A big reason is Orioles Park at Camden Yards. John Tarpey, of Charleston, S.C., is on a weeklong tour, visiting relatives, Camden Yards and some minor-league ballparks with his wife and three boys. Ballparks ought to smell like cigars and stale beer. Baltimore's Eutaw Street, lined with carts and food stands, fills with fans a half-hour before the gates open. The smoke from the barbecue pits rises up past the warehouse and into the ballpark.
Fans have to make up words to describe it.
The ballpark sits on the site of an old railroad depot, Camden Yards. Camden Station, an elegant three-spired building reminiscent of Independence Hall, was once the busiest train station on the planet. He's facing the old warehouse where he spent time, and can't believe how good it looks. The restored warehouse is what you see over the right field bleachers. The mounting of the stadium lights on its roof makes it part of the ballpark, and it's the backdrop for the game-day festivities on Eutaw Street.