Construction to start on Fort McHenry’s new visitors' center
Gov. Martin O'Malley and other state elected officials participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new visitors' center at Baltimore's Fort McHenry on Monday, April 27. Construction of the facility – which will house exhibits, an auditorium, staff offices, a bookstore and a library in a 15,000- to 20,000-sq.-ft. space – is expected to take 18 months.

With a fall 2010 opening, the center will help to accommodate the state's plans for celebrating the bicentennial of the War of 1812. State officials consider Fort McHenry to be a gateway to other War of 1812 sites in the region.

Click on the following to see pictures  and video from the event.

Public Invited to Review 1812 Bicentennial Plan
Why is the bicentennial of the Star-Spangled Banner and the War of 1812 in Maryland important? When is the bicentennial celebration? What’s been done so far? How will it be celebrated? How can Marylanders get involved?

Answers to these and other questions can be found in Star-Spangled 200: A National Bicentennial in Maryland. The draft has been posted to allow a 60-day period for public comment in advance of the first commission meeting to be convened in 2009.

Maryland Office of Tourism staff, on behalf of the Maryland War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission, has assembled the draft after a year of gathering information from dozens of stakeholder meetings and online surveys. Contact Bill Pencek or Kate Marks for more information. 

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