Beat down by crime, disinvestment and a pandemic, can downtown Baltimore recover?

On a sunny spring afternoon, tourists and visitors flock to the National Aquarium and other Inner Harbor attractions while upscale restaurants in nearby Harbor East prepare for the dinner crowd. A few blocks away, in the heart of Baltimore’s downtown, it’s a different story. The few pedestrians traversing downtown on a weekday have few places to choose from for lunch or coffee, and by 2:30 p.m., they may be out of luck, as the neighborhood all but shuts down.