Baltimore

Baltimore, nicknamed "Charm City" in the 1970s, is Maryland's largest city, though it is not the state capital. It is a major financial and commercial center for the mid-Atlantic region. Founded in 1729, the city was named for the Irish barony of the Lords Baltimore, the colonial proprietors of Maryland. Baltimore is located at the head of the Chesapeake Bay and has served as a deepwater port and transportation hub since colonial times. The city's shipyards have been famous since the nineteenth century, when they built the fast-sailing "Baltimore clippers."

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the city was a major entry port for immigrants, as well as a market for Western goods. Baltimore became a leading industrial city in the nineteenth century, but it experienced a major decline following World War II. Urban renewal came in the 1970s with the revitalization of the harbor district, known as the Inner Harbor. The Harborplace shopping center is now a major tourist attraction. Millions of visitors also come each year to enjoy Baltimore's historical sites, museums, and sports teams.

Baltimore is associated with many important events in the nation's history, including the composition of the "Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem, by Francis Scott Key. The song commemorates the flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British bombardment in the War of 1812. The city is also home to the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States, as well as the first official monument to President George Washington.

Landscape

Baltimore, lying near the border between North and South, has been described as a southern city in terms of culture but northern in terms of industry. This is due to the city's location on the fall line between the Piedmont plateau region and the Atlantic coastal plain. The Piedmont, lying to the west and north, is a hilly region that has historically supported wheat farming and industry; the Atlantic coastal plain, which extends south along the East Coast through Florida and includes the Tidewater region of southeast Virginia, had a slave economy based on tobacco farming. The fall line, representing the border at which these two landscapes meet, is crossed by multiple streams, including the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls, that flow rapidly southward from upper Baltimore County into Chesapeake Bay. Such sources of waterpower fostered the Industrial Revolution in Baltimore, even though it was the main city of a slaveholding state.

Baltimore covers an area of about 92 square miles (238 square kilometers). The harbor area consists of the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, totaling about 32 square miles (83 square kilometers). There are also several artificially created lakes and reservoirs around the city, the largest of which, Lake Montebello, covers over 54 acres. The second largest, Druid Lake, encompasses over 48 acres. Other large bodies of water are Lake Ashburton (29 acres) and Fort Armistead Lake (7 acres). The state of Maryland contains no natural lakes.

Baltimore Harbor is essentially a tidal bay off the larger Chesapeake Bay. It is located where the Patapsco River meets the Jones Falls and Gwynns Falls. Together, the Patapsco and Back Rivers form a watershed of around 630 square miles. This includes not only Baltimore City but parts of the surrounding counties (Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, and Howard) as well. The watershed supports several dozen varieties of fish, as well as oyster bars, despite rather poor water quality. Other bodies of water include a smaller bay, called Curtis Bay, as well as several small creeks.

Much of Baltimore lies at or near sea level—a fact that becomes of prime importance during hurricane season. During Hurricane Isabel in 2003, much of the city's waterfront, including the Inner Harbor, was submerged. The highest point in the city is 490 feet about sea level.

Baltimore's distinctive skyline includes many downtown skyscrapers, including the World Trade Center at the Inner Harbor. Other distinctive features include the famous row houses, or townhouses constructed largely of local red brick.

People

Baltimore's population declined substantially during the 1990s, reflecting the city's economic and social problems. The 1990 Census noted a population of 736,014; ten years later, the 2000 Census marked a decline to 651,154 inhabitants. In 2022, the US Census Bureau estimated a population of 569,931.

Baltimore's ethnic, racial, and religious diversity is a product of its "border state" past, as well as its status as a major port of entry. As Maryland was a slave state, the city has had a substantial African American population since the eighteenth century. As a border state, the city had a large free black population. During the middle and late nineteenth century, Baltimore also gained a huge German American population, whose famous figures included journalist H. L. Mencken. The Baltimore Germans' influence largely faded as a result of anti-German feeling during World War I. Other important ethnic groups that arrived in Baltimore during the nineteenth century include the Poles and the Italians, each of whom established their own ethnic neighborhoods.

Today, the city's population is largely Black, with a substantial White minority. As of 2022, the population was approximately 61.2 percent African American and 27 percent White. Of the remaining population, 2.6 percent were Asian or Asian American, and 4.4 percent were multiracial. Approximately 5.9 percent of the population self-identified as Hispanic or Latino.

The city has been the birthplace of many famous US cultural figures. Some, such as Mencken and filmmakers John Waters and Barry Levinson, have incorporated their Baltimore origins into their creative works. Mencken, for example, wrote extensively on his hometown's unique culture. Waters and Levinson have used Baltimore as the backdrop for many of their movies, including Waters's Hairspray (1988) and Levinson's Avalon (1990).

Other famous Baltimore natives include baseball legend Babe Ruth, whose father ran a tavern near the Camden Yards railroad terminal. The site is now covered by Orioles Park baseball stadium. Author Edgar Allen Poe, though not a native of Baltimore, spent a great deal of time in the city. His home, now the Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972.

Economy

Baltimore is a major East Coast financial and commercial center. It is also a major transportation hub, linking interstate highways, railroad terminals, and a deepwater port. The Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI), a major regional air hub, is located in neighboring Anne Arundel County, not far from the city limits. The Port of Baltimore, administered by the Maryland Port Administration (MPA), is a major center for container cargo. In 2022, the port generated about $3.3 billion in annual wages and more than $395 million in taxes and supported more than 154,000 jobs. The MPA also operates the city's World Trade Center, located on Pratt Street in the Inner Harbor district. Several major shipping lines are based there, as well as the MPA itself.

BWI brings several million visitors to the region each year. In financial year (FY) 2017, the airport generated a total of $9.3 billion in economic activity, as well as $591.9 million in state and local taxes, and supported 106,488 jobs in the Baltimore-Washington region. The 2017 report was the most recent as of 2024.

Tourism is also a major industry. Millions of people come to Baltimore each year to visit the historic Inner Harbor and other attractions such as the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, the B&O Railroad Museum, the Babe Ruth Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

Sports are another important economic sector. The city has two professional sports teams: the Baltimore Orioles baseball team and Baltimore Ravens football team. Baltimore is also home to Pimlico Race Course, home of the annual Preakness; the race is part of horse racing's famed "Triple Crown."

The city has a long history as a railroad center. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O), the nation's first public railroad, was founded in 1827 and began operation in 1830. The line connected Baltimore to western markets, such as Cincinnati and St. Louis, and helped make the city a major commercial center. It also helped make Baltimore a favorite destination for immigrants, because of easy access to the United States' interior. In 1963 the B&O was bought by Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O), which became part of CSX Transportation in 1980. The roundhouse at Baltimore's Mount Clare depot (completed 1884) is now the site of the B&O Railroad Museum.

Other major industries include manufacturing, food processing, refining, and shipbuilding. McCormick & Co., a major producer of spices and seasonings, has been a Baltimore fixture since 1889.

Baltimore has numerous newspapers, of which the main daily is the Baltimore Sun. Other major papers include the Daily Record, the Baltimore Afro-American, the Baltimore Chronicle, and the Baltimore Business Journal. The city is also a major broadcast market, with numerous radio and TV stations.

Landmarks

In addition to its downtown skyscrapers, the city takes its distinctive appearance from the thousands of brick row houses, with their immaculately clean white marble stoops. Row house residents often paint decorative scenes on their front screen doors, giving Baltimore neighborhoods a distinctively local appearance.

Baltimore's Inner Harbor underwent renewal in the 1970s, becoming a major tourist attraction with its Harborplace shopping plazas. The Inner Harbor is also home to the National Aquarium, the Maryland Science Center, and the historic US sailing vessel the USS Constellation.

One of Baltimore's most important connections to American history is Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, whose flying of the US flag in the War of 1812 inspired Francis Scott Key to write what would become the national anthem. Another important site is the city's Roman Catholic cathedral, the Basilica of the Assumption, completed in 1821. This was the first Roman Catholic cathedral in the United States.

The city was one of the first to establish a monument in honor of first US president George Washington. The monument, built in the early nineteenth century in Mount Vernon Square, features an equestrian statue of Washington on a high pillar.

There are numerous universities and colleges throughout the city. Some of the best known include Johns Hopkins University, one of the nation's earliest institutions of graduate study. The university's medical center and the University of Maryland's hospital are major centers of medical research.

Since the late 1970s, Johns Hopkins has been home to the world-famous music school the Peabody Institute. Founded in 1857 by philanthropist George Peabody, the institute provides degrees through its conservatory, and youth training through its preparatory school.

Other important educational institutions include several Catholic schools, the College of Notre Dame of Maryland and Loyola College, and the historically African American Coppin State College.

History

Baltimore, chartered in 1729, was named for the Irish barony of Maryland's colonial proprietors, the Calverts. The new community was established in order to provide a deepwater port and trading center on the upper Chesapeake. Baltimore was incorporated as a town in 1745 and as a city in 1796. However, Baltimore did not have its own municipal government until a few years before the Civil War. The city was governed by Baltimore County until the two were separated under the Maryland Constitution of 1851.

The town was founded to take advantage of the natural harbor, which offered deeper draft than did that of Annapolis. Though "Baltimore Town" grew slowly at first, by the late eighteenth century it had become a major center of commerce and shipbuilding. Baltimore even served as a temporary capital during the American Revolution, following the British seizure of Philadelphia in 1777.

The American Revolution also fostered Baltimore's shipbuilding industry, as the city became a major base for building and operating privateer vessels. This situation was repeated during the War of 1812, though the Royal Navy retaliated by sailing up the Chesapeake in 1814 and attacking Fort McHenry in Baltimore Harbor. Francis Scott Key made the fort famous by writing his poem "The Star-Spangled Banner" while watching the bombardment as a prisoner of war aboard a British vessel.

Baltimore took part in the nation's general economic boom after the War of 1812. By the 1820s, though, local businessmen were concerned that they were losing markets to New York State, which completed the Erie Canal in 1825. This east-west waterway offered the "Empire State" easy access to the western markets previously dominated by Baltimore. In order to counter this, Baltimore businessmen seized on a new technology: the railroad. In 1827, a group founded the B&O Railroad, the first public railway in the nation. One of the railroad's backers was Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence.

Initially, the line operated using horse-drawn carriages, and only as far as nearby Ellicott City. By the 1850s, however, the B&O was operating as far west as St. Louis, Missouri, and was one of the nation's largest rail carriers. It was an important railway line during the Civil War, carrying troops to the defense of Washington, DC, as well as supplies throughout the country.

Baltimore was strongly pro-South both before and during the Civil War, but commercial interests also tied the city strongly to the North and West. The city's crucial strategic position, as the transportation link to Washington, DC, was an incentive to keep Maryland in the Union. President-elect Abraham Lincoln felt obliged to pass through the city secretly in 1861, on his way to his first inauguration, because his security detail had warned of an assassination attempt. Riots broke out in April 1861, when Massachusetts troops passed through the city on their way to defend Washington. A month after this, Union general Benjamin Butler created a furor when he occupied Baltimore to ensure troop passage.

The post–Civil War years brought renewed prosperity, as well as an immense influx of immigration. The first immigrants were largely from northern European countries, such as Germany. The Germans strongly influenced the city's economic and social life, with numerous social clubs, beer halls, newspapers, and schools. This German influence explains, in part, Maryland's opposition to Prohibition during the 1920s and 1930s. Later in the nineteenth century, the immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe, from countries such as Italy and Poland. This labor force fueled the city's industrial growth.

But this growth did not extend equally to all groups, such as blacks and Jews. Race riots, or the threat of such, were a prominent part of Baltimore life during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Racial tensions resulted from African Americans' efforts to buy homes in "white-only neighborhoods." There were positive developments, however, including the establishment of African American schools such as Morgan College and Coppin College. Likewise, Baltimore's Jewish community developed its own charitable and educational institutions to overcome discrimination.

The Baltimore Fire of 1904 destroyed much of downtown (over 1,500 buildings, spread out over 140 acres) and most of the city's remaining colonial layout. Baltimore quickly rebuilt itself, however, and the post-fire city looked much like the pre-fire one. The fire also allowed city planners to establish a modern sewer system and a better street plan.

Baltimoreans began enjoying professional baseball in the late nineteenth century. The first Baltimore Orioles baseball club was founded in the 1880s as part of the American Association and later became part of the National League. The team moved to New York City in 1903, however, and became known as the New York Yankees. The Orioles were reestablished in 1954, when the St. Louis Browns moved to Baltimore.

Baltimore's status as a major shipbuilding center and commercial port began declining in the 1950s, as the nation's economy changed. Over the next two decades, until the 1970s, many residents fled Baltimore for the suburbs. The downtown and Inner Harbor in particular became decrepit. During the 1970s, however, Mayor William Donald Schaefer and others sought to revitalize the downtown district. A major sign of urban renewal was the development of the Harborplace shopping plaza. The Inner Harbor also gained the Maryland Science Center and the National Aquarium.

In January 1987, following Schaefer's election as governor of Maryland and his subsequent resignation from the position of mayor, Baltimore City Council president Clarence Henry "Du" Burns took over the role, becoming the city's first African American mayor. Later in 1987, he ran for a full term as mayor but was defeated in the Democratic primaries by Kurt Schmoke, who would go on to win the mayoral election, thus becoming Baltimore's first elected African American mayor (Burns had been appointed, not elected). Schmoke became nationally known for his efforts to curb Baltimore's drug problem by instituting a needle exchange program and advocating for drug decriminalization, among other initiatives.

In 2015, as incidents of police violence against African Americans became prominent in the news, Baltimore gained national attention with the death in police custody of Freddie Gray, a twenty-five-year old black man. The incident led to rioting in the city and ongoing debates about police-community relations.

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