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Place Name
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Baltimore
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Place Status (Type)
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city
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Population
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736,014 (1990)
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Location
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Baltimore County, Maryland (MD), United States, North America
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Latitude
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39°18'N
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Longitude
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76°37'W
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Baltimore
, city (1990 pop. 736,014), N Md., surrounded by but
politically independent of Baltimore co., on the Patapsco R. estuary,
an arm of Chesapeake Bay; 39°18'N 76°37'W. The largest city in the
state, it was named after George Calvert, the 1st Lord Baltimore, the
royal proprietor of Md., whose title came from his estates in Ireland.
It is a port of entry, a commercial and industrial center, an important
RR point, and a seaport with extensive anchorages and dock and storage
facilities. In 1991, in spite of serious decline from the 4th- to the
10th-busiest port in the nation, it still exported large amounts of
coal and grain, iron, steel, and copper prods. Among Baltimore's
leading industries are shipbuilding, sugar and food processing, oil
refining, and the mfg. of chemicals, steel, copper, clothing, and
aerospace equipment. The site was first surveyed in 1661, patented for
settlement in 1691, and offically founded in 1729. The
excellent harbor soon made Baltimore an important center for the
shipping of tobacco and grain. Shipbuilding, an early industry,
flourished during the Revolution and the War of 1812 with the fitting
out of many privateers. The famous Baltimore clippers were built in the
early 1800s. The nation's wars have played a large role in the city's
history. When the British occupied Philadelphia in 1777, Baltimore
became the meeting place of the Continental Congress. In the War of
1812, the gallant defense of Fort McHenry inspired Francis Scott Key to
write “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Baltimore experienced a
phenomenal growth in the early 19th cent., largely because of the Natl.
Road, connecting the port of entry to the West. When the Erie Canal
(completed in 1825) endangered the city's hold on the trans-Allegheny
traffic, Baltimore businessmen chartered (1827) the Baltimore
and Ohio RR to meet the competition of N.Y. city as a new ocean outlet
for the West. During the Civil War, Baltimore was strongly pro-Southern
in sentiment; the 6th Mass. Regiment, passing through the city in April
1861, was attacked by a mob. In both World Wars, Baltimore was an
important shipbuilding and supply-shipping center. A disastrous fire in
1904 destroyed almost the entire downtown sect. but enabled the
emergence of a more beautiful and better planned city. During much of
the 1960s and 1970s, Baltimore decayed rapidly, losing pop. (over
200,000 left the city bet. 1960 and 1990) and commerce, largely to
neighboring suburbs, which boomed. The city engaged in vigorous urban
development projects during the late 1970s and 1980s. These included
the construction of Harborplace (a marketplace containing shops and
restaurants) in the Inner Harbor area, along with an aquarium, hotels,
a convention center, apartment bldgs., and condominiums. Several old
neighborhoods were also restored, and in 1983 a rapid transit line to
the suburbs was opened. The redevelopment, however, resulted in the
displacement of many older, poorer residents. In 1984, the Colts,
Baltimore's professional football team, abruptly moved to
Indianapolis. In 1996 the Cleveland Browns professional football team
relocated to Baltimore with a new name, the Baltimore Ravens. In 1992,
the Orioles, Baltimore's professional baseball team, moved from
Memorial Stadium (which had also housed the Colts) to Oriole Park at
Camden Yards, which was built especially for baseball. Many of the
city's famous residential streets of red brick houses with scrubbed
white steps still exist, as do a variety of ethnic neighborhoods. An
important cultural and educational center, Baltimore is the seat of the
Johns Hopkins Univ. with its famous medical center; the Univ. of
Baltimore; St. John's Seminary and Univ.; Loyola Col.; Col. of Notre
Dame of Md.; Coppin State Col., a branch of the Univ. of Md. with
schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, law, and social
work; and the Community Col. of Baltimore. The Natl. Assn. for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) moved its hq. from N.Y. city to
Baltimore in 1986. Also in Baltimore are the Peabody Conservatory of
Music, the Md. Col. of Art, the Md. Acad. of Sciences, the Walters Art
Gall., and the Baltimore Mus. of Art. The Enoch Pratt Free Lib. and the
municipal symphony orchestra are well known. The city's many
historical attractions include Flag House (c.1793) where Mary
Pickersgill made the huge Star Spangled Banner which flew over Fort
McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key; the Basilica of the Assumption,
the 1st R.C. cathedral in the U.S. (1806-1821; designed by Benjamin H.
Latrobe, who also superintended construction of the U.S. Capitol); the
Edgar Allan Poe House (c.1830); Westminster Churchyard where Poe is
buried; Fort McHenry Natl. Monument and Historic Shrine; the Baltimore
and Ohio Transportation Mus.; and numerous colonial homes. The U.S.S.
Constellation, a natl. historic shrine, is docked in Baltimore; it was
the 1st U.S. Navy ship (1797) and is the oldest Navy ship still afloat.
Other landmarks are the historic sq. Mt. Vernon Place, which contains
the 1st national George Washington Monument (1815-1842; designed by
Robert Mills, who also drew the plans for the better-known Washington
Monument in D.C); Druid Hill Park, with a zoo and a natural history
mus.; and Pimlico Race Course, site of the famous Preakness, held
annually since 1873. Baltimore-Washington Internatl. Airport is nearby.
H.L. Mencken and Babe Ruth were b. in Baltimore. Inc. 1745.
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