village will look the same this holiday season. In August, The Banner reported that the Harborplace redevelopment's permits cover West Shore Park, McKeldin Plaza, the promenade and Harborplace itself, and that the developers said pedestrian and bike routes would stay open during construction. Then on Nov. 6, The Banner reported that P. David Bramble of MCB Real Estate said permitting delays had pushed the construction start into next year. So the route from South Shore Beach to the village at West Shore Park runs along today's promenade this December, without the construction work.
The broader waterfront plan is also funded. WBAL reported in April a $34.4 million state allocation to the Waterfront Partnership for Inner Harbor promenade and park improvements, part of an 18.7-acre project. That's more than three times the 5.3 acres that Rash Field Phase II just added, so this winter's walk along the harbor is a version of the waterfront that's set to change.
On the Neighborhood Calendar
The Federal Hill Neighborhood Association's calendar has three dates before the end of the year. A Thread community happy hour is at Little Havana, 1325 Key Highway, on Thursday, Nov. 12, from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Neighborhood meetings follow on Tuesday, Nov. 17, and Tuesday, Dec. 15, both at 6:30 p.m. at Light Street Presbyterian. The association's events page is where new listings will appear as the holidays get closer.
Living near a newly finished waterfront park changes a block's daily routine in small ways, and those details matter when you're weighing one street against another on the harbor side of Federal Hill. If you'd like to talk through how Rash Field and the coming promenade work affect the blocks below Key Highway, William Weeks is glad to walk through it with you. Schedule a Consultation.
