Baltimore
In 1706, the colonial General Assembly of Maryland created the Port of Baltimore at old Whetstone Point, now Locust Point. This decision established a tobacco trade hub with Europe for the growing region. The Town of Baltimore was officially founded on the 8th of August 1729, when the Governor signed an act allowing construction north of the Patapsco River. Surveyors began laying out the town streets on the 12th of January 1730. By 1752, the settlement contained just 27 homes, including one church and two taverns. Jonestown and Fells Point had been settled to the east by this time. The three settlements eventually merged into a commercial hub designated as the county seat in 1768. Before European arrival, the land served as hunting grounds for Paleo-Indians since the 10th millennium BC. In the early 1600s, the Susquehannock people hunted there from their valley home along the lower Susquehanna River. These Iroquoian-speaking people controlled all upper tributaries of the Chesapeake but avoided contact with Powhatan tribes further south. Pressured by the Susquehannock, the Piscataway tribe stayed well south of the area. They inhabited primarily the north bank of the Potomac River in what are now Charles and southern Prince George's counties. European colonization began in earnest with the arrival of the merchant ship The Ark carrying 140 colonists at St. Clement's Island on the 25th of March 1634. Colonists then moved northward to settle what is now Baltimore County. The original county seat, known today as Old Baltimore, sat on the Bush River within present-day Aberdeen Proving Ground.
During the American Revolutionary War, city leaders like Jonathan Plowman Jr. led residents to resist British taxes. Merchants signed agreements refusing to trade with Britain. The Second Continental Congress met in the Henry Fite House from December 1776 to February 1777. This meeting effectively made Baltimore the capital of the United States during that brief period before the body returned to Philadelphia. The Battle of Baltimore was pivotal during the War of 1812. It culminated in the British bombardment of Fort McHenry. Francis Scott Key wrote a poem during this attack that became "The Star-Spangled Banner." The song was designated as the national anthem in 1931. In 1827, President John Quincy Adams gave a toast calling Baltimore "the Monumental City" after visiting. He noted no other large American city had even one substantial monument. Both the Battle Monument and Washington Monument were nearly finished by that time. The city pioneered gas lighting in 1816. Its population grew rapidly in the following decades alongside cultural development. By 1820, the population reached 60,000. The economy shifted from tobacco plantations to sawmilling, shipbuilding, and textile production. These industries benefited from war but successfully transitioned into infrastructure development during peacetime. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the nation's oldest, was built in 1830. It reinforced Baltimore's status as a transportation hub. Producers in the Midwest and Appalachia gained access to the city's port through this rail line.
Baltimore's Inner Harbor served as the second-leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States after New York's Ellis Island. This made the city a major manufacturing center. After heavy industry declined and the rail industry restructured, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy. Johns Hopkins Hospital and University are now the city's top employers. The Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings on the 7th of February 1904. Damages were estimated at $150 million in 1904 dollars. More than 70 blocks of downtown burned to the ground in just 30 hours. As the city rebuilt, lessons learned improved firefighting equipment standards. In the 20th of December 1910, the Baltimore Council passed an ordinance barring African-Americans from moving into the Eutaw Place neighborhood. Democratic Mayor J. Barry Mahool signed it into law. This segregation ordinance became the first of its kind in the United States. Many other southern cities followed with similar laws before the US Supreme Court ruled against them in Buchanan v. Warley in 1917. The relative size of the city's black population grew from 23.8% in 1950 to 46.4% in 1970. Driven by migration from the deep South and white suburbanization, this shift was nearly total by 1970. Real estate blockbusting techniques encouraged recently settled white areas to rapidly become all-black neighborhoods. The Baltimore riot of 1968 followed the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on the 4th of April 1968. Public order was not restored until the 12th of April 1968. The uprising cost the city an estimated $10 million. A total of 12,000 Maryland National Guard and federal troops were ordered into the city. By the beginning of the 1970s, downtown known as the Inner Harbor had been neglected. It was occupied by abandoned warehouses. The nickname "Charm City" emerged from a 1975 meeting of advertisers seeking to improve the city's reputation.
Baltimore exhibits examples from each period of architecture over more than two centuries. Work from architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, George A. Frederick, John Russell Pope, Mies van der Rohe, and I. M. Pei defines the skyline. The Baltimore Basilica stands between 1806 and 1821 as a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe. It is one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals in the United States. In 1813, Robert Cary Long Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale the first substantial structure designed expressly as a museum. Restored, it is now the Municipal Museum of Baltimore or popularly the Peale Museum. The Phoenix Shot Tower rose to 214 feet tall in 1828. It was the tallest building in the United States until the Civil War. Construction happened without exterior scaffolding once there were three such towers in Baltimore; now only a few remain globally. The Sun Iron Building, designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was the city's first iron-front building. It became a model for a whole generation of downtown structures. Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church, built in 1870, features stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany. The 1845 Greek Revival-style Lloyd Street Synagogue remains one of the oldest synagogues in the nation. I.M. Pei's World Trade Center opened in 1977 as the tallest equilateral pentagonal building at 440 feet. Streets are organized in a grid and spoke pattern lined with tens of thousands of rowhouses. These rowhouses mix brick and formstone facings. Formstone is a technology patented in 1937 by Albert Knight. John Waters characterized formstone as "the polyester of brick" in his 1972 documentary film Little Castles: A Formstone Phenomenon. In the mid-1790s, developers began building entire neighborhoods of rowhouses. They became the dominant house type early in the 19th century. A significant number of rowhouses from the early and mid-20th century were developed by Czech-American builder Frank Novak.
Baltimore is officially divided into nine geographical regions including North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, and Central. Each district has its own police patrol unit. Central Baltimore stretches north of the Inner Harbor up to Druid Hill Park. Downtown serves mainly as a commercial district but saw population grow 130 percent between 2000 and 2010. Old commercial properties replaced residential property during that decade. The northern portion of Central Baltimore holds many cultural opportunities. Maryland Institute College of Art, the Peabody Institute music conservatory, George Peabody Library, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Lyric Opera House, Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, Walters Art Museum, and Maryland Center for History and Culture all reside here. North Baltimore contains historic neighborhoods like Govans founded in 1755, Roland Park established in 1891, Guilford created in 1913, and Homeland built in 1924. Hampden, Woodberry, and Old Goucher also exist within this district. Along York Road corridor lie large neighborhoods such as Charles Village, Waverly, and Mount Washington. The Station North Arts and Entertainment District sits in North Baltimore too. South Baltimore includes Locust Point and Riverside around a large park of the same name. Federal Hill neighborhood lies just south of the Inner Harbor home to working professionals, pubs, and restaurants. Fort McHenry stands at the peninsula's end as a National Park since World War I ended. Northeast Baltimore is primarily residential and home to Morgan State University. It is bounded by city lines from 1919 on its northern and eastern boundaries. Sinclair Lane, Erdman Avenue, and Pulaski Highway form southern borders. The Alameda marks the western edge. East Baltimore mainly consists of residential neighborhoods below Sinclair Lane and above Orleans Street. This section houses Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and Johns Hopkins Children's Center on Broadway. Notable neighborhoods include Armistead Gardens, Broadway East, Barclay, Ellwood Park, Greenmount, and McElderry Park. Southeast Baltimore contains Patterson Park called "Best Backyard in Baltimore" plus Highlandtown Arts District and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. The Shops at Canton Crossing opened in 2013 along prime waterfront areas. Fells Point, Butchers Hill, Greektown, Little Italy, and Upper Fell's Point remain historic neighborhoods here.
Baltimore has a long baseball history including being birthplace of Babe Ruth in 1895. Original 19th century Baltimore Orioles were one of most successful early franchises featuring numerous hall of famers from 1882 to 1899. As one of eight inaugural American League franchises, they played during 1901 and 1902 seasons before moving to New York City. The team currently known as Baltimore Orioles represents Major League Baseball locally since 1954 when St. Louis Browns relocated. The Orioles advanced to World Series multiple times winning three championships in 1966, 1970, and 1983. In 1995, local player Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. Since 1992, the Orioles home ballpark has been Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It opened that year and is hailed as one league's best parks. Football history includes the All-America Football Conference team named Baltimore Colts playing three seasons from 1947 to 1949. When AAFC folded following 1949 season, assets moved to NFL for single year 1950 before going bankrupt. In 1953, Dallas Texans folded and Carroll Rosenbloom purchased its assets establishing new Baltimore Colts. During 1950s and 1960s, Colts were successful led by Johnny Unitas who set record of 47 consecutive games with touchdown pass. After 1983 season, team left for Indianapolis becoming Indianapolis Colts. NFL returned when Cleveland Browns personnel moved to establish Baltimore Ravens in 1996. Ravens won Super Bowl championships in 2000 and 2012 plus eight AFC North division titles through 2024. The city also hosted Canadian Football League franchise Baltimore Stallions for 1994 and 1995 seasons. Once predominantly industrial town focused on steel processing shipping auto manufacturing General Motors Baltimore Assembly and transportation experienced deindustrialization costing tens thousands low-skill high-wage jobs. Baltimore now relies on low-wage service economy accounting for 31% of jobs. Around turn of 20th century leading US manufacturer rye whiskey straw hats emerged. City led refining crude oil brought pipeline from Pennsylvania. Tech sector rapidly growing as metro ranks eighth CBRE Tech Talent Report among fifty metros for high growth rate number tech professionals. Forbes ranked fourth America's new tech hot spots in 2013. Home to Johns Hopkins Hospital other large companies include Under Armour BRT Laboratories Cordish Company Legg Mason McCormick Company T. Rowe Price Royal Farms.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was the Town of Baltimore officially founded?
The Town of Baltimore was officially founded on the 8th of August 1729 when the Governor signed an act allowing construction north of the Patapsco River. Surveyors began laying out the town streets on the 12th of January 1730.
What happened during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814?
The British bombarded Fort McHenry during the War of 1812 which led Francis Scott Key to write a poem that became The Star-Spangled Banner. The song was designated as the national anthem in 1931.
Who created the Port of Baltimore and when did it open?
The colonial General Assembly of Maryland created the Port of Baltimore at old Whetstone Point in 1706. This decision established a tobacco trade hub with Europe for the growing region.
Why is Baltimore known as Charm City?
The nickname Charm City emerged from a 1975 meeting of advertisers seeking to improve the city's reputation. It replaced the previous image of the city after decades of neglect following deindustrialization.
When did the Great Baltimore Fire occur and what were its damages?
The Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings on the 7th of February 1904. Damages were estimated at $150 million in 1904 dollars while more than 70 blocks of downtown burned to the ground in just 30 hours.