Downtown Baltimore
Encyclopedia
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...
area to the south. It consists of four neighborhoods: Westside, City Centre, Inner Harbor, and Camden Yards. It is the focal point of business in the Baltimore metropolitan area with over 100,000 employees. It has also increasingly become a heavily populated neighborhood with over 37,000 residents and new condominiums and apartment homes being built steadily.
Geography
City Centre is the historic financial district in Baltimore that has increasingly shifted eastward. Hundreds of businesses are found here, and it remains the center of life in Baltimore. City Centre is also home to the majority of Baltimore's skyscraperSkyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
s (including the massive Charles Centre district) as well as most of the planned, proposed and/or approved skyscrapers in Baltimore City. It includes the historic 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...
corridor.
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...
is the chief commercial and tourist destination in Baltimore, visited by over 13 million people a year. It was also voted as one of the ten most attractive vacation destinations in the world. Here are a large confluence of restaurants, clubs, retail and pavilions. In and around the harbor are proposals for what is planned to be Baltimore's tallest skyscraper, at 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...
, as well as several other buildings.
Westside Baltimore is the western portion of downtown Baltimore that includes Market Center and many of the newest developments in downtown Baltimore. It has increasingly become the preferred residential section of downtown. It is also home to the site of the "Superblock" project that will include hundreds of condos and apartments as well as a variety of retail and commercial space. The former home of Baltimore's many and famed department stores, Westside Baltimore is now anchored by 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...
consisting of the University of Maryland Health System, University of Maryland School of Law
University of Maryland School of Law
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law is the second-oldest law school in the United States by date of establishment and third-oldest by date of first classes. The school is located on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore in Downtown Baltimore's West Side...
and the University of Maryland Biopark. The Westside is also home to several performing arts centers, including the Hippodrome Theatre, 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...
and the future home of the Everyman Theatre.
Mt. Vernon, also known as the cultural district, is a high-density area known for its attractive nightlife, buoyed by its large amount of bars, clubs and lounges and its historic multi-story townhomes (most of which have been transformed into apartments) and traditional apartment buildings. In Mt. Vernon are 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...
, home of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore 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...
, and 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 world-renowned 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:...
is also located in Mt. Vernon. To the very north is 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...
, which offers 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...
service to most US cities and MARC
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...
service to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The last section of downtown Baltimore is Camden Yards. This includes the Camden Yards ballpark
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...
, home to 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 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...
, home of 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...
. Many residential and commercial proposals have also been made for this area.
History
Downtown Baltimore has been the center of city life since Baltimore was chartered in 1796.The Pratt Street Power Plant
Pratt Street Power Plant
Pratt Street Power Plant, also known as the Pier Four Power Plant, The Power Plant, or Pratt Street Station, is a historic power plant located in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
was built in 1900. In 1904, downtown Baltimore was almost destroyed by a huge fire
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...
with damages estimated at $150 million. In 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew
Spiro Agnew
Spiro Theodore Agnew was the 39th Vice President of the United States , serving under President Richard Nixon, and the 55th Governor of Maryland...
resigned from the vice-presidency in the Garmatz Federal Office Building at Charles Centre.
Attractions
- HarborplaceHarborplaceHarborplace 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....
- National Aquarium in BaltimoreNational Aquarium in BaltimoreThe 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...
- Power Plant Live!Power Plant Live!Power Plant Live! is a collection of bars, clubs, and other businesses in the Inner Harbor section of downtown Baltimore, Maryland. It was developed by the Cordish Company and opened in phases during 2001, 2002, and 2003. The entertainment complex gets its name from the nearby "Power Plant"...
- Basilica of the AssumptionBasilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin MaryThe 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...
- Walters Art MuseumWalters Art MuseumThe 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...
- 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:...
Transportation
Downtown Baltimore offers many options for transportation, including subway/light train, bus service, MARC TrainMARC 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...
service through Penn Station and Camden Station as well as access to 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....
, 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...
, I-95
Interstate 95 in Maryland
Interstate 95 in Maryland is a major highway that runs diagonally from northeast to southwest, from Maryland's border with Delaware, to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, briefly entering the District of Columbia before reaching Virginia...
, 295, and 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,...
.