Farewell to The Crown, a sanctuary for Baltimore’s underground music scene

The Crown was the newest, hottest space in Central Baltimore, and word was spreading that it was looking to fill the void for artists who needed somewhere to congregate. The timing couldn’t have been better. That year, 2013, the beloved makeshift venue The Broom Factory Factory, better known as the BFF, in Remington had been shut down by the city under suspicious circumstances. I was in my early 20s, juggling jobs as a teller at M&T Bank, an usher at the Charles Theater and an occasional contributor to the now-shuttered Baltimore City Paper. (Photo: Sam Levin/For The Baltimore Banner)