Fort McHenry's Visitor Center has perhaps the most impressive video presentation of any park I've visited to date. There is no theater for viewing the video. Rather, some plain benches sit in front of a large screen in a corner of the building.

What is impressive isn't the movie itself. This isn't to say it was not well done and informative, as so many of the park films have been. Rather, it is the ending.

The video ends with a shot of the 15-star flag flying above Fort McHenry as the Star-Spangled Banner starts to play. Suddenly, the screen retracts into the ceiling revealing a huge picture window behind it, with the identical, but now live, view of the fort and flag!

I was lucky to visit on a perfect late-spring day - sunny and warm but with a steady breeze that kept the flag unfurled and flapping.

The fort was rather small, and like many that I have visited, had an open area surrounded by buildings that formed the outer wall. Inside most, there were displays highlighting life in and around the fort. The upper level allowed for great views into the harbor, where British ships fired upon the fort in their unsuccessful effort to gain access to Baltimore.

The Park Service has several acres of land around the fort itself which is maintained in a park-like way, and several people seemed to simply visit to enjoy to greenspace. Admission to the visitor center and all spaces except the inside of the fort is free.