The Admiral's Cup by Davis W. Morton

THE ADMIRAL'S CUP / 2004 / oil on canvas / 18" x 27"  SOLD... Read a painting comment below...

      At the dead end of Broadway, on Thames Street by the water, the "Point" of Fells Point in Baltimore has always been The Admiral's Cup to me. Although no one knows what the tavern was called when Edgar Allan Poe went there, it was said to be his favorite watering hole. Just walking by and looking in the window, it wasn't hard to imagine a glimpse of Poe getting up from a table or walking into another room.
     Like a moth flying toward a light, it seemed like all of the late-night Fells Point people would end up at the "Cup" at least once a week. The bar also seemed to be a magnet for tug boat sailors, lawyers, and all kinds of other people who didn't seem to have much in common. Then, when I realized that I had become a moth myself, I wondered why I even liked the place. 
     Certainly, The Admiral's Cup was fertile ground for "people watching," but there was also the unnerving feeling of being watched. For years, I would feel the need to turn my head, only to find that the person watching wasn't there.
     Eventually, The Admiral's Cup closed its doors for renovations, and the new owners kept its name. Then, when the new doors opened, the Cup had become a stylish urban bar that millennials would enjoy. The beer is still cold and the people are nice. But even though I never actually felt the presence of Edgar Allan Poe, in the new Cup, it oddly seems like I can feel his absence.