Baltimore World Trade Center
Encyclopedia
Located on the Inner Harbor
of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular
pentagonal building (the pentagonal JPMorgan Chase Tower
in Houston, Texas
is taller, but is not regular). It was designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
, with the principal architects being Henry N. Cobb
and Pershing Wong.
Planning and design of the building began in April 1966. Construction started in October 1973. The building was completed in January 1977 at a cost of $22 million.
Rising 405 ft (123.4 m) above the one-acre plaza where it stands between Pratt Street and the harbor, the building is 30 stories
tall when its basement, lobby level and upper utility level are included in the count. Gross floor space covers 422000 sq ft (39,205.1 m²). Major building components include 309000 sq ft (28,707 m²) of office floors, a lobby of 13000 sq ft (1,207.7 m²), a basement of 20800 sq ft (1,932.4 m²) and 38000 sq ft (3,530.3 m²) of ground level plaza.
The landmark tower houses the headquarters of the Maryland Port Administration, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
and the World Trade Center Institute. The World Trade Center Institute
is a member of the World Trade Centers Association and operates as a private, non-profit international business membership organization.
In the base at each of the building's five recessed corners, 4,500-watt xenon spotlights dramatically illuminate the building at night, from the ground up, with oversized parabolic mirrors at the top of the
five corners then reflecting the light outward in brilliant V-shaped beams. The "beacon" effect was loosely inspired by lighthouses found along the Chesapeake Bay. This signature lighting scheme, designed by
Ray Grenald, is visible in the Baltimore skyline from seven to 10 miles away under favorable weather conditions. Installed in 1994, the xenon lighting system replaced 1,000-watt incandescent lamps originally installed at the base of the building, which illuminated only the first three floors.
Observation deck visiting hours
September 8 - December 31, 2010
January 1 - March 31, 2011
in New York City
, Baltimore's World Trade Center was evacuated and closed. This was a response to a "credible" threat that the Baltimore building would also be attacked. A resident of southwest Baltimore was arrested that night and accused of giving the police a false warning.
Unsubstantiated bomb threats received on September 12 and September 14 further contributed to security concerns at the building. A temporary barrier of concrete walls was erected around the brick plaza between the building and Pratt Street, closing the area to pedestrian and vehicle access. Four barges were moved to the building's harbor side to protect it from attack by boats.
Due to the building's name and its prominent location on Baltimore's skyline, state officials presumed that a similar attack on other American cities would likely target the Baltimore World Trade Center. Their response was criticized, because "such drastic steps" were not taken at world trade center buildings in other cities. As security was relaxed later in the year, the concrete barriers and barges were removed.
The exterior lighting system was turned off and remained dark until the end of 2007. The waterfront walkway beneath the building, an extension of the Harborplace
promenade, is now only open to the public during daylight hours.
the tenth anniversary of the attacks. The memorial structure includes three 22-foot long steel beams from the New York World Trade Center, which were part of the 94th to 96th floors of the north
tower. Twisted and fused together, the steel beams and damaged limestone pieces from the Pentagon’s west wall rest atop marble blocks bearing the names and birthdays of the 68 Marylanders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Windows on the top floor of the Baltimore World Trade Center are marked with all of the names of the September 11 attack victims.
Inscriptions on the marble platform, describing the events of the September 11 attacks, are arranged so that the building's shadow moves across them like a sundial. On September 11 each year, the shadow touches each inscription at the time that event occurred.
. The second exhibit memorializes the passengers of Flight 93 with a smooth, glossy granite block.
The memorial was designed by the Baltimore architectural firm of Ziger/Snead and paid for by donations.
flooded the Baltimore World Trade Center's basement with 3 million USgals (11,356.2 m³) of water in September 2003, destroying electrical, mechanical and telecommunications equipment serving the entire building, located there. The building remained closed for clean-up for more than a month after the hurricane struck, displacing 60 tenants.
favored selling the Baltimore World Trade Center. Governor O'Malley chose to maintain state ownership.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, the Baltimore World Trade Center incurred an operating loss of $2.3 million. This was due to an occupancy rate that had declined to 43 percent by March 2008. A low occupancy level was expected "to make it easier to sell."
The Maryland Board of Public Works took two important steps in 2007 and 2008 toward improving occupancy at the World Trade Center: streamlining lease approvals and hiring an agent. In December 2007, the Board delegated its lease approval authority to the Secretary of Transportation. Meridian Management Corp. was awarded a 5-year contract, beginning on June 10, 2008, to serve as the World Trade Center's leasing agent. Meridian's contract, approved by the Board of Public Works on May 21, 2008, also includes operation and maintenance of the building.
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...
of Baltimore, Maryland, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular
Regular polygon
A regular polygon is a polygon that is equiangular and equilateral . Regular polygons may be convex or star.-General properties:...
pentagonal building (the pentagonal JPMorgan Chase Tower
JPMorgan Chase Tower (Houston)
JPMorgan Chase Tower, formerly Texas Commerce Tower, is a , 75-story skyscraper in Houston, Texas. It is currently the tallest building in the city, the tallest building in Texas, the tallest five-sided building in the world, 12th tallest building in the United States, and the 54th tallest building...
in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
is taller, but is not regular). It was designed by the architectural firm Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an architectural firm that was founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei as I. M. Pei & Associates, in 1966 called I. M. Pei & Partners, and received its current name and organization in 1989. The founders were I. M. Pei, Henry N. Cobb, and Eason H. Leonard. Pei and Leonard retired...
, with the principal architects being Henry N. Cobb
Henry N. Cobb
Henry N. Cobb is an American architect and founding partner with I.M. Pei of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an international architectural firm based in New York City....
and Pershing Wong.
Planning and design of the building began in April 1966. Construction started in October 1973. The building was completed in January 1977 at a cost of $22 million.
Rising 405 ft (123.4 m) above the one-acre plaza where it stands between Pratt Street and the harbor, the building is 30 stories
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
tall when its basement, lobby level and upper utility level are included in the count. Gross floor space covers 422000 sq ft (39,205.1 m²). Major building components include 309000 sq ft (28,707 m²) of office floors, a lobby of 13000 sq ft (1,207.7 m²), a basement of 20800 sq ft (1,932.4 m²) and 38000 sq ft (3,530.3 m²) of ground level plaza.
Significance of building's name
The building's name identifies its purpose of accommodating "activities and services devoted to the promotion of world trade" as required for licensing of this name by the World Trade Centers Association. Baltimore is one of 16 charter members of the World Trade Centers Association.The landmark tower houses the headquarters of the Maryland Port Administration, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
-Overview:The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development is a government agency in the state of Maryland in the United States...
and the World Trade Center Institute. The World Trade Center Institute
World Trade Center Institute
The World Trade Center Institute operates as a private, non-profit, and non-political membership organization located in the Baltimore World Trade Center building on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. Financed in cooperation with area businesses and the State of Maryland, WTCI’s mission is...
is a member of the World Trade Centers Association and operates as a private, non-profit international business membership organization.
Alignment and lighting
The building was positioned so that a corner points out towards the waters of the Inner Harbor, suggesting the prow of a ship. Perched at the Harbor's edge, the building appears to rise out of the water when viewed from certain vantage points. It presents a frontal plane toward the city, across a broad plaza between the building and Pratt Street.In the base at each of the building's five recessed corners, 4,500-watt xenon spotlights dramatically illuminate the building at night, from the ground up, with oversized parabolic mirrors at the top of the
five corners then reflecting the light outward in brilliant V-shaped beams. The "beacon" effect was loosely inspired by lighthouses found along the Chesapeake Bay. This signature lighting scheme, designed by
Ray Grenald, is visible in the Baltimore skyline from seven to 10 miles away under favorable weather conditions. Installed in 1994, the xenon lighting system replaced 1,000-watt incandescent lamps originally installed at the base of the building, which illuminated only the first three floors.
Top of the World
An observation deck on the 27th floor, called "Top of the World," provides a 360-degree view of the city. The observation deck is open to the public during daytime hours.Observation deck visiting hours
September 8 - December 31, 2010
- Wednesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
January 1 - March 31, 2011
- Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Impact of September 11 attacks
Two hours after the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade CenterWorld Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Baltimore's World Trade Center was evacuated and closed. This was a response to a "credible" threat that the Baltimore building would also be attacked. A resident of southwest Baltimore was arrested that night and accused of giving the police a false warning.
Unsubstantiated bomb threats received on September 12 and September 14 further contributed to security concerns at the building. A temporary barrier of concrete walls was erected around the brick plaza between the building and Pratt Street, closing the area to pedestrian and vehicle access. Four barges were moved to the building's harbor side to protect it from attack by boats.
Due to the building's name and its prominent location on Baltimore's skyline, state officials presumed that a similar attack on other American cities would likely target the Baltimore World Trade Center. Their response was criticized, because "such drastic steps" were not taken at world trade center buildings in other cities. As security was relaxed later in the year, the concrete barriers and barges were removed.
The exterior lighting system was turned off and remained dark until the end of 2007. The waterfront walkway beneath the building, an extension of the 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....
promenade, is now only open to the public during daylight hours.
September 11 memorial
A memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks, built on the pedestrain promenade of the Baltimore World Trade Center between the building and Pratt Street, was dedicated on September 11, 2011,the tenth anniversary of the attacks. The memorial structure includes three 22-foot long steel beams from the New York World Trade Center, which were part of the 94th to 96th floors of the north
tower. Twisted and fused together, the steel beams and damaged limestone pieces from the Pentagon’s west wall rest atop marble blocks bearing the names and birthdays of the 68 Marylanders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Windows on the top floor of the Baltimore World Trade Center are marked with all of the names of the September 11 attack victims.
Inscriptions on the marble platform, describing the events of the September 11 attacks, are arranged so that the building's shadow moves across them like a sundial. On September 11 each year, the shadow touches each inscription at the time that event occurred.
. The second exhibit memorializes the passengers of Flight 93 with a smooth, glossy granite block.
The memorial was designed by the Baltimore architectural firm of Ziger/Snead and paid for by donations.
Hurricane Isabel flooding
Hurricane IsabelHurricane Isabel
Hurricane Isabel was the costliest and deadliest hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. The ninth named storm, fifth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Isabel formed near the Cape Verde Islands from a tropical wave on September 6 in the tropical Atlantic Ocean...
flooded the Baltimore World Trade Center's basement with 3 million USgals (11,356.2 m³) of water in September 2003, destroying electrical, mechanical and telecommunications equipment serving the entire building, located there. The building remained closed for clean-up for more than a month after the hurricane struck, displacing 60 tenants.
State ownership of building
The building is owned by the Maryland Port Administration. As a result, there have been public discussions about whether it should be sold in debates over state budgets. In the "Maryland Transition" report to the incoming Governor Martin O'Malley in January 2007, the Transportation work group noted that former Governor Robert EhrlichRobert Ehrlich
Robert Leroy "Bob" Ehrlich, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, he became governor after defeating Democratic opponent Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, a member of the Kennedy family, 51% to 48% in the 2002 elections...
favored selling the Baltimore World Trade Center. Governor O'Malley chose to maintain state ownership.
During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, the Baltimore World Trade Center incurred an operating loss of $2.3 million. This was due to an occupancy rate that had declined to 43 percent by March 2008. A low occupancy level was expected "to make it easier to sell."
The Maryland Board of Public Works took two important steps in 2007 and 2008 toward improving occupancy at the World Trade Center: streamlining lease approvals and hiring an agent. In December 2007, the Board delegated its lease approval authority to the Secretary of Transportation. Meridian Management Corp. was awarded a 5-year contract, beginning on June 10, 2008, to serve as the World Trade Center's leasing agent. Meridian's contract, approved by the Board of Public Works on May 21, 2008, also includes operation and maintenance of the building.
Notable tenants
- Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
- Pride of BaltimorePride of BaltimoreThe Pride of Baltimore was an authentic reproduction of a 19th-century Baltimore clipper topsail schooner commissioned by citizens of Baltimore, Maryland. It was lost at sea with four of its twelve crew on May 14, 1986...
, Inc. - Maryland Port Administration
- World Trade Center InstituteWorld Trade Center InstituteThe World Trade Center Institute operates as a private, non-profit, and non-political membership organization located in the Baltimore World Trade Center building on the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, Maryland. Financed in cooperation with area businesses and the State of Maryland, WTCI’s mission is...
See also
- The PentagonThe PentagonThe Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
- World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
(ManhattanManhattanManhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
) - September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
- List of world trade centers
- World Trade Centers Association