Baltimore
Encyclopedia
Baltimore is the largest independent city
in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland
. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River
, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay
. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding Baltimore County
. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is the largest U.S. seaport in the Mid-Atlantic
and is situated closer to major Midwestern
markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast
. Baltimore's Inner Harbor
was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center. After a decline in manufacturing, like most other major American coastal cities, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy. The city is home to the National Aquarium
, the Maryland Science Center
, Harborplace
, the Baltimore Orioles
and the Baltimore Ravens
.
At 620,961 in 2010, Baltimore city's population has been decreasing considerably since the 1970s. The Baltimore Metropolitan Area
has approximately 2.7 million residents; the 21st largest in the country. Baltimore is also the largest city in the surrounding associated combined statistical area
of approximately 8.4 million residents.
The city is named after Lord Baltimore
, a member of the Irish House of Lords
and the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore himself took his title from a place in Bornacoola parish
, County Leitrim
and County Longford
, Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicized
form of the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "Town of the Big House", not to be confused with Baltimore, County Cork
, the Irish name of which is Dún na Séad.
at Locust Point
in 1706 for the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is named after Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert)
, who was the first Proprietary Governor
of the Province of Maryland
. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert
, who became the First Lord Baltimore
of County Cork
, Ireland in 1625. Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean
. The profit from sugar encouraged the cultivation of cane and the importation of food.
Baltimore played a key part in events leading to and including the American Revolution
. City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr.
moved the city to join the resistance to British taxes and merchants signed agreements to not trade with Britain. The Second Continental Congress
met in the Henry Fite House
from December 1776 to February 1777, effectively making the city the capitol of the United States during this period. After the war, the Town of Baltimore, nearby Jonestown
, and an area known as Fells Point were incorporated as the City of Baltimore in 1796. The city remained a part of Baltimore County
until 1851 when it was made an independent city
.
The city was the site of the Battle of Baltimore
during the War of 1812
. After burning Washington, D.C.
, the British attacked Baltimore on the night of September 13, 1814. United States forces from Fort McHenry
successfully defended the city's harbor from the British. Francis Scott Key
, a Maryland lawyer, was aboard a British ship where he had been negotiating for the release of an American prisoner, Dr. William Beanes. Key witnessed the bombardment from this ship and later wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner
", a poem recounting the attack. Key's poem was set to a 1780 tune by British composer John Stafford Smith
, and the Star-Spangled Banner became the official National Anthem
of the United States in 1931.
Following the Battle of Baltimore, the city's population grew rapidly. The construction of the Federally funded National Road
(presently U.S. Route 40
) and the private Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
(B&O) made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center by linking the city with major markets in the Midwest
. A distinctive local culture started to take shape, and a unique skyline peppered with churches and monuments developed. Baltimore acquired its moniker, "The Monumental City" after an 1827 visit to Baltimore by President John Quincy Adams
. At an evening function Adams gave the following toast: "Baltimore: the Monumental City- May the days of her safety be as prosperous and happy, as the days of her dangers have been trying and triumphant." Baltimore suffered one of the worst riots of the antebellum south in 1835, when bad investments led to the Baltimore bank riot.
Maryland did not secede from the Union during the American Civil War
; however, when Union
soldiers marched through the city at the start of the war, Confederate sympathizers attacked the troops, which led to the Baltimore riot of 1861
. Four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed during the riot, which caused Union troops to occupy Baltimore. Maryland came under direct federal administration—in part, to prevent the state from seceding—until the end of the war in April 1865.
Following an economic depression known as the Panic of 1873
, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company attempted to lower its workers' wages, leading to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
. On July 20, 1877, Maryland Governor John Lee Carroll
called up the 5th and 6th Regiments of the National Guard
to end the strikes, which had disrupted train service at Cumberland
in western Maryland. Citizens sympathetic to the railroad workers attacked the national guard troops as they marched from their armories in Baltimore to Camden Station
. Soldiers from the 6th Regiment fired on the crowd, killing 10 and wounding 25. Rioters then damaged B&O trains and burned portions of the rail station. Order was restored in the city on July 21–22 when federal troops arrived to protect railroad property and end the strike.
On February 7, 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire
destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, leaving more than 70 blocks of the downtown area burned to the ground. Damages were estimated at $150 million—in 1904 dollars. As the city rebuilt during the next two years, lessons learned from the fire led to improvements in firefighting equipment standards.
The city grew in area by annexing new suburbs from the surrounding counties, the last being in 1918, when the city acquired portions of Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County. A state constitutional amendment approved in 1948, required a special vote of the citizens in any proposed annexation area, effectively preventing any future expansion of the city's boundaries.
The relative size of the city's black population grew from 23.8% in 1950 to 46.4% in 1970. The Baltimore riot of 1968
occurred following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
in Memphis, Tennessee
on April 4, 1968. Coinciding with riots in other cities, public order was not restored until April 12, 1968. The Baltimore riot cost the city of Baltimore an estimated $10 million (US$ million in ). A total of 11,000 Maryland National Guard and federal troops were ordered into the city. Lasting effects of the riot can be seen on the streets of North Avenue, Howard Street
, Gay Street
, and Pennsylvania Avenue
where long stretches of the streets remain barren.
During the 1970s, Baltimore's downtown area known as the Inner Harbor
, had been neglected and was only occupied by a collection of abandoned warehouses. Efforts to redevelop the downtown area started with the construction of the Baltimore Convention Center
, which opened 1979. Harborplace
, an urban retail and restaurant complex opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore
, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry
in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles
baseball team
moved from Memorial Stadium
to Oriole Park at Camden Yards
, located downtown near the harbor. Six years later the Baltimore Ravens
football team
moved into M&T Bank Stadium
next to Camden Yards.
The city has 280 properties identified as historical in the National Register of Historic Places.
Baltimore is in north-central Maryland on the Patapsco River
close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay
. The city is also located on the fall line
between the Piedmont
Plateau and the Atlantic Coastal Plain
, which divides Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city". The city's elevation ranges from sea level at the harbor to 480 feet (146.3 m) in the northwest corner near Pimlico
.
According to the 2010 Census, the city has a total area of 92.052 square miles (238.4 km²), of which 80.944 square miles (209.6 km²) is land and 11.108 square miles (28.8 km²) is water. The total area is 12.07 percent water.
zone (Cfa), according to the Köppen classification.
July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average temperature of 81.7 °F (27.6 °C). Summer is also a season of high (generally, not consistently) humidity in the Baltimore area. The record high for Baltimore is 107 °F (42 °C), set in 1936. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 36.8 °F (2.7 °C). However, subtropical air masses can bring periods of springlike weather, and Arctic fronts push nighttime low temperatures into the teens (< −7 °C) and more rarely, single digits (< −12 °C). The record low temperature for Baltimore is -7 °F in 1934 and 1984. Due to an urban heat island
effect in the city proper
and a moderating effect of the Chesapeake Bay
, the outlying and inland parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns.
As is typical in most East Coast
cities, precipitation is generous and very evenly spread throughout the year. Every month typically brings 3–4 inches of precipitation, averaging around 42 inches (1,066.8 mm) annually. Spring, summer and fall bring frequent showers and thunderstorm
s, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Winter often brings lighter rain showers of longer duration, and generally less sunshine and more clouds. Snowfall occurs occasionally in the winter, with an annual average of 20.8 inches (52.8 cm). In the northern and western suburbs, temperatures tend to be cooler, and winter snowfall is more significant, where some areas average more than 30 inches (76.2 cm) of snow per year. Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in Baltimore, as warm air overrides cold air at the low-mid levels of the atmosphere. When the wind blows from the east, the cold air gets dammed against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain or sleet.
The average date of first frost in Baltimore is October 29, and the average last frost is April 11, allowing a growing season of 200 days.
NOTE: The temperature data presented below was recorded at Inner Harbor
; all other data recorded at BWI Airport.
Baltimore exhibits examples from each period of architecture over more than two centuries, and work from many famous architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, George A. Frederick
, John Russell Pope
, Mies Van Der Rohe and I. M. Pei
.
The city has architecturally important buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica
(1806–1821) is a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe, and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States. In 1813 Robert Cary Long, Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale
the first substantial structure in the United States designed expressly as a museum. Restored, it is now the Municipal Museum of Baltimore, or popularly the “Peale Museum
”. The McKim Free School
was founded and endowed by John McKim, although the building was erected by his son Isaac
in 1822 after a design by William Howard and William Small. It reflects the popular interest in Greece when the nation was securing its independence, as well as a scholarly interest in recently published drawings of Athenian antiquities.
The Phoenix Shot Tower
(1828), at 234.25 feet (71.4 m) tall, was the tallest building in the United States until the time of the Civil war. It was constructed without the use of exterior scaffolding. The Sun Iron Building designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was city’s first iron-front building and it was a model for a whole generation of downtown buildings. Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
, built in 1870 in memory of financier George Brown
, has stained glass
windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany
and has been called "one of the most significant buildings in this city, a treasure of art and architecture" by Baltimore Magazine. The 1845 Greek Revival
style Lloyd Street Synagogue
is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States
. The Johns Hopkins Hospital
, designed by Lt. Col. John S. Billings
in 1876 was a considerable achievement for its day in functional arrangement and fireproofing.
I.M.Pei's World Trade Center
(1977) is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world at 405 feet (123.4 m) tall.
Future contributions to Baltimore's skyline include plans for a 717 foot (218.5 m) tall structure known as "10 Inner Harbor
". The building was recently approved by Baltimore's design panel, but as of January 10, 2010, ARC Wheeler had yet to break ground on the project. It will include luxury condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and shopping centers. The Naing Corporation has approved a tower of 50–60 floors for the lot at 300 Pratt street, with the design currently being finalized. The Inner Harbor East area will see the addition of two new towers which have started construction: a 24-floor tower that will be the new world headquarters of Legg Mason
(now complete), and a 21 floor Four Seasons Hotel complex.
The streets of Baltimore are organized in a grid pattern
, lined with tens of thousands of brick and formstone
faced rowhouses
. In The Baltimore Rowhouse, Mary Ellen Hayward and Charles Belfoure considered the rowhouse as the architectural form defining Baltimore as "perhaps no other American city." In the mid 1790s, developers began building entire neighborhoods of the British-style rowhouses, which became the dominant house type of the city early in the 19th century.
Formstone facings, now a common feature on Baltimore rowhousess, were an addition patented in 1937 by Albert Knight. John Waters characterized formstone as "the polyester of brick" in his 30 minute documentary film, Little Castles: A Formstone Phenomenon.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
is considered by many to be the most beautiful baseball park
in Major League Baseball
, and has inspired many other cities to build their own versions of this retro style ballpark. Camden Yards along with the National Aquarium
have helped revive the Inner Harbor from what once was an industrial district
full of dilapidated warehouses, into a bustling commercial district full of bars, restaurants and retail establishments.
district. However, it is common for locals to divide the city simply by East or West Baltimore, using Charles Street
as a dividing line, and/or into North and South using Baltimore Street as a dividing line.
The Central district includes Downtown Baltimore
, the city's main commercial area. Home to Harborplace
, The Camden Yards Sports Complex (Oriole Park at Camden Yards
and M&T Bank Stadium
), the Convention Center
, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore
, the area also includes many nightclubs, bars and restaurants, shopping centers and various other attractions. Many of Baltimore's key businesses, such as Legg Mason
and Constellation Energy
are based here. In addition, the University of Maryland, Baltimore
campus is housed in this area, with the long-associated University of Maryland Medical System
adjacent to the school. The downtown core has mainly served as a commercial district with limited residential opportunities. However, since 2002 the downtown population has doubled to 12,000 residents, with a projection of 7,400 additional housing units becoming available by 2012. Central district stretches north of the downtown core up to the edge of Druid Hill Park
. This northern portion of Central, between downtown and the park, is home to many of the city's cultural opportunities. Maryland Institute College of Art
, the Peabody Institute
of music, the Lyric Opera House
, The Walters Art Museum
, The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
, as well as several galleries are located in this region.
Crime in the Inner Harbor
and Mount Vernon neighborhoods of the Central district became of greater concern in 2009, as an increasing number of random assaults on tourists were reported.
The Northern District lies directly north of the Central district and is bounded on the east by The Alameda and on the west by Pimlico Road. Loyola University Maryland, The Johns Hopkins University and College of Notre Dame of Maryland
are located in this district.
The Southern District, a mixed industrial and residential area, consists of the area of the city below the Inner Harbor, east of the B&O railroad tracks. It is a mixed socio-economic region consisting of working class, culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods such as Locust Point
; the historic Federal Hill area, home to many working professionals, pubs and restaurants; and low-income residential areas such as Cherry Hill. The Port of Baltimore operates two terminals in this district and the old Domino Sugar plant is located here. Westport
is another lower-income neighborhood that has been approved for tremendous waterfront development in the years to come. (See Westport Waterfront)
East Baltimore consists of the Northeastern, Eastern, and Southeastern districts.
The Northeastern district is primarily a residential neighborhood, home to Morgan State University
, bounded by the city line on its northern and eastern boundaries, Sinclair Lane, Erdman Avenue, and Pulaski Highway on its southern boundaries and The Alameda on its western boundaries. It has undergone demographic shifts over many years and remains a diverse but predominantly African American region of the city.
The Eastern district is the heart of what is considered East Baltimore and is home to Johns Hopkins Hospital
and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Located below Erdman Avenue and Sinclair Lane, above Orleans Street, it is an almost exclusively African American area, made up of low-income residential neighborhoods. Entire blocks of abandoned buildings and its chronic problem with drug trafficing made this area a frequent on-site film location for The Wire
, a television drama produced from 2002 to 2008.
The Southeastern district, located below Orleans Street, bordering the Inner Harbor on its western boundary, the city line on its eastern boundaries and the Baltimore harbor on its southern boundaries, is a mixed industrial and residential area. The demography of individual neighborhoods varies widely, from predominantly black O'Donnell Heights
, where 66 percent of the population was measured below the poverty line in 2000, to predominantly white Fells Point, with less than 17 percent below the poverty line. Yet, even these two neighborhoods have a significant mix of other races and cultures, a common characteristic of Southeastern neighborhoods.
West Baltimore consists of the Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern districts.
The Northwestern district, bounded by the county line on its northern and western boundaries, Gwynns Falls Parkway on the south and Pimlico Road on the East, is home to Pimlico Race Course
, Sinai Hospital
. Its neighborhoods are mostly residential. Formerly the center of Baltimore's Jewish community, the district's Park Heights
neighborhood, has undergone white flight
since the 1960s, becoming an almost exclusively black.
Northern Parkway
divides the Northwestern district into two distinctly different demographic areas. Neighborhoods to the north of the parkway, such as Mount Washington and Cheswolde
are predominantly white, with low-density suburban housing. South of the parkway, the neighborhoods are mostly black. Some of the neighborhoods south of the parkway also have suburban housing, but several are high density urban communities, with greater percentage of residents reported below the poverty level in the 2000 census.
The Western district, located west of downtown, is the heart of West Baltimore, bounded by Gwynns Falls Parkway, Fremont Avenue, and Baltimore Street. Coppin State University
,
Mondawmin Mall
, and Edmondson Village, located in this district, have been historic cultural and economic centers of the city's African American community. Once home to
many middle to upper class African Americans, over the years the more affluent residents have migrated to other sections of the city or beyond the city line into Baltimore County
and Howard County
.
Income levels below the poverty line were reported by the 2000 census for more than 45 percent of residents in some of the district's neighborhoods, which are almost exclusively black. Like East Baltimore, the area's crime problems have provided subject material for television series, such as The Wire.
Local organizations, such as the Sandtown Habitat for Humanity and the Upton Planning Committee, have been steadily transforming formerly blighted areas of the Western district into clean, safe and well-kept
communities.
The Southwestern district is bounded by Baltimore County to the west, Baltimore Street to the north, and the downtown area to the east. St. Agnes Hospital
is located
in this district, amid a mix of industrial parks and residential areas. Economic and demographic characteristics of Southwestern
district vary greatly. Almost exclusively black, the Uplands neighborhood, near the Central district, had 39.9 percent of its residents measured below the poverty line by the 2000 census. Predominantly white Violetville
, at the city's southwest edge, had
only 6.4 percent of its residents reported below the poverty line.
s.
Historically a working-class port town, Baltimore has sometimes been dubbed a "city of neighborhoods," with 72 designated historic districts traditionally occupied by distinct ethnic groups. Most notable today are three downtown areas along the port: the Inner Harbor
, frequented by tourists due to its hotels, shops, and museums; Fells Point, once a favorite entertainment spot for sailors but now refurbished and gentrified (and featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle
); and Little Italy
, located between the other two, where Baltimore's Italian-American community is based – and where former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
grew up. Further inland, Mt. Vernon is the traditional center of cultural and artistic life of the city; it is home to a distinctive Washington Monument
, set atop a hill in a 19th century urban square, that predates the more well-known monument in Washington, D.C. by several decades.
Each year the Artscape
takes place in the city in the Bolton Hill neighborhood, due to its proximity to Maryland Institute College of Art
. Artscape styles itself as the 'largest free arts festival in America'.
Baltimore native John Waters
parodies the city and its dialect extensively in his films, including the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos
. His film Hairspray and its Broadway musical remake
are also set in Baltimore.
is an internationally renowned orchestra, founded in 1916 as a publicly funded municipal organization. The current Music Director is Marin Alsop
, a protégé of Leonard Bernstein
. Center Stage
is the premier theater company in the city and a regionally well-respected group. The Baltimore Opera
was an important regional opera company, though it filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and is not currently performing. The Baltimore Consort
has been a leading early music ensemble for over twenty-five years. The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the restored Thomas W. Lamb
-designed Hippodrome Theatre, has afforded Baltimore the opportunity to become a major regional player in the area of touring Broadway and other performing arts presentations.
Baltimore also boasts a wide array of professional (non-touring) and community theater groups. Aside from Center Stage, resident troupes in the city include Everyman Theatre
, Single Carrot Theatre, and Baltimore Theatre Festival. Community theaters in the city include Fells Point Community Theatre and the Arena Players Inc., which is the nation's oldest continuously operating African American community theater.
Baltimore is home to the Pride of Baltimore Chorus
, a 3-time International silver medalist women's chorus, affiliated with Sweet Adelines International
.
The city is also home to the Baltimore School for the Arts
, a public high school in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. The institution is nationally recognized for its success in preparation for students entering visual art, music, theatre, dance, and stage production.
providing a growing financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region.
Greater Baltimore (the city and surrounding suburbs in Baltimore County) is home to five Fortune 1000
companies: Constellation Energy
, Grace Chemicals
(in Columbia), Legg Mason
, T. Rowe Price
, and McCormick & Company
(in Hunt Valley). Other companies that call Greater Baltimore home include AAI Corporation
(in Hunt Valley), Adams Express Company
, Brown Advisory, Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown
(the oldest continuously running investment bank in the United States), FTI Consulting, Petroleum & Resources Corporation
, Vertis, Prometric
, Sylvan Learning
, Laureate Education, Under Armour
, DAP, 180s, DeBaufre Bakeries
, Wm. T. Burnett & Co
, Old Mutual Financial Network, Firaxis Games
(in Sparks), Sinclair Broadcast Group
(in Hunt Valley), Fila
USA (in Sparks) and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers
(in Hampstead).
The city is also home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital
, which will serve as the center of a new biotechnology park, one of two such projects currently under construction in the city.
A sugar refinery
owned by American Sugar Refining
is also located in Baltimore.
According to the 2010 Census
, 29.6% of the population was White
, 63.7% Black
, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
, 2.3% Asian
, 0.2% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 2.1% of two or more races. 4.2% of Baltimore's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
(they may be of any race).
After New York City, Baltimore was the second city in the United States to reach a population of 100,000. In the 1830, 1840, and 1850 US censuses, Baltimore was the second-largest city in population, surpassed by Philadelphia in 1860. It was among the top 10 cities in population in the United States in every census up to the 1980 census, and after World War II had a population of nearly a million.
In the 1990s, the US Census reported that Baltimore ranked as one of the largest population losers alongside Detroit and Washington D.C., losing over 84,000 residents between 1990 and 2000. (Although the 2010 United States Census found that Washington D.C. has since regained population while Baltimore has not.)
In a People QuickFacts report, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the racial composition of Baltimore in 2009 as follows:
The same report also estimated these people lived in a total of 294,579 housing units. Age ranges were 22.4% under 18 years old, 11.8% at age 65 or older, and 65.8% from 18 to 64 years old. The city's estimated 2009 population of 637,418 was 53.4% female.
A statistical abstract prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the median income for a household in the city during 2008 at $30,078, and the median income for a family at $48,216. The same abstract also listed a per capita income of $22,885 for the city in 2008, with 15.4% of families and 19.3% of the population below the poverty line.
Despite the housing collapse, and along with the national trends, Baltimore residents still face slowly increasing rent (up 3% in the summer of 2010).
City officials came under scrutiny from Maryland legislators in 2006 regarding the veracity of crime statistics reported by the Baltimore Police Department
. In 2003, the FBI identified irregularities in the number of rapes reported, which was confirmed by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley
. The number of homicides in 2005 appeared to exhibit discrepancies as well. Former police commissioner Kevin P. Clark
stated upon interview that the administration suppressed corrections to its crime reports;
however, many of the charges made by the police commissioner now appear to have been politically motivated.
, and not part of any county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a county-level entity. The United States Census Bureau
uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.
Baltimore has been a Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government.
Sheila Dixon
became the first female mayor of Baltimore on January 17, 2007. As the former City Council President, she assumed the office of Mayor when former Mayor Martin O'Malley took office as Governor of Maryland. On November 6, 2007, Dixon won the Baltimore mayoral election
.
Mayor Dixon's administration ended less than three years after her election, the result of a criminal investigation that began in 2006 while she was still City Council President. She was convicted on a single misdemeanor charge of embezzlement on December 1, 2009. A month later, Dixon made an Alford plea
to a perjury charge and agreed to resign from office. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was City Council President at that time, assumed the office of Mayor on February 4, 2010, when Dixon's resignation became effective.
Grassroots pressure for reform, voiced as Question P
, restructured the city council in November 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
(ACORN), backed the effort.
The Baltimore City Council
is now made up of 14 single-member districts and one elected at-large council president. Bernard C. "Jack" Young
has been the council president since
February 2010, when he was unanimously elected by the other council members to replace Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who had become mayor. Edward Reisinger, the 10th district representative, is the council's current vice president.
and 18 in the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates
. During the previous 10 year period, Baltimore had four legislative districts within the city limits, but four others overlapped the Baltimore County line. As of January 2011, all of Baltimore's state senators and delegates were Democrats. Approval of the next
redistricting plan is expected to become effective in time for Maryland's 2012 Congressional primary election on February 14, 2012.
s include portions of Baltimore: the 2nd
, represented by Dutch Ruppersberger
; the 3rd
, represented by John Sarbanes
; and the 7th
, represented by Elijah Cummings
. All three are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Baltimore in Congress since John Boynton Philip Clayton Hill
represented the 3rd District in 1927, and has not represented any of Baltimore since the Eastern Shore-based 1st District lost its share of Baltimore after the 2000 census; it was represented by Republican Wayne Gilchrest
at the time.
Both of Maryland's Senators
, Ben Cardin
and Barbara Mikulski
, are from Baltimore, and both represented the 3rd District before being elected to the Senate. Mikulski represented the 3rd from 1977 to 1987, and was succeeded by Cardin, who held the seat until his election and inauguration to the Senate in 2007.
The Postal Service
's Baltimore Main Post Office is located at 900 East Fayette Street in the Jonestown
area.
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police
is the primary law enforcement agency on the Fort McHenry Tunnel Thruway (I-95), the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895) and I-395, which are under MdTA
jurisdiction and have limited concurrent jurisdiction with the Baltimore Police under a memorandum of understanding
.
Law enforcement on the fleet of transit buses and transit rail systems serving Baltimore is the responsibility of the Maryland Transit Administration Police
, which is part of the Maryland Transit Administration. The MTA Police also share jurisdiction authority with the Baltimore Police, governed by a memorandum of understanding.
As the enforcement arm of the Baltimore court system, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office is responsible for the security of city courthouses and property, service of court-ordered writs, protective and peace orders, warrants, tax levies, prisoner transportation and traffic enforcement. Deputy Sheriffs are sworn law enforcement officials, with full arrest authority granted by the constitution of Maryland, the MPCTC
and the Sheriff of the City of Baltimore.
s serving Baltimore are I-70
, I-83
(the Jones Falls Expressway), I-95 (the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), I-395
, I-695
(the Baltimore Beltway
), I-795 (the Northwest Expressway)
, I-895 (the Harbor Tunnel Thruway)
, and I-97
. Several of the city's Interstate Highways, e.g. I-95, I-83, and I-70 are not directly connected to each other, and in the case of I-70 end at a park and ride lot just inside the city limits, because of freeway revolts
in the City of Baltimore. These revolts were led primarily by Barbara Mikulski
, now a United States Senator, which resulted in the abandonment of the original plan. U.S. highways
and state routes that run to and through downtown Baltimore include US 1
, US 40
National Road
, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. There are two tunnels traversing the Baltimore harbor
within the city limits: the four-bore Fort McHenry Tunnel (served by I-95) and the two-bore Harbor Tunnel (served by I-895
). The Baltimore Beltway
crosses south of Baltimore harbor over the Francis Scott Key Bridge
.
Baltimore is a top destination for Amtrak
along the Northeast Corridor
. Baltimore's Penn Station
is one of the busiest in the country. In FY 2008, it ranked 8th in the United States with a total ridership of 1,020,304. Just outside the city, Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station
is another popular stop. Amtrak's Acela Express
, Palmetto
, Carolinian
, Silver Star, Silver Meteor
, Vermonter
, Crescent
, and Northeast Regional trains are the scheduled passenger train services that stop in the city. Additionally, MARC commuter rail service
connects the city's two main intercity rail stations, Camden Station
and Penn Station
, with Washington, D.C.'s Union Station
as well as stops in between.
Baltimore is served by Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
, generally known as "BWI," which lies about 10 miles (16.1 km) to the south in neighboring Anne Arundel County
, and by Martin State Airport
, a general aviation
facility, to the north in Baltimore County
. BWI and Martin State airports are operated by the Maryland Aviation Administration, which is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation
. In terms of passenger traffic, BWI is the 24th busiest airport in the United States. Downtown Baltimore is connected to BWI by two major highways (I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway via Interstate 195
), the Baltimore Light Rail
, and Amtrak
and MARC commuter rail service
between Baltimore's Penn Station and BWI Rail Station
. Martin State Airport
is linked to downtown Baltimore by two major highways, I-95 and U.S. Route 40, and MARC commuter rail service
between Baltimore's Penn Station and its nearby Martin State Airport MARC Train stop.
and Charm City Circulator
. The city has a comprehensive bus
network, a small light rail network
connecting Hunt Valley
in the north to BWI airport
and Cromwell in the south, and a subway line between Owings Mills
and Johns Hopkins Hospital. A proposed rail line, known as the Red Line
, which would link the Social Security Administration to Johns Hopkins Bayview and perhaps the Canton and Dundalk
communities, is under study as of 2007; a proposal to extend Baltimore's existing subway line to Morgan State University
, known as the Green Line
, is in the planning stages.
The Charm City Circulator
a.k.a. CCC, a shuttlebus service operated by Veolia Transportation for the Baltimore Department of Transportation, began operating in the downtown area in January 2010. Funded partly by a 16 percent increase in the city's parking fees, the circulator provides free bus service seven days a week, picking up passengers every 15 minutes at designated stops during service hours.
The CCC's first bus line, the Orange route, travels between Hollins Market and Harbor East. Its Purple route, launched June 7, 2010, operates between Penn Station and Federal Hill. The Green route,
the next bus line due for the circulator, will run between Johns Hopkins and City Hall.
The Charm City Circulator operates a fleet of Diesel and Hybrid vehicles built by DesignLine, Orion, and Vanhool.
The port was founded in 1706, preceding the founding of Baltimore. The Maryland colonial legislature made the area near Locust Point
as the port of entry
for the tobacco trade with England. Fells Point, the deepest point in the natural harbor, soon became the colony's main ship building center, later on becoming leader in the construction of clipper ships. After the founding of Baltimore, mills were built behind the wharves. The California Gold Rush
led to many orders for fast vessels; many overland pioneers also relied upon canned goods from Baltimore. After the civil war, a coffee ship was designed here for trade with Brazil. At the end of the nineteenth century, European ship lines had terminals for immigrants. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
made the port a major transshipment
point.
Currently the port has major roll-on roll-off facilities, as well as bulk facilities, especially steel handling.
Water taxis also operate in the Inner Harbor. Governor Ehrlich participated in naming the port after Helen Delich Bentley
during the 300th anniversary of the port.
In 2007, Duke Realty Corporation began a new development near the Port of Baltimore, named the Chesapeake Commerce Center. This new industrial park is located on the site of a former General Motors plant. The total project comprises 184 acre (0.74462224 km²) in eastern Baltimore City and the site will yield 2800000 square feet (260,128.5 m²) of warehouse/distribution and office space. Chesapeake Commerce Center has direct access to two major Interstate Highways (I-95 and I-895) and is located adjacent to two of the major Port of Baltimore Terminals. The Port of Baltimore is one of two seaports on the U.S. east coast with a 50 feet (15.2 m) dredge to accommodate the largest shipping vessels.
and include the historic Frederick Douglass High School
, which is the second oldest African American high school in the United States, Baltimore City College
, the third oldest public high school in the country, and Western High School
, the oldest public all girls school in the nation. Baltimore City College (also known as "City") and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
(also known as "Poly") share the nation's second-oldest high school football rivalry
.
. It was sold by its Baltimore owners in 1986 to the Times Mirror Company, which was bought by the Tribune Company
in 2000.
Like many cities well into the 20th Century, Baltimore was a two-newspaper town until the Baltimore News-American
ceased publication in 1986.
In 2006, The Baltimore Examiner
was launched to compete with The Sun. It was part of a national chain that includes The San Francisco Examiner
and The Washington Examiner. In contrast to the paid subscription Sun, The Examiner was a free newspaper funded solely by advertisements. Unable to turn a profit and facing a deep recession, The Baltimore Examiner ceased publication on February 15, 2009.
Nielsen ranked Baltimore as the 26th-largest television market for the 2008–2009 viewing season and the 27th-largest for 2009–2010. Arbitron's Fall 2010 rankings identified Baltimore as the 22nd largest radio market.
in 1895. The original 19th century Baltimore Orioles
were one of the most successful early franchises, featuring numerous hall of famers during its years of 1882–1899. Ruth played for the minor league Baltimore Orioles
team, which was active from 1903–1914. After playing one season in 1915 as the Richmond Climbers, the team returned the following year to Baltimore, where it played as the Orioles until 1953.
The team currently known as the Baltimore Orioles
has represented Major League Baseball
locally since 1954 when the St. Louis Browns moved to the city of Baltimore. The Orioles advanced to the World Series in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979 and 1983, winning three times (1966, 1970 and 1983), while making the playoffs all but one year (1972) from 1969 through 1974.
In 1995, local player (and later Hall of Famer) Cal Ripken, Jr.
broke Lou Gehrig
's "unbreakable" streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, for which Ripken was named Sportsman of the Year
by Sports Illustrated
magazine. Six former Orioles players, including Ripken (2007), and two of the team's managers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
.
Area fans, such as Wild Bill Hagy
, are known for their enthusiasm. Hagy, a cab driver from Dundalk, gained notoriety leading chants from the upper deck of the Memorial Stadium
during the 1970s and 1980s.
played as the Baltimore Colts until 1984. During this period, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas
set his unmatched record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. The Colts advanced to the NFL Championship twice (1958 & 1959) and Super Bowl
twice (1969 & 1971), winning all except Super Bowl III in 1969. The team name previously belonged to an All American Football Conference which played in Baltimore 1947–1950, then folded after becoming an NFL franchise team in 1950. The team which took the name in 1953 left Baltimore for Indianapolis in 1984, where it became the Indianapolis Colts
.
The Baltimore Stallions
was an expansion professional football team that joined the Canadian Football League
in 1994. It remained in Baltimore for two seasons before relocating to Montreal after the 1995 season to become the Montreal Alouettes
. While playing for Baltimore, the team posted the best two season starts of any CFL expansion team ever, advancing to the Grey Cup
in both seasons. In its final season in Baltimore, the Stallions became the only U.S. based CFL team to win the Grey Cup, upsetting the heavily favored Calgary Stampeders
.
The NFL returned to Baltimore a year after the Stallions left, when the former Cleveland Browns
moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Ravens
in 1996. Since then, the Ravens won a Super Bowl
championship in 2000, two division
championships (2003 and 2006), and appeared in two AFC Championship
s (2000 & 2009).
Baltimore has two women's American football
teams: the Baltimore Burn
(founded 2001) and the Baltimore Nighthawks
(founded 2007). Both teams play at Art Modell Field.
The Baltimore Mariners
, a franchise of the American Indoor Football Association, played at the 1st Mariner Arena
from 2008 to 2010. After winning the AIFA championship to cap an undefeated season in 2010, the team folded over charges that owner Dwayne Wells purchased the franchise with embezzled funds.
Other professional or semi-professional Baltimore teams include Crystal Palace Baltimore, an outdoor soccer franchise of
USL Second Division
since 2006; and the Charm City Roller Girls
, a franchise of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
since 2005.
Preakness Stakes
, the second jewel in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
, is held every May at Pimlico Race Course
in Baltimore.
The Baltimore Grand Prix
debuted along the streets of the Inner Harbor section of the city's downtown on September 2–4, 2011. The event played host to the American Le Mans Series
on Saturday and the IndyCar Series
on Sunday. Support races from smaller series were also held, including Indy Lights.
Independent city (United States)
In the United States, an independent city is a city that does not belong to any particular county. Because counties have historically been a strong institution in local government in most of the United States, independent cities are relatively rare outside of Virginia , whose state constitution...
in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City in order to distinguish it from surrounding Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is the largest U.S. seaport in the Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic
Mid-Atlantic can refer to:*Mid-Atlantic English, a mix between British English and American English*Mid-Atlantic Region , one of the United States geographic divisions of the Little League World Series...
and is situated closer to major Midwestern
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. Baltimore's Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center. After a decline in manufacturing, like most other major American coastal cities, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy. The city is home to the National Aquarium
National Aquarium
There are two institutions called National Aquarium in the United States:* the National Aquarium in Washington, D.C.* the National Aquarium in BaltimoreThere is a National Aquarium in Australia* the National Zoo & Aquarium in Canberra...
, the Maryland Science Center
Maryland Science Center
The Maryland Science Center, located in Baltimore's Inner Harbor, opened to the public in 1976. It includes three levels of exhibits, a planetarium, and an observatory. It was one of the original structures that drove the revitalization of the Baltimore Inner Harbor from its industrial roots to a...
, Harborplace
Harborplace
Harborplace is a festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, that opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. As its name suggests, it is located on the Inner Harbor....
, the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
and the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
.
At 620,961 in 2010, Baltimore city's population has been decreasing considerably since the 1970s. The Baltimore Metropolitan Area
Baltimore Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as Central Maryland, is a Metropolitan Statistical Area in Maryland as defined by the United States Office of Management and Budget...
has approximately 2.7 million residents; the 21st largest in the country. Baltimore is also the largest city in the surrounding associated combined statistical area
Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is a combined statistical area consisting of the overlapping labor market region of the cities of Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.. The region includes Central Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Jefferson County in the Eastern Panhandle of West...
of approximately 8.4 million residents.
The city is named after Lord Baltimore
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Proprietor and 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland, 9th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland , was an English peer who was the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland. He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, George Calvert, the...
, a member of the Irish House of Lords
Irish House of Lords
The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from mediaeval times until 1800. It was abolished along with the Irish House of Commons by the Act of Union.-Function:...
and the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore himself took his title from a place in Bornacoola parish
Bornacoola
Bornacoola is an Ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise, Ireland. It is located at the southern extremity of County Leitrim in the civil parish of Mohill. Some of its townlands lie in neighbouring County Longford...
, County Leitrim
County Leitrim
County Leitrim is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the county...
and County Longford
County Longford
County Longford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford.Longford County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland. Baltimore is an anglicized
Anglicisation
Anglicisation, or anglicization , is the process of converting verbal or written elements of any other language into a form that is more comprehensible to an English speaker, or, more generally, of altering something such that it becomes English in form or character.The term most often refers to...
form of the Irish Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "Town of the Big House", not to be confused with Baltimore, County Cork
Baltimore, County Cork
Baltimore is located in western County Cork, Ireland. Baltimore is the principal village of the parish of Rath and the Islands, the southernmost parish in Ireland...
, the Irish name of which is Dún na Séad.
History
The Maryland colonial General Assembly created the Port of BaltimoreHelen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore
Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland, consists of seaport facilities for cargo, especially roll-on/roll-off ships, and passengers operated by the Maryland Port Administration , a unit of the Maryland Department of Transportation....
at Locust Point
Locust Point, Baltimore
Locust Point is a peninsular neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Located in South Baltimore, the neighborhood is entirely surrounded by the Locust Point Industrial Area; the traditional boundaries are Lawrence street to the west and the Patapsco River to the north, south, and east...
in 1706 for the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is named after Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert)
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore
Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, 1st Proprietor and 1st Proprietary Governor of Maryland, 9th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland , was an English peer who was the first proprietor of the Province of Maryland. He received the proprietorship after the death of his father, George Calvert, the...
, who was the first Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
of the Province of Maryland
Province of Maryland
The Province of Maryland was an English and later British colony in North America that existed from 1632 until 1776, when it joined the other twelve of the Thirteen Colonies in rebellion against Great Britain and became the U.S...
. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert
George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore
Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, 8th Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland was an English politician and colonizer. He achieved domestic political success as a Member of Parliament and later Secretary of State under King James I...
, who became the First Lord Baltimore
Baron Baltimore
Baron Baltimore, of Baltimore Manor in County Longford, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1625 for George Calvert and became extinct on the death of the sixth Baron in 1771. The title was held by several members of the Calvert family who were proprietors of the palatinates...
of County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland in 1625. Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean
Sugar plantations in the Caribbean
The sugar cane plant was the main crop produced on the numerous plantations throughout the Caribbean through the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as almost every island was covered with sugar plantations and mills for refining the cane for its sweet properties. The main source of labor was African...
. The profit from sugar encouraged the cultivation of cane and the importation of food.
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
. City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr.
Jonathan Plowman Jr.
Jonathan Plowman was a Spy and a Privateer during the American Revolutionary War. His Spying activity were as part of a group of Revolutionaries who reported on British troop movements. Jonathan Plowman Jr. became a Privateer after the War broke out and trade with Britain was halted. Jonathan...
moved the city to join the resistance to British taxes and merchants signed agreements to not trade with Britain. The Second Continental Congress
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that started meeting on May 10, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, soon after warfare in the American Revolutionary War had begun. It succeeded the First Continental Congress, which met briefly during 1774,...
met in the Henry Fite House
Henry Fite House
The Henry Fite House, located on Baltimore Street between Sharp and Liberty Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, was the meeting site of the Second Continental Congress from December 20, 1776 until February 22, 1777. Built as a tavern in 1770 by Henry Fite , the building became known as Congress Hall...
from December 1776 to February 1777, effectively making the city the capitol of the United States during this period. After the war, the Town of Baltimore, nearby Jonestown
Jonestown, Baltimore
Jonestown is a neighborhood in the southeastern district of Baltimore. Its boundaries are the north side of Pratt Street, the west side of Central Avenue, the east side of Fallsway, and the south side of Orleans Street...
, and an area known as Fells Point were incorporated as the City of Baltimore in 1796. The city remained a part of Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
until 1851 when it was made an independent city
Independent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
.
The city was the site of the Battle of Baltimore
Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a combined sea/land battle fought between British and American forces in the War of 1812. It was one of the turning points of the war as American forces repulsed sea and land invasions of the busy port city of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading...
during the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. After burning Washington, D.C.
Burning of Washington
The Burning of Washington was an armed conflict during the War of 1812 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United States of America. On August 24, 1814, led by General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following...
, the British attacked Baltimore on the night of September 13, 1814. United States forces from Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry
Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...
successfully defended the city's harbor from the British. Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key
Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the lyrics to the United States' national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner".-Life:...
, a Maryland lawyer, was aboard a British ship where he had been negotiating for the release of an American prisoner, Dr. William Beanes. Key witnessed the bombardment from this ship and later wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner
The Star-Spangled Banner
"The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from "Defence of Fort McHenry", a poem written in 1814 by the 35-year-old lawyer and amateur poet, Francis Scott Key, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Royal Navy ships...
", a poem recounting the attack. Key's poem was set to a 1780 tune by British composer John Stafford Smith
John Stafford Smith
John Stafford Smith was a British composer, church organist, and early musicologist. He was one of the first serious collectors of manuscripts of works by Johann Sebastian Bach....
, and the Star-Spangled Banner became the official National Anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
of the United States in 1931.
National Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
(presently U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40
U.S. Route 40 is an east–west United States highway. As with most routes whose numbers end in a zero, U.S. 40 once traversed the entire United States. It is one of the original 1920s U.S. Highways, and its first termini were San Francisco, California, and Atlantic City, New Jersey...
) and the private Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
(B&O) made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center by linking the city with major markets in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
. A distinctive local culture started to take shape, and a unique skyline peppered with churches and monuments developed. Baltimore acquired its moniker, "The Monumental City" after an 1827 visit to Baltimore by President John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
. At an evening function Adams gave the following toast: "Baltimore: the Monumental City- May the days of her safety be as prosperous and happy, as the days of her dangers have been trying and triumphant." Baltimore suffered one of the worst riots of the antebellum south in 1835, when bad investments led to the Baltimore bank riot.
Maryland did not secede from the Union during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
; however, when Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
soldiers marched through the city at the start of the war, Confederate sympathizers attacked the troops, which led to the Baltimore riot of 1861
Baltimore riot of 1861
The Baltimore riot of 1861 was an incident that took place on April 19, 1861, in Baltimore, Maryland between Confederate sympathizers and members of the Massachusetts militia en route to Washington for Federal service...
. Four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed during the riot, which caused Union troops to occupy Baltimore. Maryland came under direct federal administration—in part, to prevent the state from seceding—until the end of the war in April 1865.
Following an economic depression known as the Panic of 1873
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the Great Depression until the 1930s, but is now known as the Long Depression...
, the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad company attempted to lower its workers' wages, leading to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877
Great railroad strike of 1877
The Great Railroad Strike of 1877 began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, United States and ended some 45 days later after it was put down by local and state militias, and federal troops.-Economic conditions in the 1870s:...
. On July 20, 1877, Maryland Governor John Lee Carroll
John Lee Carroll
John Lee Carroll , a member of the United States Democratic Party, was the 37th Governor of Maryland from 1876 to 1880.-Early life:...
called up the 5th and 6th Regiments of the National Guard
Maryland Army National Guard
The Maryland Army National Guard is the Army component of the organized militia of the State of Maryland. It is headquartered at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore and has units at armories and other facilities across the state....
to end the strikes, which had disrupted train service at Cumberland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
in western Maryland. Citizens sympathetic to the railroad workers attacked the national guard troops as they marched from their armories in Baltimore to Camden Station
Camden Station
Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of Howard and Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains. It is adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards...
. Soldiers from the 6th Regiment fired on the crowd, killing 10 and wounding 25. Rioters then damaged B&O trains and burned portions of the rail station. Order was restored in the city on July 21–22 when federal troops arrived to protect railroad property and end the strike.
Great Baltimore Fire
The Great Baltimore Fire raged in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, on Sunday, February 7, and Monday, February 8, 1904. 1,231 firefighters were required to bring the blaze under control...
destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, leaving more than 70 blocks of the downtown area burned to the ground. Damages were estimated at $150 million—in 1904 dollars. As the city rebuilt during the next two years, lessons learned from the fire led to improvements in firefighting equipment standards.
The city grew in area by annexing new suburbs from the surrounding counties, the last being in 1918, when the city acquired portions of Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County. A state constitutional amendment approved in 1948, required a special vote of the citizens in any proposed annexation area, effectively preventing any future expansion of the city's boundaries.
The relative size of the city's black population grew from 23.8% in 1950 to 46.4% in 1970. The Baltimore riot of 1968
Baltimore riot of 1968
The Baltimore Riot of 1968 began two days after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. Rioting broke out in 125 cities across the United States, and spread to the city of Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, April 6. The Governor of Maryland, Spiro T...
occurred following the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
on April 4, 1968. Coinciding with riots in other cities, public order was not restored until April 12, 1968. The Baltimore riot cost the city of Baltimore an estimated $10 million (US$ million in ). A total of 11,000 Maryland National Guard and federal troops were ordered into the city. Lasting effects of the riot can be seen on the streets of North Avenue, Howard Street
Howard Street (Baltimore)
Howard Street is a major street that runs north-south through the central part of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The street, which is approximately 2½ miles in length, begins at the north end of I-395 near Oriole Park at Camden Yards and ends near Johns Hopkins University. At this point, this...
, Gay Street
Gay Street (Baltimore)
Gay Street is a street in Baltimore, Maryland that gets its name from Nicholas Ruxton Gay, who surveyed the area in 1747. It begins at the intersection of East Pratt Street near the Baltimore World Trade Center and proceeds north and east through Baltimore until it crosses Orleans Street and...
, and Pennsylvania Avenue
Maryland Route 140
Maryland Route 140 is a local long route in northern Maryland, United States.-Route description:MD 140 is known by various names depending on location; south of Reisterstown it is known as Reisterstown Road. Though Reisterstown itself is named after John Reister, the road is named after Jacob...
where long stretches of the streets remain barren.
During the 1970s, Baltimore's downtown area known as the Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
, had been neglected and was only occupied by a collection of abandoned warehouses. Efforts to redevelop the downtown area started with the construction of the Baltimore Convention Center
Baltimore Convention Center
The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The Center is a municiple building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore...
, which opened 1979. Harborplace
Harborplace
Harborplace is a festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, that opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. As its name suggests, it is located on the Inner Harbor....
, an urban retail and restaurant complex opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore
National Aquarium in Baltimore
The National Aquarium, Baltimore is a public aquarium located at 501 E Pratt St. in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was constructed during Baltimore's urban renewal period and opened on August 8, 1981. The aquarium has an annual attendance of 1.5 million and a collection of...
, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry
Baltimore Museum of Industry
Baltimore Museum of Industry is a museum at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Located in an old cannery, the museum has exhibits on various types of manufacturing and industry from the early 20th century...
in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
baseball team
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
moved from Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
to Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...
, located downtown near the harbor. Six years later the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
football team
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
moved into M&T Bank Stadium
M&T Bank Stadium
M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Served by the Hamburg Street station of...
next to Camden Yards.
The city has 280 properties identified as historical in the National Register of Historic Places.
Geography
Patapsco River
The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...
close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
. The city is also located on the fall line
Fall line
A fall line is a geomorphologic unconformity between an upland region of relatively hard crystalline basement rock and a coastal plain of softer sedimentary rock. A fall line is typically prominent when crossed by a river, for there will often be rapids or waterfalls...
between the Piedmont
Piedmont (United States)
The Piedmont is a plateau region located in the eastern United States between the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the main Appalachian Mountains, stretching from New Jersey in the north to central Alabama in the south. The Piedmont province is a physiographic province of the larger Appalachian division...
Plateau and the Atlantic Coastal Plain
Atlantic Coastal Plain
The Atlantic coastal plain has both low elevation and low relief, but it is also a relatively flat landform extending from the New York Bight southward to a Georgia/Florida section of the Eastern Continental Divide, which demarcates the plain from the ACF River Basin in the Gulf Coastal Plain to...
, which divides Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city". The city's elevation ranges from sea level at the harbor to 480 feet (146.3 m) in the northwest corner near Pimlico
Pimlico, Baltimore
Pimlico, a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, is the site of Pimlico Race Course, which holds the Preakness Stakes, one of the three legs of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing...
.
According to the 2010 Census, the city has a total area of 92.052 square miles (238.4 km²), of which 80.944 square miles (209.6 km²) is land and 11.108 square miles (28.8 km²) is water. The total area is 12.07 percent water.
Climate
Baltimore lies within the humid subtropical climateHumid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...
zone (Cfa), according to the Köppen classification.
July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average temperature of 81.7 °F (27.6 °C). Summer is also a season of high (generally, not consistently) humidity in the Baltimore area. The record high for Baltimore is 107 °F (42 °C), set in 1936. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 36.8 °F (2.7 °C). However, subtropical air masses can bring periods of springlike weather, and Arctic fronts push nighttime low temperatures into the teens (< −7 °C) and more rarely, single digits (< −12 °C). The record low temperature for Baltimore is -7 °F in 1934 and 1984. Due to an urban heat island
Urban heat island
An urban heat island is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas. The phenomenon was first investigated and described by Luke Howard in the 1810s, although he was not the one to name the phenomenon. The temperature difference usually is larger at night...
effect in the city proper
City limits
The terms city limits and city boundary refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limits is sometimes called the city proper. The terms town limits/boundary and village limits/boundary mean the same as city limits/boundary, but apply to towns and villages...
and a moderating effect of the Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay
The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, the outlying and inland parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns.
As is typical in most East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
cities, precipitation is generous and very evenly spread throughout the year. Every month typically brings 3–4 inches of precipitation, averaging around 42 inches (1,066.8 mm) annually. Spring, summer and fall bring frequent showers and thunderstorm
Thunderstorm
A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm, a lightning storm, thundershower or simply a storm is a form of weather characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere known as thunder. The meteorologically assigned cloud type associated with the...
s, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Winter often brings lighter rain showers of longer duration, and generally less sunshine and more clouds. Snowfall occurs occasionally in the winter, with an annual average of 20.8 inches (52.8 cm). In the northern and western suburbs, temperatures tend to be cooler, and winter snowfall is more significant, where some areas average more than 30 inches (76.2 cm) of snow per year. Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in Baltimore, as warm air overrides cold air at the low-mid levels of the atmosphere. When the wind blows from the east, the cold air gets dammed against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain or sleet.
The average date of first frost in Baltimore is October 29, and the average last frost is April 11, allowing a growing season of 200 days.
NOTE: The temperature data presented below was recorded at Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
; all other data recorded at BWI Airport.
Cityscape
Architecture
George A. Frederick
George Aloysius Frederick was a German-American architect with a practice in Baltimore, Maryland, where his most prominent commission was the Baltimore City Hall , awarded him when he was only twenty-one....
, John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope
John Russell Pope was an architect most known for his designs of the National Archives and Records Administration building , the Jefferson Memorial and the West Building of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.-Biography:Pope was born in New York in 1874, the son of a successful...
, Mies Van Der Rohe and I. M. Pei
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei , commonly known as I. M. Pei, is a Chinese American architect, often called a master of modern architecture. Born in Canton, China and raised in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Pei drew inspiration at an early age from the gardens at Suzhou...
.
The city has architecturally important buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also called the Baltimore Basilica, was the first Roman Catholic cathedral built in the United States, and was the first major religious building constructed in the nation after the adoption of the U.S. Constitution...
(1806–1821) is a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe, and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States. In 1813 Robert Cary Long, Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale
Rembrandt Peale was an American artist and museum keeper. A prolific portrait painter, he was especially acclaimed for his likenesses of presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson...
the first substantial structure in the United States designed expressly as a museum. Restored, it is now the Municipal Museum of Baltimore, or popularly the “Peale Museum
Peale Museum
The Peale Museum, also known as the Municipal Museum of Baltimore, was a museum of paintings and natural history, located in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It occupied the first building in the Western Hemisphere to be designed and built as a museum. The Peale Museum was created by Charles Willson Peale...
”. The McKim Free School
McKim's School
McKim's School, also known as McKim's Free School, is a historic school located at Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is an archaeologically accurate Greek-style building. The front façade is designed after the Temple of Hephaestus, or Temple of Theseus, in Athens, Greece in granite. Six...
was founded and endowed by John McKim, although the building was erected by his son Isaac
Isaac McKim
Isaac McKim was a U.S. Representative from Maryland, nephew of Alexander McKim.Born in Baltimore, Maryland, McKim attended the public schools, and later engaged in mercantile pursuits. He served in the War of 1812 as aide-de-camp to General Samuel Smith...
in 1822 after a design by William Howard and William Small. It reflects the popular interest in Greece when the nation was securing its independence, as well as a scholarly interest in recently published drawings of Athenian antiquities.
The Phoenix Shot Tower
Phoenix Shot Tower
The Phoenix Shot Tower, also known as the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, is a red brick shot tower, tall, located near the downtown and Little Italy areas of Baltimore, Maryland. When it was completed in 1828 it was the tallest structure in the United States...
(1828), at 234.25 feet (71.4 m) tall, was the tallest building in the United States until the time of the Civil war. It was constructed without the use of exterior scaffolding. The Sun Iron Building designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was city’s first iron-front building and it was a model for a whole generation of downtown buildings. Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church
Brown Memorial Park Avenue Presbyterian Church of Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is a large, Gothic Revival-style church built in 1870 and located at Park and Lafayette Avenues in the city's Bolton Hill section...
, built in 1870 in memory of financier George Brown
George Brown (Financier)
George Brown was an Irish-American investment banker and railroad entrepreneur. He emigrated from Ulster to Baltimore, Maryland, at the age of 15 in 1802....
, has stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany
Louis Comfort Tiffany was an American artist and designer who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in stained glass. He is the American artist most associated with the Art Nouveau and Aesthetic movements...
and has been called "one of the most significant buildings in this city, a treasure of art and architecture" by Baltimore Magazine. The 1845 Greek Revival
Greek Revival architecture
The Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. A product of Hellenism, it may be looked upon as the last phase in the development of Neoclassical architecture...
style Lloyd Street Synagogue
Lloyd Street Synagogue
The Lloyd Street Synagogue is an 1845, Greek Revival style synagogue building in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the oldest synagogues in the United States, Lloyd Street was the first synagogue building erected in Maryland and is the third oldest synagogue building still standing in the United States...
is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States
Oldest synagogues in the United States
The designation of the oldest synagogue in the United States requires careful use of definitions, and must be divided into two parts, the oldest in the sense of oldest surviving building, and the oldest in the sense of oldest congregation...
. The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
, designed by Lt. Col. John S. Billings
John Shaw Billings
John Shaw Billings was an American librarian and surgeon best known as the modernizer of the Library of the Surgeon General's Office of the Army and as the first director of the New York Public Library.-Biography:...
in 1876 was a considerable achievement for its day in functional arrangement and fireproofing.
I.M.Pei's World Trade Center
Baltimore World Trade Center
Located on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular pentagonal building . It was designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, with the principal architects being Henry N...
(1977) is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world at 405 feet (123.4 m) tall.
Future contributions to Baltimore's skyline include plans for a 717 foot (218.5 m) tall structure known as "10 Inner Harbor
10 Inner Harbor
10 Inner Harbor is a cancelled skyscraper project in downtown Baltimore at a site overlooking the Inner Harbor at the corner of Light Street and West Conway Street. Currently, this land is a parking lot, and earlier still it was a McCormick & Co...
". The building was recently approved by Baltimore's design panel, but as of January 10, 2010, ARC Wheeler had yet to break ground on the project. It will include luxury condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and shopping centers. The Naing Corporation has approved a tower of 50–60 floors for the lot at 300 Pratt street, with the design currently being finalized. The Inner Harbor East area will see the addition of two new towers which have started construction: a 24-floor tower that will be the new world headquarters of Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
(now complete), and a 21 floor Four Seasons Hotel complex.
The streets of Baltimore are organized in a grid pattern
Grid plan
The grid plan, grid street plan or gridiron plan is a type of city plan in which streets run at right angles to each other, forming a grid...
, lined with tens of thousands of brick and formstone
Formstone
Formstone is a type of stucco commonly applied to brick rowhouses in many East Coast urban areas in the United States, although it is most strongly associated with Baltimore...
faced rowhouses
Terraced house
In architecture and city planning, a terrace house, terrace, row house, linked house or townhouse is a style of medium-density housing that originated in Great Britain in the late 17th century, where a row of identical or mirror-image houses share side walls...
. In The Baltimore Rowhouse, Mary Ellen Hayward and Charles Belfoure considered the rowhouse as the architectural form defining Baltimore as "perhaps no other American city." In the mid 1790s, developers began building entire neighborhoods of the British-style rowhouses, which became the dominant house type of the city early in the 19th century.
Formstone facings, now a common feature on Baltimore rowhousess, were an addition patented in 1937 by Albert Knight. John Waters characterized formstone as "the polyester of brick" in his 30 minute documentary film, Little Castles: A Formstone Phenomenon.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...
is considered by many to be the most beautiful baseball park
Baseball park
A baseball park, also known as a baseball stadium, ball park, or ballpark is a venue where baseball is played. It consists of the playing field and the surrounding spectator seating...
in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, and has inspired many other cities to build their own versions of this retro style ballpark. Camden Yards along with the National Aquarium
National Aquarium in Baltimore
The National Aquarium, Baltimore is a public aquarium located at 501 E Pratt St. in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was constructed during Baltimore's urban renewal period and opened on August 8, 1981. The aquarium has an annual attendance of 1.5 million and a collection of...
have helped revive the Inner Harbor from what once was an industrial district
Industrial district
Industrial district was initially introduced as a term to describe an area where workers of a monolithic heavy industry live within walking-distance of their places of work...
full of dilapidated warehouses, into a bustling commercial district full of bars, restaurants and retail establishments.
Tallest buildings
| Rank | Building | Height | Floors | Built | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Transamerica Tower (formerly the Legg Mason Building) | 529 feet (161 m) | 40 | 1973 | |
| 2 | Bank of America Building Bank of America Building (Baltimore) The Bank of America Building, located at the corner of East Baltimore and Light Streets in the downtown area of Baltimore, Maryland, at 505 feet was the tallest building in the state when built in 1929... |
509 feet (155 m) | 37 | 1924 | |
| 3 | William Donald Schaefer Building William Donald Schaefer Building The William Donald Schaefer Building, also known as the William Donald Schaefer Tower or simply the Donald Schaefer Building, is a skyscraper in Baltimore, Maryland. The building rises 37 floors and in height, and stands as the third-tallest building in the city... |
493 feet (150 m) | 37 | 1992 | |
| 4 | Commerce Place Commerce Place (Baltimore) Commerce Place is a high-rise in Baltimore, Maryland. The building rises 31 floors and in height, and stands as the fourth-tallest building in the city. The structure was completed in 1992. Commerce Place was designed by architect G.C. Pontius of RTKL Associates, a Baltimore-based architectural... |
454 feet (138 m) | 31 | 1992 | |
| 5 | 100 East Pratt Street 100 East Pratt Street 100 East Pratt Street is a building located in Baltimore, Maryland. The building originally began construction in 1973 by Emery Roth & Sons, though it halted in 1975. Construction was then completed and developed in 1992 by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The building stands at 418 ft. , containing... |
418 feet (127 m) | 28 | 1992 | |
| 6 | Baltimore World Trade Center Baltimore World Trade Center Located on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular pentagonal building . It was designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, with the principal architects being Henry N... |
405 feet (123 m) | 28 | 1977 | |
| 7 | Tremont Plaza Hotel Tremont Plaza Hotel Tremont Plaza Hotel is a highrise hotel building located in Baltimore, Maryland. The building rises to 395 feet/120 meters, containing 37 floors and 290 suites. Construction of the building was completed in 1967, which was developed by E. Wolf & Associates. The building was renovated in... |
395 feet (120 m) | 37 | 1967 | |
| 8 | Charles Towers South Apartments Charles Center Charles Center is a highrise apartment building located in Baltimore, Maryland. The building stands 385 feet/117 meters tall and contains 30 floors. The building was constructed in 1969 by developers Conklin + Rossant.... |
385 feet (117 m) | 30 | 1969 | |
| 9 | Blaustein Building Blaustein Building The Blaustein Building is a highrise building located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The building stands at , containing 30 floors. The building was constructed in 1962, and was developed by Vincent Kling & Associates. The Hub Department Store was destroyed in order for this building to be... |
360 feet (110 m) | 30 | 1962 | |
| 10 | 250 West Pratt Street 250 West Pratt Street 250 West Pratt Street is a highrise building located in Baltimore, Maryland. The building stands at 360 feet/110 meters, containing twenty-four floors. The building was constructed and completed in 1986, as it was developed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP... |
360 feet (110 m) | 24 | 1986 |
Neighborhoods
Baltimore is divided officially into nine geographical regions: Northern, Northwestern, Northeastern, Western, Central, Eastern, Southern, Southwestern, and Southeastern, with each patrolled by a respective Baltimore Police DepartmentBaltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
district. However, it is common for locals to divide the city simply by East or West Baltimore, using Charles Street
Maryland Route 139
Maryland Route 139, known locally for most of its existence as North Charles Street, runs through Baltimore City and through the Towson area of Baltimore County. On the north end it terminates at a traffic circle with Bellona Avenue near Interstate 695 and at the south end it terminates in Federal...
as a dividing line, and/or into North and South using Baltimore Street as a dividing line.
The Central district includes Downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore
Downtown Baltimore is the section of Baltimore traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, Mt. Royal Avenue to the north, President Street to the east and the Inner Harbor area to the south. It consists of four neighborhoods: Westside, City Centre, Inner Harbor, and...
, the city's main commercial area. Home to Harborplace
Harborplace
Harborplace is a festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, that opened in 1980 as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. As its name suggests, it is located on the Inner Harbor....
, The Camden Yards Sports Complex (Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...
and M&T Bank Stadium
M&T Bank Stadium
M&T Bank Stadium is a multi-purpose football stadium located in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the home of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. The stadium is immediately adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the home of the Baltimore Orioles. Served by the Hamburg Street station of...
), the Convention Center
Baltimore Convention Center
The Baltimore Convention Center is a convention and exhibition hall located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. The Center is a municiple building owned and operated by the City of Baltimore...
, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore
National Aquarium in Baltimore
The National Aquarium, Baltimore is a public aquarium located at 501 E Pratt St. in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was constructed during Baltimore's urban renewal period and opened on August 8, 1981. The aquarium has an annual attendance of 1.5 million and a collection of...
, the area also includes many nightclubs, bars and restaurants, shopping centers and various other attractions. Many of Baltimore's key businesses, such as Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
and Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
are based here. In addition, the University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore
University of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
campus is housed in this area, with the long-associated University of Maryland Medical System
University of Maryland Medical System
The University of Maryland Medical System is a private, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1994 and based in Baltimore, Maryland...
adjacent to the school. The downtown core has mainly served as a commercial district with limited residential opportunities. However, since 2002 the downtown population has doubled to 12,000 residents, with a projection of 7,400 additional housing units becoming available by 2012. Central district stretches north of the downtown core up to the edge of Druid Hill Park
Druid Hill Park
Druid Hill Park is a urban park in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. Its boundaries are marked by Druid Park Drive , Swann Drive and Reisterstown Road , and the Jones Falls Expressway...
. This northern portion of Central, between downtown and the park, is home to many of the city's cultural opportunities. Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
, the Peabody Institute
Peabody Institute
The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
of music, the Lyric Opera House
Lyric Opera House
The Lyric Opera House is a music venue in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The building was modeled after the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, and it was inaugurated on October 31, 1894, with a performance by the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Australian opera singer Nellie Melba as the featured...
, The Walters Art Museum
Walters Art Museum
The Walters Art Museum, located in Baltimore, Maryland's Mount Vernon neighborhood, is a public art museum founded in 1934. The museum's collection was amassed substantially by two men, William Thompson Walters , who began serious collecting when he moved to Paris at the outbreak of the American...
, The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall
The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, often referred to simply as the Meyerhoff, is a music venue that opened September 16, 1982 at 1212 Cathedral Street in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The main auditorium has a seating capacity of 2,443 people, and is home to the...
, as well as several galleries are located in this region.
Crime in the Inner Harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
and Mount Vernon neighborhoods of the Central district became of greater concern in 2009, as an increasing number of random assaults on tourists were reported.
The Northern District lies directly north of the Central district and is bounded on the east by The Alameda and on the west by Pimlico Road. Loyola University Maryland, The Johns Hopkins University and College of Notre Dame of Maryland
College of Notre Dame of Maryland
Notre Dame of Maryland University is an independent, Catholic-affiliated, liberal arts college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, that primarily serves female students.-History:...
are located in this district.
The Southern District, a mixed industrial and residential area, consists of the area of the city below the Inner Harbor, east of the B&O railroad tracks. It is a mixed socio-economic region consisting of working class, culturally and ethnically diverse neighborhoods such as Locust Point
Locust Point, Baltimore
Locust Point is a peninsular neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Located in South Baltimore, the neighborhood is entirely surrounded by the Locust Point Industrial Area; the traditional boundaries are Lawrence street to the west and the Patapsco River to the north, south, and east...
; the historic Federal Hill area, home to many working professionals, pubs and restaurants; and low-income residential areas such as Cherry Hill. The Port of Baltimore operates two terminals in this district and the old Domino Sugar plant is located here. Westport
Westport, Baltimore
Westport is a neighborhood in south Baltimore, Maryland. It borders the Middle Branch River on the east, Cherry Hill and Lansdowne to the south, Hollins Ferry Road to the west, and Interstate 95 to the north...
is another lower-income neighborhood that has been approved for tremendous waterfront development in the years to come. (See Westport Waterfront)
East Baltimore consists of the Northeastern, Eastern, and Southeastern districts.
The Northeastern district is primarily a residential neighborhood, home to Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
, bounded by the city line on its northern and eastern boundaries, Sinclair Lane, Erdman Avenue, and Pulaski Highway on its southern boundaries and The Alameda on its western boundaries. It has undergone demographic shifts over many years and remains a diverse but predominantly African American region of the city.
The Eastern district is the heart of what is considered East Baltimore and is home to Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Located below Erdman Avenue and Sinclair Lane, above Orleans Street, it is an almost exclusively African American area, made up of low-income residential neighborhoods. Entire blocks of abandoned buildings and its chronic problem with drug trafficing made this area a frequent on-site film location for The Wire
The WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
, a television drama produced from 2002 to 2008.
The Southeastern district, located below Orleans Street, bordering the Inner Harbor on its western boundary, the city line on its eastern boundaries and the Baltimore harbor on its southern boundaries, is a mixed industrial and residential area. The demography of individual neighborhoods varies widely, from predominantly black O'Donnell Heights
O'Donnell Heights, Baltimore
O'Donnell Heights is a neighborhood named for a public housing development in the far southeastern part of the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is located south and east of Interstate 95, just west of the border with Baltimore County, and north of the St. Helena neighborhood.The...
, where 66 percent of the population was measured below the poverty line in 2000, to predominantly white Fells Point, with less than 17 percent below the poverty line. Yet, even these two neighborhoods have a significant mix of other races and cultures, a common characteristic of Southeastern neighborhoods.
West Baltimore consists of the Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern districts.
The Northwestern district, bounded by the county line on its northern and western boundaries, Gwynns Falls Parkway on the south and Pimlico Road on the East, is home to Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
, Sinai Hospital
Sinai Hospital
LifeBridge Health is a Baltimore area corporation operating several medical institutions. These most notably include Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, Northwest Hospital , and various nursing homes and medical office complexes.-Sinai Hospital:Sinai Hospital is a Baltimore, Maryland hospital originally...
. Its neighborhoods are mostly residential. Formerly the center of Baltimore's Jewish community, the district's Park Heights
Park Heights, Baltimore
Park Heights is an area of Northwest Baltimore, Maryland that is found mostly in zip code 21215. It is identified by Park Heights Avenue, the main street that runs through the community, and is best known to outsiders as the home of Pimlico Race Track....
neighborhood, has undergone white flight
White flight
White flight has been a term that originated in the United States, starting in the mid-20th century, and applied to the large-scale migration of whites of various European ancestries from racially mixed urban regions to more racially homogeneous suburban or exurban regions. It was first seen as...
since the 1960s, becoming an almost exclusively black.
Northern Parkway
Northern Parkway (Baltimore)
Northern Parkway is a major road that runs west–east across the northern part of the city Baltimore. For most of the way, it is at least six lanes wide, and it is used by motorists for crosstown travel....
divides the Northwestern district into two distinctly different demographic areas. Neighborhoods to the north of the parkway, such as Mount Washington and Cheswolde
Cheswolde, Baltimore
Cheswolde is residential community in northwest Baltimore, Maryland. It is located along the Western Run. The main roads running through the area are Greenspring Avenue, Cross Country Boulevard, and Taney Road....
are predominantly white, with low-density suburban housing. South of the parkway, the neighborhoods are mostly black. Some of the neighborhoods south of the parkway also have suburban housing, but several are high density urban communities, with greater percentage of residents reported below the poverty level in the 2000 census.
The Western district, located west of downtown, is the heart of West Baltimore, bounded by Gwynns Falls Parkway, Fremont Avenue, and Baltimore Street. Coppin State University
Coppin State University
Coppin State University is a historically black college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland...
,
Mondawmin Mall
Mondawmin Mall
Mondawmin Mall is a three-level shopping mall in Northwest Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The mall was a development of James Rouse and opened in October 1956....
, and Edmondson Village, located in this district, have been historic cultural and economic centers of the city's African American community. Once home to
many middle to upper class African Americans, over the years the more affluent residents have migrated to other sections of the city or beyond the city line into Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
and Howard County
Howard County, Maryland
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*62.2% White*17.5% Black*0.3% Native American*14.4% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*2.0% Other races*5.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
Income levels below the poverty line were reported by the 2000 census for more than 45 percent of residents in some of the district's neighborhoods, which are almost exclusively black. Like East Baltimore, the area's crime problems have provided subject material for television series, such as The Wire.
Local organizations, such as the Sandtown Habitat for Humanity and the Upton Planning Committee, have been steadily transforming formerly blighted areas of the Western district into clean, safe and well-kept
communities.
The Southwestern district is bounded by Baltimore County to the west, Baltimore Street to the north, and the downtown area to the east. St. Agnes Hospital
St. Agnes Hospital (Baltimore)
St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland is a full service teaching hospital located at 900 S. Caton Avenue.It is licensed and accredited with a Gold Seal of Approval from the JCAHO, is designated as an American Society for Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence and is a Level...
is located
in this district, amid a mix of industrial parks and residential areas. Economic and demographic characteristics of Southwestern
district vary greatly. Almost exclusively black, the Uplands neighborhood, near the Central district, had 39.9 percent of its residents measured below the poverty line by the 2000 census. Predominantly white Violetville
Violetville, Baltimore
Violetville is a neighborhood in southwest Baltimore, Maryland and Baltimore County. The community is characterized by its "well-kept 1950s and 60s era rowhouses and older farmhouses that date back to the turn of the previous century."...
, at the city's southwest edge, had
only 6.4 percent of its residents reported below the poverty line.
Adjacent communities
The City of Baltimore is bordered by the following communities, all unincorporated census-designated placeCensus-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
s.
Culture
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
, frequented by tourists due to its hotels, shops, and museums; Fells Point, once a favorite entertainment spot for sailors but now refurbished and gentrified (and featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle
Sleepless in Seattle
The film was originally to have been scored by John Barry, but when he was given a list of 20 songs he had to put in the film, he quit.#As Time Goes By - Jimmy Durante #A Kiss to Build a Dream on - Louis Armstrong #Stardust - Nat King Cole...
); and Little Italy
Little Italy, Baltimore
Little Italy is a neighborhood located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States.Situated just east of the Inner Harbor, it has one of the city's busiest restaurant districts. It is so named because of the large number of Italian immigrant families that moved into the area during the 20th century. The...
, located between the other two, where Baltimore's Italian-American community is based – and where former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
grew up. Further inland, Mt. Vernon is the traditional center of cultural and artistic life of the city; it is home to a distinctive Washington Monument
Washington Monument (Baltimore)
The Washington Monument in the elegant Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland was the first architectural monument planned to honor George Washington.-History:...
, set atop a hill in a 19th century urban square, that predates the more well-known monument in Washington, D.C. by several decades.
Each year the Artscape
Artscape (festival)
Artscape is an annual art festival held in the Mount Royal neighborhood Baltimore, Maryland in July. Since its first annual opening in 1982, it has become the largest free arts festival in America. It has boasted acts such as Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Matisyahu in the past, attracting over...
takes place in the city in the Bolton Hill neighborhood, due to its proximity to Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art
Maryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
. Artscape styles itself as the 'largest free arts festival in America'.
Local dialect
One thing visitors quickly notice is that some locals refer to their city as "Balamer," dropping the "t". The traditional local accent, peculiar to some working-class areas of the city, has long been noted and celebrated as "Baltimorese" or "Bawlmorese." As a member of the Mid-Atlantic English dialect group, Baltimore's dialect shares many characteristics with Philadelphia's, such as the addition of an "eh" sound before a long "o". Its influence distinguishes Baltimore, especially with words containing "oi" flattened into an "aw" sound. Baltimore is also known for its use of Hun or Hon.Baltimore native John Waters
John Waters (filmmaker)
John Samuel Waters, Jr. is an American filmmaker, actor, stand-up comedian, writer, journalist, visual artist, and art collector, who rose to fame in the early 1970s for his transgressive cult films...
parodies the city and its dialect extensively in his films, including the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos
Pink Flamingos is a 1972 transgressive black comedy film written, produced, composed, shot, edited, and directed by John Waters. When the film was initially released, it caused a huge degree of controversy and thus became one of the most notorious cult films ever made. It made an underground star...
. His film Hairspray and its Broadway musical remake
Hairspray (musical)
Hairspray is a musical with music by Marc Shaiman, lyrics by Scott Wittman and Shaiman and a book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan, based on the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray. The songs include 1960s-style dance music and "downtown" rhythm and blues...
are also set in Baltimore.
Performing arts
The Baltimore Symphony OrchestraBaltimore Symphony Orchestra
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is a professional American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland.In September 2007, Maestra Marin Alsop led her inaugural concerts as the Orchestra’s twelfth music director, making her the first woman to head a major American orchestra.The BSO Board...
is an internationally renowned orchestra, founded in 1916 as a publicly funded municipal organization. The current Music Director is Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop
Marin Alsop is an American conductor and violinist. She is the music director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.In 2012, Alsop will replace Yan Pascal Tortelier as principal conductor of the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra....
, a protégé of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
. Center Stage
Center Stage (theater)
Center Stage is the state theater of Maryland and Baltimore's largest professional producing theater. Center Stage was founded in 1963 as a regional playhouse....
is the premier theater company in the city and a regionally well-respected group. The Baltimore Opera
Baltimore Opera Company
The Baltimore Opera Company was an opera company in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., based at the Baltimore Lyric Opera House. On March 12, 2009, the 58-year-old opera company announced plans to pursue Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation....
was an important regional opera company, though it filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and is not currently performing. The Baltimore Consort
The Baltimore Consort
The Baltimore Consort is a musical ensemble that performs a wide variety of early music, Renaissance music and music from later periods. They began in 1980 as a group specializing in music of the Elizabethan period, but soon expanded their repertoire to include Scottish music, broadside ballads,...
has been a leading early music ensemble for over twenty-five years. The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the restored Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas W. Lamb
Thomas White Lamb was an American architect, born in Scotland. He is noted as one of the foremost designers of theaters and cinemas in the 20th century.-Career:...
-designed Hippodrome Theatre, has afforded Baltimore the opportunity to become a major regional player in the area of touring Broadway and other performing arts presentations.
Baltimore also boasts a wide array of professional (non-touring) and community theater groups. Aside from Center Stage, resident troupes in the city include Everyman Theatre
Everyman Theatre, Baltimore
The Everyman Theatre, founded in 1990 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, by artistic director Vincent M. Lancisi , an Equity theatre with a professional repertory company of artists from the Baltimore/Washington area, dedicated to presenting quality theatre that is accessible and affordable to...
, Single Carrot Theatre, and Baltimore Theatre Festival. Community theaters in the city include Fells Point Community Theatre and the Arena Players Inc., which is the nation's oldest continuously operating African American community theater.
Baltimore is home to the Pride of Baltimore Chorus
Pride of Baltimore Chorus
The Pride of Baltimore Chorus is an all-female, a cappella chorus based in metropolitan Baltimore, MD. Founded in the early 1990s, the chorus currently boasts over 110 members who live in 5 different states: Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware...
, a 3-time International silver medalist women's chorus, affiliated with Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International
Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performances. This independent, nonprofit music education association is one of the world's largest singing organizations for women...
.
The city is also home to the Baltimore School for the Arts
Baltimore School for the Arts
Baltimore School for the Arts is a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland and is a part of its public school system. BSA offers concentrations in classical music, theater, dance, theater production and visual art...
, a public high school in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore. The institution is nationally recognized for its success in preparation for students entering visual art, music, theatre, dance, and stage production.
Economy
Once a major industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation, the city suffered a deindustrialization which cost residents tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs. While it retains some industry, Baltimore now has a modern service economyService economy
Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments. One is the increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. Services account for a higher percentage of US GDP than 20 years ago...
providing a growing financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region.
Greater Baltimore (the city and surrounding suburbs in Baltimore County) is home to five Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000
Fortune 1000 is a reference to a list maintained by the American business magazine Fortune. The list is of the 1000 largest American companies, ranked on revenues alone...
companies: Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group...
, Grace Chemicals
W. R. Grace and Company
W. R. Grace and Company is a Columbia, Maryland, United States based chemical conglomerate.The company has two main divisions, Davison Chemicals and Performance Chemicals. The Davison unit makes chemical catalysts, refining catalysts, and silica-based products that let other companies make...
(in Columbia), Legg Mason
Legg Mason
Legg Mason, Inc. is an American-based global investment management firm with a focus on asset management. The company’s business is divided in two divisions: Americas and International...
, T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price is a publicly owned Investment firm, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1937 by Thomas Rowe Price, Jr.. The company offers mutual funds, subadvisory services, and separate account management for individuals, institutions, retirement plans, and financial...
, and McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company
McCormick & Company manufactures spices, herbs, and flavorings for retail, commercial, and industrial markets. The company began in 1889 in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. One hundred years later, McCormick moved from downtown Baltimore to the suburb of Hunt Valley, Maryland. McCormick has...
(in Hunt Valley). Other companies that call Greater Baltimore home include AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation
AAI Corporation is an aerospace and defense development and manufacturing firm in Hunt Valley, Maryland, USA. It is formerly a wholly owned subsidiary of United Industrial Corporation, AAI was acquired by Textron in 2007 and currently is an operating unit of Textron Systems Corporation...
(in Hunt Valley), Adams Express Company
Adams Express Company
The Adams Express Company is a publicly traded diversified equity fund that traces its roots to a 19th century freight and cargo transport company. The Company uses a conservative investment philosophy, and the portfolio is managed with the expectation that it will generate solid returns with...
, Brown Advisory, Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown
Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown
Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown was the private client services division of Deutsche Bank Securities, the U.S. corporate and investment arm of German banking colossus Deutsche Bank. It is the organization successor to the 200 year-old investment bank Alex...
(the oldest continuously running investment bank in the United States), FTI Consulting, Petroleum & Resources Corporation
Petroleum & Resources Corporation
-Overview:Petroleum & Resources Corp. is a closed-end investment company, specializing in securities of companies engaged in petroleum, natural resources or related industries or in interests in petroleum or natural resources. The company has consistently owned shares of a representative group of...
, Vertis, Prometric
Prometric
Prometric is a U.S. company in the test administration industry. Prometric operates a test center network composed of over 10,000 sites in 160 countries...
, Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning
Sylvan Learning consists of franchised and corporate supplemental learning centers which provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, homework support, and test preparation for college entrance and state exams...
, Laureate Education, Under Armour
Under Armour
Under Armour is an American sports clothing and accessories company. The company is a supplier of a wide range of sportswear and casual apparel mainly focusing on hi-tech sportswear for professional athletes...
, DAP, 180s, DeBaufre Bakeries
Berger Cookies
Berger Cookies are a kind of cookie made and distributed by DeBaufre Bakeries. It is a vanilla wafer topped with a thick layer of chocolate ganache that derives from a German recipe, and are a cultural icon of Baltimore.- History :...
, Wm. T. Burnett & Co
STX
STX is a sports equipment manufacturer based in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a subsidiary of Wm. T. Burnett & Co...
, Old Mutual Financial Network, Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games is a computer game developer. It was founded in 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds upon leaving MicroProse. The company focuses on strategy games and is based in Sparks, Maryland in the United States....
(in Sparks), Sinclair Broadcast Group
Sinclair Broadcast Group
The Sinclair Broadcast Group is an American telecommunications company that operates the largest number of local television stations in the United States. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, it owns a total of 57 stations across the country in 35 primarily small and medium markets, many of...
(in Hunt Valley), Fila
Fila (company)
Fila is one of the world's largest sportswear manufacturing companies. Founded in 1911 in Italy, Fila has been owned and operated from South Korea since a takeover in 2007. Headed by chairman and CEO Yoon-Soo Yoon, Fila now has offices in 11 countries worldwide....
USA (in Sparks) and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers
JoS. A. Bank Clothiers
Joseph A. Bank Clothiers, Inc., also known by the abbreviated name JoS. A. Bank Clothiers, is an American manufacturer-retailers of men's classically-styled tailored and casual clothing, sportswear, footwear and accessories...
(in Hampstead).
The city is also home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
, which will serve as the center of a new biotechnology park, one of two such projects currently under construction in the city.
A sugar refinery
Sugar refinery
A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...
owned by American Sugar Refining
American Sugar Refining
American Sugar Refining, Inc., headquartered in Yonkers, New York, is the world’s largest cane sugar refining company, with a production capacity of more than seven million tons of sugar...
is also located in Baltimore.
Demographics
At the 2010 Census, there were 620,961 people residing in Baltimore, a decrease of −4.6% since 2000.According to the 2010 Census
2010 census
The following countries conducted a census in 2010:* Sixth National Population Census of the People's Republic of China* Russian Census * 2010 United States Census...
, 29.6% of the population was White
White American
White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
, 63.7% Black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, 2.3% Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
, 0.2% from some other race (non-Hispanic) and 2.1% of two or more races. 4.2% of Baltimore's population was of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin
Hispanic American
Hispanic American may refer to:*An inhabitant of one of the countries of Hispanic America *A person of Hispanic ancestry who is citizen, resident or other in the United States of America...
(they may be of any race).
After New York City, Baltimore was the second city in the United States to reach a population of 100,000. In the 1830, 1840, and 1850 US censuses, Baltimore was the second-largest city in population, surpassed by Philadelphia in 1860. It was among the top 10 cities in population in the United States in every census up to the 1980 census, and after World War II had a population of nearly a million.
In the 1990s, the US Census reported that Baltimore ranked as one of the largest population losers alongside Detroit and Washington D.C., losing over 84,000 residents between 1990 and 2000. (Although the 2010 United States Census found that Washington D.C. has since regained population while Baltimore has not.)
In a People QuickFacts report, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the racial composition of Baltimore in 2009 as follows:
- Black or African AmericanAfrican AmericanAfrican Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
: 63.2% - WhiteWhite AmericanWhite Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa...
: 33.1% (Non-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic WhitesNon-Hispanic Whites or White, Not Hispanic or Latino are people in the United States, as defined by the Census Bureau, who are of the White race and are not of Hispanic or Latino origin/ethnicity. Hence the designation is exclusive in the sense that it defines who is not included as opposed to who is...
: 30.9%) - Native American: 0.4%
- AsianAsian AmericanAsian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
: 2.0% - Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific IslanderPacific Islander AmericanPacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
: 0.1% - Two or more racesMultiracial AmericanMultiracial Americans, US residents who identify themselves as of "two or more races", were numbered at around 9 million, or 2.9% of the population, in the census of 2010. However there is considerable evidence that the real number is far higher. Prior to the mid-20th century many people hid their...
: 1.3% - Hispanic or LatinoHispanic and Latino AmericansHispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...
(of any race): 3.0%
The same report also estimated these people lived in a total of 294,579 housing units. Age ranges were 22.4% under 18 years old, 11.8% at age 65 or older, and 65.8% from 18 to 64 years old. The city's estimated 2009 population of 637,418 was 53.4% female.
A statistical abstract prepared by the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the median income for a household in the city during 2008 at $30,078, and the median income for a family at $48,216. The same abstract also listed a per capita income of $22,885 for the city in 2008, with 15.4% of families and 19.3% of the population below the poverty line.
Despite the housing collapse, and along with the national trends, Baltimore residents still face slowly increasing rent (up 3% in the summer of 2010).
Crime
Baltimore reported 223 homicides in 2010, the lowest count since a peak of 353 in 1993. This has been part of a general trend in all violent crimes for the city, which have declined from 21,799 in 1993 to 9,316 in 2010. Even with stark population decline taken into account -- Baltimore went from from 732,968 residents in 1993 to just 620,961 in 2010 -- the drop in violent crime was significant, falling from 3.0 incidents per 100 residents to 1.6 incidents per 100 residents. Baltimore's level of violent crime is still much higher than the national average, however. In 2009, a total of 1,318,398 violent crimes were reported nationwide across the United States, equivalent to a rate of just 0.4 incidents per 100 people.City officials came under scrutiny from Maryland legislators in 2006 regarding the veracity of crime statistics reported by the Baltimore Police Department
Baltimore Police Department
The Baltimore Police Department provides police services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland and was officially established by the Maryland Legislature on March 16, 1853...
. In 2003, the FBI identified irregularities in the number of rapes reported, which was confirmed by then-Mayor Martin O'Malley
Martin O'Malley
Martin Joseph O'Malley is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as the 61st Governor of Maryland. Previously, he served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1999 to 2007. He is currently the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.-Early life, education and career:O'Malley...
. The number of homicides in 2005 appeared to exhibit discrepancies as well. Former police commissioner Kevin P. Clark
Kevin P. Clark
Kevin Clark is a former commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, who held the position from early 2003 until November 2004. A former NYPD officer, Clark's term as police commissioner was strained with both the mayor and police department as Clark was involved in domestic issues and an...
stated upon interview that the administration suppressed corrections to its crime reports;
however, many of the charges made by the police commissioner now appear to have been politically motivated.
Government
Baltimore is an independent cityIndependent city
An independent city is a city that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity. These type of cities should not be confused with city-states , which are fully sovereign cities that are not part of any other sovereign state.-Historical precursors:In the Holy Roman Empire,...
, and not part of any county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a county-level entity. The United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.
Baltimore has been a Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government.
Mayor
- For a full list of mayors, see List of Baltimore Mayors.
Sheila Dixon
Sheila Dixon
Sheila Ann Dixon served as the forty-eighth Mayor of Baltimore, Maryland. When former Mayor Martin O'Malley was sworn in as Governor on January 17, 2007, Dixon, a Democrat, became mayor and served out the remaining year of O'Malley's term. In November 2007, she was elected mayor...
became the first female mayor of Baltimore on January 17, 2007. As the former City Council President, she assumed the office of Mayor when former Mayor Martin O'Malley took office as Governor of Maryland. On November 6, 2007, Dixon won the Baltimore mayoral election
Baltimore mayoral election, 2007
The 2007 Baltimore mayoral election was held on November 6, 2007. Because Baltimore's electorate is overwhelmingly Democratic, Sheila Dixon's victory in the Democratic primary on September 11 all but assured her of victory in the general election, and she defeated Republican candidate Elbert...
.
Mayor Dixon's administration ended less than three years after her election, the result of a criminal investigation that began in 2006 while she was still City Council President. She was convicted on a single misdemeanor charge of embezzlement on December 1, 2009. A month later, Dixon made an Alford plea
Alford plea
An Alford plea in United States law is a guilty plea in criminal court, where the defendant does not admit the act and asserts innocence...
to a perjury charge and agreed to resign from office. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who was City Council President at that time, assumed the office of Mayor on February 4, 2010, when Dixon's resignation became effective.
Baltimore City Council
Question P
Question P was a 2002 local referendum issue which modified the Baltimore City Council.-Description:Question P was approved by the voters of Baltimore, Maryland, United States, in November 2002...
, restructured the city council in November 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now was a collection of community-based organizations in the United States that advocated for low- and moderate-income families by working on neighborhood safety, voter registration, health care, affordable housing, and other social issues...
(ACORN), backed the effort.
The Baltimore City Council
Baltimore City Council
The Baltimore City Council is the legislative branch that governs the City of Baltimore and its nearly 700,000 citizens. Baltimore has fourteen single-member City Council districts and representatives are elected for a four-year term. To qualify for a position on the Council, a person must be...
is now made up of 14 single-member districts and one elected at-large council president. Bernard C. "Jack" Young
Bernard C. Young
Bernard C. "Jack" Young is an American politician who serves as President of the Baltimore City Council, formerly representing District 2 and District 12 on the Baltimore City Council.-Background:...
has been the council president since
February 2010, when he was unanimously elected by the other council members to replace Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, who had become mayor. Edward Reisinger, the 10th district representative, is the council's current vice president.
State government
Since the legislative redistricting in 2002, Baltimore has had six legislative districts located entirely within its boundaries, giving the city six seats in the 47-member Maryland State SenateMaryland State Senate
The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland...
and 18 in the 141-member Maryland House of Delegates
Maryland House of Delegates
The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland, and is composed of 141 Delegates elected from 47 districts. The House chamber is located in the state capitol building on State Circle in Annapolis...
. During the previous 10 year period, Baltimore had four legislative districts within the city limits, but four others overlapped the Baltimore County line. As of January 2011, all of Baltimore's state senators and delegates were Democrats. Approval of the next
redistricting plan is expected to become effective in time for Maryland's 2012 Congressional primary election on February 14, 2012.
Federal government
Three of the state's eight congressional districtCongressional district
A congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s include portions of Baltimore: the 2nd
Maryland's 2nd congressional district
Maryland's 2nd congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The district comprises parts of Harford, Baltimore, and Anne Arundel Counties, as well as small portions of the City of Baltimore...
, represented by Dutch Ruppersberger
Dutch Ruppersberger
Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party....
; the 3rd
Maryland's 3rd congressional district
Maryland's 3rd congressional district is a congressional district from the state of Maryland. It comprises portions of Baltimore, Howard and Anne Arundel counties, as well as a significant part of the independent city of Baltimore...
, represented by John Sarbanes
John Sarbanes
John Peter Spyros Sarbanes is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes the state capital of Annapolis, central portions of the city of Baltimore, and parts of Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties.-Early life, education...
; and the 7th
Maryland's 7th congressional district
Maryland's 7th congressional district elects a representative to the United States House of Representatives every two years. The seat is currently represented by Elijah Cummings . It encompasses the majority African American sections of Baltimore and Baltimore County, Maryland, in addition to the...
, represented by Elijah Cummings
Elijah Cummings
Elijah Eugene Cummings is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1996. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district includes just over half of Baltimore City, as well as most of Howard County...
. All three are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Baltimore in Congress since John Boynton Philip Clayton Hill
John Boynton Philip Clayton Hill
John Boynton Philip Clayton Hill was a U.S. Congressman from the 3rd Congressional district of Maryland, serving three terms from 1921 to 1927....
represented the 3rd District in 1927, and has not represented any of Baltimore since the Eastern Shore-based 1st District lost its share of Baltimore after the 2000 census; it was represented by Republican Wayne Gilchrest
Wayne Gilchrest
Wayne Thomas Gilchrest is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives who represented . In 2008, the moderate Gilchrest was defeated in the Republican primary by State Senator Andy Harris....
at the time.
Both of Maryland's Senators
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, Ben Cardin
Ben Cardin
Benjamin Louis "Ben" Cardin is the junior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Before his election to the Senate, Cardin was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing from 1987 to 2007.Cardin was elected to succeed Paul Sarbanes in...
and Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
, are from Baltimore, and both represented the 3rd District before being elected to the Senate. Mikulski represented the 3rd from 1977 to 1987, and was succeeded by Cardin, who held the seat until his election and inauguration to the Senate in 2007.
The Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
's Baltimore Main Post Office is located at 900 East Fayette Street in the Jonestown
Jonestown, Baltimore
Jonestown is a neighborhood in the southeastern district of Baltimore. Its boundaries are the north side of Pratt Street, the west side of Central Avenue, the east side of Fallsway, and the south side of Orleans Street...
area.
Law enforcement
The Baltimore City Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency serving the citizens of Baltimore. Campus security for the city's public schools is provided by the Baltimore City Public Schools Police.The Maryland Transportation Authority Police
Maryland Transportation Authority Police
The Maryland Transportation Authority Police is the second largest state law enforcement agency in Maryland and is charged with providing law enforcement services on Maryland Transportation Authority highways and facilities throughout the state of Maryland in addition to contractual services that...
is the primary law enforcement agency on the Fort McHenry Tunnel Thruway (I-95), the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895) and I-395, which are under MdTA
Maryland Transportation Authority
The Maryland Transportation Authority is an independent state agency responsible for financing, constructing, operating, and maintaining eight toll facilities, currently consisting of two toll roads, two tunnels, and four bridges in Maryland...
jurisdiction and have limited concurrent jurisdiction with the Baltimore Police under a memorandum of understanding
Memorandum of understanding
A memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used in cases where parties either do not imply a legal commitment or in...
.
Law enforcement on the fleet of transit buses and transit rail systems serving Baltimore is the responsibility of the Maryland Transit Administration Police
Maryland Transit Administration Police
The Maryland Transit Administration Police is the law enforcement branch of the Maryland Transit Administration directed to patrol public transportation and related facilities in and around the Baltimore, Maryland, area...
, which is part of the Maryland Transit Administration. The MTA Police also share jurisdiction authority with the Baltimore Police, governed by a memorandum of understanding.
As the enforcement arm of the Baltimore court system, the Baltimore City Sheriff's Office is responsible for the security of city courthouses and property, service of court-ordered writs, protective and peace orders, warrants, tax levies, prisoner transportation and traffic enforcement. Deputy Sheriffs are sworn law enforcement officials, with full arrest authority granted by the constitution of Maryland, the MPCTC
Maryland Police and Correctional Training Commission
Headquartered in Sykesville, MD, the Maryland Police And Correctional Training Commissions is a state oversight agency for all law enforcement and correctional agencies in Maryland.-Duties:...
and the Sheriff of the City of Baltimore.
Baltimore City Fire Department
The city of Baltimore is protected by the over 1,800 professional firefighters of the Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD), founded in December 1858. The BCFD operates out of 37 Fire Stations, located throughout the city.Transportation
The Interstate HighwayInterstate Highway System
The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, , is a network of limited-access roads including freeways, highways, and expressways forming part of the National Highway System of the United States of America...
s serving Baltimore are I-70
Interstate 70 in Maryland
Interstate 70 is a part of the Interstate Highway System that runs from Cove Fort, Utah to Baltimore, Maryland. In Maryland, the Interstate Highway runs from the Pennsylvania state line in Hancock east to the Interstate's eastern terminus near its junction with I-695 at a park and ride in...
, I-83
Interstate 83
Interstate 83 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. Its southern terminus is in Baltimore, Maryland at the Fayette Street exit; its northern terminus is in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania at Interstate 81....
(the Jones Falls Expressway), I-95 (the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway), I-395
Interstate 395 (Maryland)
Interstate 395 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Cal Ripken Way, the highway runs from I-95 north to Howard Street and Camden Street in Baltimore. I-395 is a spur that heads north from I-95 over the Middle Branch of the Patapsco River toward Downtown Baltimore,...
, I-695
Interstate 695 (Maryland)
Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...
(the Baltimore Beltway
Interstate 695 (Maryland)
Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...
), I-795 (the Northwest Expressway)
Interstate 795 (Maryland)
Interstate 795 , also known as the Northwest Expressway, is a nine-mile freeway linking Baltimore's northwestern suburbs of Pikesville, Owings Mills and Reisterstown, Maryland to the Baltimore Beltway...
, I-895 (the Harbor Tunnel Thruway)
Interstate 895 (Maryland)
Interstate 895 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs between one junction with I-95 in Elkridge and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road that crosses the Patapsco River estuary...
, and I-97
Interstate 97
Interstate 97 is an intrastate Interstate Highway located entirely within Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. It runs from Annapolis at the overlapped section of US 50, US 301, and the unsigned I-595 to Baltimore at the city's beltway...
. Several of the city's Interstate Highways, e.g. I-95, I-83, and I-70 are not directly connected to each other, and in the case of I-70 end at a park and ride lot just inside the city limits, because of freeway revolts
Freeway and expressway revolts
Many freeway revolts took place in developed countries during the 1960s and 1970s, in response to plans for the construction of new freeways, a significant number of which were abandoned or significantly scaled back due to widespread public opposition; especially of those whose neighborhoods would...
in the City of Baltimore. These revolts were led primarily by Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Mikulski
Barbara Ann Mikulski is the senior United States Senator from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. Mikulski, a former U.S. Representative, is the longest-serving female senator in U.S...
, now a United States Senator, which resulted in the abandonment of the original plan. U.S. highways
United States Numbered Highways
The system of United States Numbered Highways is an integrated system of roads and highways in the United States numbered within a nationwide grid...
and state routes that run to and through downtown Baltimore include US 1
U.S. Route 1 in Maryland
U.S. Route 1 is the easternmost and longest of the major north–south routes of the United States Numbered Highway System, running from Key West, Florida to Fort Kent, Maine. In the U.S...
, US 40
U.S. Route 40 in Maryland
U.S. Route 40 in the U.S. state of Maryland runs from western Maryland to Cecil County in the state's northeastern corner. With a total length of over , it is the longest numbered highway in Maryland. Almost half of the road overlaps with Interstate 68 or Interstate 70, while the old alignment...
National Road
National Road
The National Road or Cumberland Road was the first major improved highway in the United States to be built by the federal government. Construction began heading west in 1811 at Cumberland, Maryland, on the Potomac River. It crossed the Allegheny Mountains and southwestern Pennsylvania, reaching...
, and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. There are two tunnels traversing the Baltimore harbor
Inner Harbor
The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as “the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the World.” The Inner Harbor is actually the end of the...
within the city limits: the four-bore Fort McHenry Tunnel (served by I-95) and the two-bore Harbor Tunnel (served by I-895
Interstate 895 (Maryland)
Interstate 895 is an Interstate Highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as the Harbor Tunnel Thruway, the highway runs between one junction with I-95 in Elkridge and another interchange with I-95 on the east side of Baltimore. I-895 is a toll road that crosses the Patapsco River estuary...
). The Baltimore Beltway
Interstate 695 (Maryland)
Interstate 695 is a -long full beltway Interstate Highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I-695 is officially designated the McKeldin Beltway, but is colloquially referred to as either the Baltimore Beltway or 695...
crosses south of Baltimore harbor over the Francis Scott Key Bridge
Francis Scott Key Bridge (Baltimore)
The Francis Scott Key Bridge, also known as the Outer Harbor Bridge or simply the Key Bridge, is a continuous truss bridge spanning the Patapsco River in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The main span of is the third longest span of any continuous truss in the world.The bridge was opened in March 1977...
.
Baltimore is a top destination for Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
along the Northeast Corridor
Northeast Corridor
The Northeast Corridor is a fully electrified railway line owned primarily by Amtrak serving the Northeast megalopolis of the United States from Boston in the north, via New York to Washington, D.C. in the south, with branches serving other cities...
. Baltimore's Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore)
Pennsylvania Station is the main train station in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by New York architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison , it was constructed in 1911 in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is located at 1515 N...
is one of the busiest in the country. In FY 2008, it ranked 8th in the United States with a total ridership of 1,020,304. Just outside the city, Baltimore/Washington International (BWI) Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station
BWI Rail Station
The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station is an Amtrak and MARC commuter rail train station in Linthicum, an unincorporated area in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States....
is another popular stop. Amtrak's Acela Express
Acela Express
The Acela Express is Amtrak's high-speed rail service along the Northeast Corridor in the Northeast United States between Washington, D.C., and Boston via Baltimore, Philadelphia, and New York...
, Palmetto
Palmetto (Amtrak)
The Palmetto is a passenger train service operated by Amtrak over the from New York City south to Savannah, Georgia via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, DC, then via Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina and Charleston, South Carolina...
, Carolinian
Carolinian
-Languages:*The Carolinian language, an Austronesian language spoken in the Northern Mariana Islands in the Pacific Ocean-People:*A person from the Carolinas...
, Silver Star, Silver Meteor
Silver Meteor
The Silver Meteor is a 1389-mile passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the Silver Service brand, running from New York City, New York, south to Miami, Florida, via the Northeast Corridor to Washington, D.C., thence via Richmond, Virginia; Fayetteville, North Carolina; North Charleston, South...
, Vermonter
Vermonter
Amtrak's Vermonter is a 611-mile passenger train service between St. Albans , New York City and Washington, D.C. One trip runs in each direction per day....
, Crescent
Crescent (Amtrak)
The Crescent is a passenger train operated by Amtrak in the eastern part of the United States. It runs daily from Pennsylvania Station in New York City to New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans, Louisiana as train 19 and returns, on the same route, as train 20. Most of the route of...
, and Northeast Regional trains are the scheduled passenger train services that stop in the city. Additionally, MARC commuter rail service
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
connects the city's two main intercity rail stations, Camden Station
Camden Station
Camden Station, now also referred to as Camden Yards, is a train station at the intersection of Howard and Camden Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, served by MARC commuter rail service and local Light Rail trains. It is adjacent to Oriole Park at Camden Yards...
and Penn Station
Pennsylvania Station (Baltimore)
Pennsylvania Station is the main train station in Baltimore, Maryland. Designed by New York architect Kenneth MacKenzie Murchison , it was constructed in 1911 in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture for the Pennsylvania Railroad. It is located at 1515 N...
, with Washington, D.C.'s Union Station
Union Station (Washington, D.C.)
Washington Union Station is a train station and leisure destination visited by 32 million people each year in the center of Washington, D.C. The train station is served by Amtrak, MARC and Virginia Railway Express commuter rail services as well as by Washington Metro subway trains and local buses...
as well as stops in between.
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is an international airport serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in the United States. It is commonly called BWI, BWI Airport or BWI Marshall, BWI being an initialism for "Baltimore/Washington International" and the...
, generally known as "BWI," which lies about 10 miles (16.1 km) to the south in neighboring Anne Arundel County
Anne Arundel County, Maryland
Anne Arundel County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is named for Anne Arundell , a member of the ancient family of Arundells in Cornwall, England and the wife of Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore. Its county seat is Annapolis, which is also the capital of the state...
, and by Martin State Airport
Martin State Airport
Martin State Airport is a public use airport located nine nautical miles east of the central business district of Baltimore, in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States...
, a general aviation
General aviation
General aviation is one of the two categories of civil aviation. It refers to all flights other than military and scheduled airline and regular cargo flights, both private and commercial. General aviation flights range from gliders and powered parachutes to large, non-scheduled cargo jet flights...
facility, to the north in Baltimore County
Baltimore County, Maryland
Baltimore County is a county located in the northern part of the US state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 805,029. It is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Towson. The name of the county was derived from the barony of the Proprietor of the Maryland...
. BWI and Martin State airports are operated by the Maryland Aviation Administration, which is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation
Maryland Department of Transportation
The Maryland Department of Transportation is a government agency in the U.S. state of Maryland. MDOT is overseen by Transportation Secretary Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, who replaced John Porcari in 2009 upon the latter's appointment as Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of...
. In terms of passenger traffic, BWI is the 24th busiest airport in the United States. Downtown Baltimore is connected to BWI by two major highways (I-95 and the Baltimore-Washington Parkway via Interstate 195
Interstate 195 (Maryland)
Interstate 195 is an Interstate highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. Known as Metropolitan Boulevard, the highway runs from Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum north to I-95 in Arbutus, where Metropolitan Boulevard continues north as Maryland Route 166 ,...
), the Baltimore Light Rail
Baltimore Light Rail
The Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding suburbs.In downtown Baltimore it uses city streets...
, and Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
and MARC commuter rail service
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
between Baltimore's Penn Station and BWI Rail Station
BWI Rail Station
The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Rail Station is an Amtrak and MARC commuter rail train station in Linthicum, an unincorporated area in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States....
. Martin State Airport
Martin State Airport
Martin State Airport is a public use airport located nine nautical miles east of the central business district of Baltimore, in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States...
is linked to downtown Baltimore by two major highways, I-95 and U.S. Route 40, and MARC commuter rail service
MARC Train
MARC , known prior to 1984 as Maryland Rail Commuter Service, is a regional rail system comprising three lines in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area. MARC is administered by the Maryland Transit Administration , a Maryland Department of Transportation agency, and is operated under contract...
between Baltimore's Penn Station and its nearby Martin State Airport MARC Train stop.
Public transit
Public transit in Baltimore is provided by the Maryland Transit AdministrationMaryland Transit Administration
The Maryland Transit Administration is a state-operated mass transit administration in Maryland, and is part of the Maryland Department of Transportation. It is better known as MTA Maryland to avoid confusion with other cities' transit agencies who share the initials MTA. The MTA operates a...
and Charm City Circulator
Charm City Circulator
The Charm City Circulator is a privately funded, public transit shuttle bus service giving riders free connection to historic sites, parking, and businesses throughout downtown Baltimore for free. The newest system in Maryland was established in 2008, but did not begin inaugural service until...
. The city has a comprehensive bus
MTA Maryland Local Bus
The Maryland Transit Administration provides the primary public bus service for the Baltimore Metropolitan Area and commuter bus service in other parts of the state of Maryland...
network, a small light rail network
Baltimore Light Rail
The Maryland Transit Administration Light Rail is a light rail system serving Baltimore, Maryland, United States, and the surrounding suburbs.In downtown Baltimore it uses city streets...
connecting Hunt Valley
Hunt Valley, Maryland
Hunt Valley is an affluent unincorporated community in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It lies just north of the city of Baltimore, along Highway 145 off Interstate 83. Loch Raven Reservoir...
in the north to BWI airport
Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport
Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport is an international airport serving the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in the United States. It is commonly called BWI, BWI Airport or BWI Marshall, BWI being an initialism for "Baltimore/Washington International" and the...
and Cromwell in the south, and a subway line between Owings Mills
Owings Mills, Maryland
Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Baltimore. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall....
and Johns Hopkins Hospital. A proposed rail line, known as the Red Line
Red Line (Baltimore)
The Red Line is a proposed east-west mass transit light rail line for Baltimore, Maryland. It is still in the planning stages and has been granted federal approval to enter the preliminary engineering phase...
, which would link the Social Security Administration to Johns Hopkins Bayview and perhaps the Canton and Dundalk
Dundalk, Maryland
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 62,306 people, 24,772 households, and 16,968 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 4,689.5 people per square mile . There were 26,385 housing units at an average density of 1,985.9 per square mile...
communities, is under study as of 2007; a proposal to extend Baltimore's existing subway line to Morgan State University
Morgan State University
Morgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
, known as the Green Line
Green Line (Baltimore)
The Green Line is a proposed mass transit line for the Baltimore, Maryland area in the United States. It is still in the planning stages and its construction is not guaranteed.-Concept:...
, is in the planning stages.
The Charm City Circulator
Charm City Circulator
The Charm City Circulator is a privately funded, public transit shuttle bus service giving riders free connection to historic sites, parking, and businesses throughout downtown Baltimore for free. The newest system in Maryland was established in 2008, but did not begin inaugural service until...
a.k.a. CCC, a shuttlebus service operated by Veolia Transportation for the Baltimore Department of Transportation, began operating in the downtown area in January 2010. Funded partly by a 16 percent increase in the city's parking fees, the circulator provides free bus service seven days a week, picking up passengers every 15 minutes at designated stops during service hours.
The CCC's first bus line, the Orange route, travels between Hollins Market and Harbor East. Its Purple route, launched June 7, 2010, operates between Penn Station and Federal Hill. The Green route,
the next bus line due for the circulator, will run between Johns Hopkins and City Hall.
The Charm City Circulator operates a fleet of Diesel and Hybrid vehicles built by DesignLine, Orion, and Vanhool.
Walkability
A 2011 study by Walk Score ranked Baltimore the 14th most walkable of fifty largest U.S. cities.Port of Baltimore
Locust Point, Baltimore
Locust Point is a peninsular neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland. Located in South Baltimore, the neighborhood is entirely surrounded by the Locust Point Industrial Area; the traditional boundaries are Lawrence street to the west and the Patapsco River to the north, south, and east...
as the port of entry
Port of entry
In general, a port of entry is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has a staff of people who check passports and visas and inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. International airports are usually ports of entry, as are road and rail crossings on a...
for the tobacco trade with England. Fells Point, the deepest point in the natural harbor, soon became the colony's main ship building center, later on becoming leader in the construction of clipper ships. After the founding of Baltimore, mills were built behind the wharves. The California Gold Rush
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
led to many orders for fast vessels; many overland pioneers also relied upon canned goods from Baltimore. After the civil war, a coffee ship was designed here for trade with Brazil. At the end of the nineteenth century, European ship lines had terminals for immigrants. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was one of the oldest railroads in the United States and the first common carrier railroad. It came into being mostly because the city of Baltimore wanted to compete with the newly constructed Erie Canal and another canal being proposed by Pennsylvania, which...
made the port a major transshipment
Transshipment
Transshipment or Transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, and then from there to yet another destination....
point.
Currently the port has major roll-on roll-off facilities, as well as bulk facilities, especially steel handling.
Water taxis also operate in the Inner Harbor. Governor Ehrlich participated in naming the port after Helen Delich Bentley
Helen Delich Bentley
Helen Delich Bentley is an American politician and a former Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of Maryland .-Life and career:...
during the 300th anniversary of the port.
In 2007, Duke Realty Corporation began a new development near the Port of Baltimore, named the Chesapeake Commerce Center. This new industrial park is located on the site of a former General Motors plant. The total project comprises 184 acre (0.74462224 km²) in eastern Baltimore City and the site will yield 2800000 square feet (260,128.5 m²) of warehouse/distribution and office space. Chesapeake Commerce Center has direct access to two major Interstate Highways (I-95 and I-895) and is located adjacent to two of the major Port of Baltimore Terminals. The Port of Baltimore is one of two seaports on the U.S. east coast with a 50 feet (15.2 m) dredge to accommodate the largest shipping vessels.
Colleges and universities
Baltimore is the home of numerous places of higher learning, both public and private. Among them are:Private
- Baltimore International CollegeBaltimore International CollegeThe Baltimore International College , founded in 1972, is a private, non-profit college located in Baltimore, Maryland, that grants specialized degree programs in Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management...
(BIC) - College of Notre Dame of MarylandCollege of Notre Dame of MarylandNotre Dame of Maryland University is an independent, Catholic-affiliated, liberal arts college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, that primarily serves female students.-History:...
(CND or NDM) - The Johns Hopkins University (JHU)
- Loyola University Maryland (LUM)
- Maryland Institute College of ArtMaryland Institute College of ArtMaryland Institute College of Art is an art and design college in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. It was founded in 1826 as the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts, making it one of the first and oldest art colleges in the United States. In 2008, MICA was ranked #2 in the nation...
(MICA) - Peabody InstitutePeabody InstituteThe Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a renowned conservatory and preparatory school located in the Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland at the corner of Charles and Monument Streets at Mount Vernon Place.-History:...
of the Johns Hopkins University - Sojourner-Douglass CollegeSojourner-Douglass CollegeSojourner–Douglass College is a private institution of higher learning with an Afrocentric focus headquartered Baltimore, Maryland, in the United States....
Public
- Baltimore City Community CollegeBaltimore City Community CollegeBaltimore City Community College is a community college in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1947 and has about 7,200 students enrolled in one of its three campuses...
(BCCC) - Coppin State UniversityCoppin State UniversityCoppin State University is a historically black college located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It is part of the University System of Maryland...
- Morgan State UniversityMorgan State UniversityMorgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
(MSU) - University of BaltimoreUniversity of BaltimoreThe University of Baltimore , located in downtown Baltimore, Maryland in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood at 1420 N. Charles Street, is part of the University System of Maryland. Through the Freshman Initiative or Lower Division Initiative, UB has transformed from an upper division university to a...
(UB) - University of Maryland, BaltimoreUniversity of Maryland, BaltimoreUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore, was founded in 1807. It comprises some of the oldest professional schools in the nation and world. It is the original campus of the University System of Maryland. Located on 60 acres in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, it is part of the University System of Maryland...
(UMB, formerly UMAB)
Primary and secondary schools
The city's public schools are operated by the Baltimore City Public School SystemBaltimore City Public Schools
The Baltimore City Public School System is a public school district in the state of Maryland, United States, that serves the youth in the city of Baltimore . Its headquarters are the Dr. Alice G...
and include the historic Frederick Douglass High School
Frederick Douglass Senior High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Frederick Douglass High School known locally as Douglass is a public high school located in Baltimore, Maryland, US. Established in 1883 as the Colored High and Training School, Douglass is the second oldest historically integrated public high school in the United States...
, which is the second oldest African American high school in the United States, Baltimore City College
Baltimore City College
The Baltimore City College , also referred to as The Castle on the Hill, historically as The College, and most commonly City, is a public high school in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. The City College curriculum includes the International Baccalaureate Programme and emphasizes study in the classics...
, the third oldest public high school in the country, and Western High School
Western High School (Baltimore, Maryland)
Western Senior High School is the oldest public all-girl high school in the United States. Part of the Baltimore City Public School System, Western was named a National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence in 2009.- History :...
, the oldest public all girls school in the nation. Baltimore City College (also known as "City") and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute is a US public high school founded in 1883. Though established as an all-male trade school,it now is a institution that emphasizes mathematics, the sciences, and engineering. It is located on a tract of land in North Baltimore at Falls Road and Cold Spring Lane,...
(also known as "Poly") share the nation's second-oldest high school football rivalry
Baltimore City College football
The Baltimore City College football team, known as the "Knights", or formerly, the "Collegians" or "Alamedans", represents the Baltimore City College preparatory school of Baltimore, Maryland...
.
Media
Baltimore's main newspaper is The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
. It was sold by its Baltimore owners in 1986 to the Times Mirror Company, which was bought by the Tribune Company
Tribune Company
The Tribune Company is a large American multimedia corporation based in Chicago, Illinois. It is the nation's second-largest newspaper publisher, with ten daily newspapers and commuter tabloids including Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Hartford Courant, Orlando Sentinel, South Florida...
in 2000.
Like many cities well into the 20th Century, Baltimore was a two-newspaper town until the Baltimore News-American
Baltimore News-American
The Baltimore News-American was a Baltimore, Maryland, broadsheet newspaper with a continuous lineage of more than two hundred years of Baltimore newspapers. Its final edition was published on May 27, 1986.-History:...
ceased publication in 1986.
In 2006, The Baltimore Examiner
The Baltimore Examiner
The Baltimore Examiner was a free daily newspaper, one of the two big dailies in Baltimore, Maryland . It was launched in 2006 by the Philip Anschutz-owned Clarity Media Group as part of a national chain that includes The San Francisco Examiner and The Washington Examiner...
was launched to compete with The Sun. It was part of a national chain that includes The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner
The San Francisco Examiner is a U.S. daily newspaper. It has been published continuously in San Francisco, California, since the late 19th century.-19th century:...
and The Washington Examiner. In contrast to the paid subscription Sun, The Examiner was a free newspaper funded solely by advertisements. Unable to turn a profit and facing a deep recession, The Baltimore Examiner ceased publication on February 15, 2009.
Nielsen ranked Baltimore as the 26th-largest television market for the 2008–2009 viewing season and the 27th-largest for 2009–2010. Arbitron's Fall 2010 rankings identified Baltimore as the 22nd largest radio market.
Sports teams
Baseball
Baltimore has a long and storied baseball history, including the birth of Babe RuthBabe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...
in 1895. The original 19th century Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (19th century)
The Baltimore Orioles were a 19th-century American Association and National League team from 1882 to 1899. The club, which featured numerous future Hall of Famers, finished in first place three consecutive years and won the Temple Cup championship in 1896 and 1897...
were one of the most successful early franchises, featuring numerous hall of famers during its years of 1882–1899. Ruth played for the minor league Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles (minor league)
The city of Baltimore, Maryland has been home to two minor league baseball teams called the Baltimore Orioles.-Name history:"Orioles" is a traditional name for baseball clubs in Baltimore . It was used by major league teams from 1882 through 1899 in the American Association/National League and by...
team, which was active from 1903–1914. After playing one season in 1915 as the Richmond Climbers, the team returned the following year to Baltimore, where it played as the Orioles until 1953.
The team currently known as the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
has represented Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
locally since 1954 when the St. Louis Browns moved to the city of Baltimore. The Orioles advanced to the World Series in 1966, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1979 and 1983, winning three times (1966, 1970 and 1983), while making the playoffs all but one year (1972) from 1969 through 1974.
In 1995, local player (and later Hall of Famer) Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
broke Lou Gehrig
Lou Gehrig
Henry Louis "Lou" Gehrig , nicknamed "The Iron Horse" for his durability, was an American Major League Baseball first baseman. He played his entire 17-year baseball career for the New York Yankees . Gehrig set several major league records. He holds the record for most career grand slams...
's "unbreakable" streak of 2,130 consecutive games played, for which Ripken was named Sportsman of the Year
Sportsman of the Year
Since its inception in 1954, Sports Illustrated magazine has annually presented the "Sportsman of the Year" award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Americans are eligible, though in the past the...
by Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
magazine. Six former Orioles players, including Ripken (2007), and two of the team's managers have been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 25 Main Street in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests serving as the central point for the study of the history of baseball in the United States and beyond, the display of...
.
Area fans, such as Wild Bill Hagy
Wild Bill Hagy
William "Wild Bill" Hagy was an American baseball fan and cab driver from Dundalk, Maryland who led famous "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" chants during the late 1970s and early '80s from section 34 in the upper deck at Memorial Stadium....
, are known for their enthusiasm. Hagy, a cab driver from Dundalk, gained notoriety leading chants from the upper deck of the Memorial Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Baltimore)
Memorial Stadium was a sports stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, that formerly stood on 33rd Street on an over-sized block also bounded by Ellerslie Avenue , 36th Street , and Ednor Road...
during the 1970s and 1980s.
Football
After moving to Baltimore in 1953, the former Dallas Texans (NFL)Dallas Texans (NFL)
The Dallas Texans played in the National Football League for one season, 1952, with a record of 1–11.-History:After the 1951 NFL season, the financially troubled New York Yanks franchise were put on the market. Ted Collins had founded that franchise in 1944 as the Boston Yanks, moved it to New...
played as the Baltimore Colts until 1984. During this period, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...
set his unmatched record of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. The Colts advanced to the NFL Championship twice (1958 & 1959) and Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
twice (1969 & 1971), winning all except Super Bowl III in 1969. The team name previously belonged to an All American Football Conference which played in Baltimore 1947–1950, then folded after becoming an NFL franchise team in 1950. The team which took the name in 1953 left Baltimore for Indianapolis in 1984, where it became the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
.
The Baltimore Stallions
Baltimore Stallions
The Baltimore Stallions were a Canadian Football League team based in Baltimore, Maryland, which played the 1994 and 1995 seasons. They were the most successful American team in the Canadian Football League, having two winning seasons and a division title. In 1995 they became the only American team...
was an expansion professional football team that joined the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
in 1994. It remained in Baltimore for two seasons before relocating to Montreal after the 1995 season to become the Montreal Alouettes
Montreal Alouettes
The Montreal Alouettes are a Canadian Football League team based in Montreal, Quebec.The current franchise named the Alouettes moved to Montreal from Baltimore, Maryland, in 1996 where they had been known as the Baltimore Stallions...
. While playing for Baltimore, the team posted the best two season starts of any CFL expansion team ever, advancing to the Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
in both seasons. In its final season in Baltimore, the Stallions became the only U.S. based CFL team to win the Grey Cup, upsetting the heavily favored Calgary Stampeders
Calgary Stampeders
The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...
.
The NFL returned to Baltimore a year after the Stallions left, when the former Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
moved to Baltimore to become the Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens
The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
in 1996. Since then, the Ravens won a Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
championship in 2000, two division
AFC North
The American Football Conference North Division, or AFC North, is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference. It was created prior to the 1967 season as the NFL Century Division when the NFL split into four divisions...
championships (2003 and 2006), and appeared in two AFC Championship
AFC Championship Game
The American Football Conference Championship Game is one of the two final playoff matches of the National Football League, the largest professional American football league in the United States. The game is played on the penultimate Sunday in January and determines the champion of the American...
s (2000 & 2009).
Baltimore has two women's American football
Women's American football
Women have begun playing full-contact American football. Most leagues play by the same rules as their male counterparts, with one exception: women's leagues use a slightly smaller football. Women primarily play on a semi-professional or amateur level in the United States...
teams: the Baltimore Burn
Baltimore Burn
The Baltimore Burn is a women's American football team in the Women's Spring Football League . Formerly a member of the National Women's Football League The Baltimore Burn is a women's American football team in the Women's Spring Football League (2011). Formerly a member of the National Women's...
(founded 2001) and the Baltimore Nighthawks
Baltimore Nighthawks
The Baltimore Nighthawks are a football team in the Independent Women's Football League. The Nighthawks played their inaugural game in Brooklandville at Martin D. Tullai Field...
(founded 2007). Both teams play at Art Modell Field.
The Baltimore Mariners
Baltimore Mariners
The Baltimore Mariners were an indoor football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The team was founded when the American Indoor Football Association expelled the Baltimore Blackbirds for negotiating with another league. The AIFA maintained the lease rights to 1st Mariner Arena, so the Mariners were...
, a franchise of the American Indoor Football Association, played at the 1st Mariner Arena
1st Mariner Arena
1st Mariner Arena is an arena located in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2003, it was renamed by 1st Mariner Bank, which purchased naming rights to the arena for 10 years. It was reported that 1st Mariner Bank will need to pay the city $75,000 for the next ten years to keep the naming rights to the complex...
from 2008 to 2010. After winning the AIFA championship to cap an undefeated season in 2010, the team folded over charges that owner Dwayne Wells purchased the franchise with embezzled funds.
Other teams and events
Baltimore Blast, a franchise of the Major Indoor Soccer League, has been playing at the 1st Mariner Arena since 1992. Originally known as Baltimore Spirit, the team changed its name in 1998. The current name was previously used by another indoor soccer team that played in Baltimore from 1980 to 1992. Since joining the MISL in 2001, Baltimore Blast has won 5 league championships: 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.Other professional or semi-professional Baltimore teams include Crystal Palace Baltimore, an outdoor soccer franchise of
USL Second Division
USL Second Division
The United Soccer Leagues Second Division was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, part of the United Soccer Leagues league pyramid...
since 2006; and the Charm City Roller Girls
Charm City Roller Girls
The Charm City Roller Girls is a member of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association WFTDA roller derby league based in Baltimore, Maryland. The league was established in 2005. It is composed of four local teams, one all-star travel team and a B travel team, Female Trouble...
, a franchise of the Women's Flat Track Derby Association
Women's Flat Track Derby Association
The Women's Flat Track Derby Association is an association of women's flat track roller derby leagues in the United States. The organization was founded in April 2004 as the United Leagues Coalition but was renamed in November 2005. It is registered in Raleigh, North Carolina as a 501 business...
since 2005.
Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
, the second jewel in the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
In the United States, the "Triple Crown" is usually the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, a series of three Thoroughbred horse races for three-year-old horses run in May and early June of each year consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.While Daily Racing Form...
, is held every May at Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
in Baltimore.
The Baltimore Grand Prix
Baltimore Grand Prix
The Baltimore Grand Prix is an IndyCar Series and American Le Mans Series race held on a street circuit in Baltimore, Maryland. The inaugural Baltimore Grand Prix was held September 4, 2011. The races are contested on a temporary street circuit around the Inner Harbor area of downtown Baltimore...
debuted along the streets of the Inner Harbor section of the city's downtown on September 2–4, 2011. The event played host to the American Le Mans Series
American Le Mans Series
The American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada. It consists of a series of endurance and sprint races, and was created in the spirit of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Teams compete in one of five classes: LMP1, LMP2 and LMPC...
on Saturday and the IndyCar Series
IndyCar Series
The IZOD IndyCar Series is the premier level of American open wheel racing. The current championship, founded by Indianapolis Motor Speedway owner Tony George, began in 1996 as a competitor to CART known as the Indy Racing League . Citing CART's increasing reliance on expensive machinery and...
on Sunday. Support races from smaller series were also held, including Indy Lights.
External links
- City of Baltimore official website
- Visit Baltimore – official Destination Marketing Organization
- Baltimore City Maps, historic maps at the Sheridan Libraries.