| City of Baltimore |
|
Downtown from the northeast |
|
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| Nickname(s): Charm City,[1] Mob Town,[2][3] Crabtown, B-more, The City of Firsts,[4][5] Monument City,[6] B-Town,[7] Ravenstown[8] |
Motto: "The Greatest City in America",[9]
"Get in on it."[10]
(formerly "The City That Reads") |
|
Location of Baltimore in Maryland |
| Coordinates: 39°17′11″N 76°36′54″W / 39.28639, -76.615 |
| Country |
United States |
| State |
Maryland |
| Founded |
1729 |
| Incorporated |
1796 |
| Government |
| - Mayor |
Sheila Dixon (D) |
| Area |
| - City |
92.1 sq mi (238.5 km²) |
| - Land |
80.8 sq mi (209.3 km²) |
| - Water |
11.3 sq mi (29.2 km²) |
| Elevation |
33 ft (10 m) |
| Population (2007)[11] |
| - City |
637,455(20th) |
| - Density |
8,058.4/sq mi (3,039/km²) |
| - Urban |
2,178,000 |
| - Metro |
2,668,056 |
| |
2000 Urban figures |
| Time zone |
EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) |
EDT (UTC-4) |
| ZIP Code |
21201-21231, 21233-21237, 21239-21241, 21244, 21250-21252, 21263-21265, 21268, 21270, 21273-21275, 21278-21290, 21297-21298 |
| Area code(s) |
410, 443 |
| FIPS code |
24-04000 |
| GNIS feature ID |
0597040 |
| Website: www.baltimorecity.gov |
Baltimore (pronounced /bɒltɨmɔr/) is an independent city and the largest city in the state of Maryland in the United States. Baltimore is located in central Maryland at the head of the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay, and is approximately 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Washington D.C.. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is a major U.S. seaport and is situated closer to major Midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast. Baltimore's Inner Harbor has always remained a major asset, once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center. Today the harbor is home to Harborplace and the National Aquarium in Baltimore and is a successful example of Baltimore's ambitious efforts at renewal. Following the fall of many of its largest manufacturing industries, Baltimore has shifted primarily to a service sector-oriented economy, with the largest employer no longer Bethlehem Steel but Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital. Despite some successful revitalization Baltimore is still posed with many big-city challenges such as concentrated poverty and crime, and inadequate public education.
As of 2007, the population of Baltimore City was 637,455.[11] The Baltimore Metropolitan Area, which includes the city's surrounding suburbs, has approximately 2.6 million residents; the 20th largest in the country. Baltimore is also the largest city in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area of approximately 8.1 million residents. Because there is also a Baltimore County nearly surrounding (but not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City when a clear distinction is desired.
The city is named for Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords, the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore himself took his title from a place named Baltimore in Ireland, which is an Anglicized form of the Irish language Baile an Tí Mhóir,[12] meaning "Town of the Big House" and referring to the O'Driscoll castle that still dominates the town. The Irish-language name for Baltimore is that of the O'Driscoll castle, Dún na Séad ("Fort of the Jewels").
History
Battle Monument with Washington Monument in background
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Sixth Regiment fighting its way through the city, 20 July, 1877
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Same view in 1906, 2 years after the fire
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Downtown Baltimore's Pratt Street, 2005
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Looking West towards downtown Baltimore from Fayette St
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Baltimore from across the Patapsco River
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The Maryland colonial General Assembly created the Port of Baltimore at Locust Point in 1706 for the tobacco trade. The Town of Baltimore was founded on July 30, 1729, and is named after Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert, who became the First Lord Baltimore of County Cork, Ireland in 1625.[13]
The name "Baltimore", which the barons got from the town of Baltimore, County Cork, is an anglicisation of Irish words (Baile an Tí Mhóir) meaning "Town of the Big House",
18th century
Baltimore grew swiftly in the mid- to late 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean. The profit from sugar encouraged the cultivation of cane and the importation of food. Baltimore's shorter distance from the Caribbean, compared to other large port cities such as New York City and Boston, reduced transportation time and minimized the spoilage of flour.
Baltimore played a key part in events leading to and including the American Revolution. City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr. moved the city to join the resistance to British taxation. Baltimore joined other cities in protesting Boston's punishment by the British by banding together the merchants to sign agreements to not import from or export to Britain. Dr. John Stevenson and Jonathan Plowman Jr. made Baltimore a center for importation of indentured servants from England during the 1750s and 60's. Baltimore in 1773 was also the place where Customs officer Robert Moreton was chased out of town for trying to seize the ship Speedwell and its cargo. The story is that Mr. Moreton had ordered the captain to wait on offloading till after he came back. The merchants demanded their cargo and started off loading. When Mr. Moreton returned he declared the ship seized and went to Annapolis to file the paperwork. Upon his return the local merchants chased him and tarred and feathered two men who worked for him. Fearing for his life he first fled to Annapolis and later to Boston.
Baltimore Town, Jonestown, and Fells Point were incorporated as Baltimore in 1797, the year printed on the Seal of Baltimore.
19th century
During the War of 1812, the British declared Baltimore a "nest of Pirates."[14] The city's Fort McHenry came under attack by British forces near the harbor after the British had burned Washington, D.C. Known today as the Battle of Baltimore, U.S. forces won by repulsing joint land and naval attacks. Francis Scott Key, a local lawyer being held captive on a British ship near the fort, observed the bombardment and wrote what became "The Star-Spangled Banner" as a poem recounting the attack.
In the years that followed, Baltimore's population grew explosively, due to increased commerce not only abroad but more importantly with points west in the interior of the United States. The construction of the federally funded National Road (a route now followed by U.S. Route 40) and the privately funded Baltimore & Ohio Railroad made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center. As fortunes were made, the city's distinctive local culture started taking shape, and it started to develop a unique skyline peppered with churches and monuments. On an 1827 visit to the city, John Quincy Adams purportedly nicknamed it "Monument City"—a moniker that remained popular for well over a century.
Baltimore became an independent city in 1851, being separated from Baltimore County at that time.
Though it was a slave-holding state, by 1860 49.7 percent of blacks in the state were free. Many had ancestors who had been freed in the first decades after the Revolution, when the percentage of free blacks in the Upper South by 1810 went from 1 to more than 10 percent.[15] Maryland did not secede but remained part of the Union during the Civil War.
Slavery was outlawed in Maryland by the state Constitution of 1864. Secessionist sentiment led to the Baltimore riot of 1861, when Union soldiers marched through the city. After the riot, Union troops occupied Baltimore, and Maryland came under direct federal administration — in part, to prevent the state from seceding — until the end of the war in April 1865. This was considered a necessary move by the Union to prevent Washington, D.C., from being completely surrounded by seceded Confederate territory. The case Ex parte Merryman, written by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney (himself a Marylander), dealt with the habeas corpus rights of Marylanders jailed by the Abraham Lincoln administration and strongly rebuked Lincoln for his actions.
Following the Panic of 1873, deteriorating national economic conditions led to an attempt by the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad to reduce its workers wages, leading to the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, which started in Martinsburg, West Virginia. When Governor Carroll on July 20 called up the 5th and 6th Regiments of the National Guard to put down strikers who had disrupted train service in Cumberland, citizens attacked the troops as they marched from their armories to Camden Station.[16] The 6th Regiment fired on the crowd, killing 10 and wounding 25.[16] Rioters then damaged B&O train engines and cars and burned portions of the rail station.[16] Order was restored in the city on July 21–22 with the arrival of federal troops to protect railroad property, and which also were later used to end the strike.[16]
20th century
The Great Baltimore Fire on February 7, 1904, destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours and forced most of the city to rebuild. Immediately afterward, Mayor Robert McLane was quoted in the Baltimore News-Post newspaper as saying, "To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." He then refused assistance, stating "As head of this municipality, I cannot help but feel gratified by the sympathy and the offers of practical assistance which have been tendered to us. To them I have in general terms replied, 'Baltimore will take care of its own, thank you.'" (McLane committed suicide on May 30.[17]) Two years later, on September 10, 1906, the Baltimore American reported that the city had risen from the ashes and "one of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing."
The city grew in area through a series of annexations of new suburbs from the surrounding counties, the last being in 1918.[18] A state constitutional amendment approved in 1948, requiring a special vote of the citizens in any proposed annexation area, has effectively prevented future additions to the city.[18]
Baltimore's population peaked at 949,708 in the 1950 Census, which ranked it as the sixth-largest city in the country, behind Detroit, and ahead of Cleveland. For the next five decades, the city's population declined, bottoming out in 2000 at 636,251, while its suburbs grew dramatically, aided by new highways and housing development. In the 21st century, the city's population has stabilized and is rising, mostly due to revitalization efforts in many city neighborhoods. The mid-July 2006 Census estimate was 640,961.[19]
Sparked by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination in Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday, April 4, 1968, the Baltimore Riot of 1968 did not end until Friday, April 12, 1968. Coinciding with riots in other cities, the Baltimore riot yielded an estimated fourth of riot-related arrests nationwide and cost the city of Baltimore an estimated $8-$10 million. Maryland National Guard troops were stationed and 1,900 federal troops were ordered into the city. Lasting effects of the riot can be seen on the streets of North Avenue, Howard Street, and Pennsylvania Avenue where long stretches of the streets are barren of business. (A tie-in to this story is that Dr. King was scheduled to speak in Baltimore in March 1968 but instead went to Memphis, Tennessee to join the sanitation worker strike.)[20]
In recent years, efforts to redevelop the downtown area have led to a revitalization of the Inner Harbor. Up until the late 1970s, the harbor had been merely abandoned warehouses full of rats and rotting piers. In Baltimore's early days, the harbor was the landing destination for boats and ships bringing cargoes such as bananas, sugar, cocoa, and the like from all over the world. The Baltimore Convention Center was opened in 1979 and was renovated and expanded in 1996. Harborplace, a modern urban retail and restaurant complex, was opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and another cultural venue, the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball moved from Memorial Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards downtown, and six years later the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League moved next door into PSINet Stadium (later renamed M&T Bank Stadium following PSINet's bankruptcy).
On October 2, 1996, Baltimore became the first city in the United States to adopt 311 as a non-emergency "hot line" telephone number, in order to reserve the use of 911 for genuine emergencies. The concept has been highly successful, and numerous other U.S. municipalities have since implemented the practice.
21st century
In 2003, the Baltimore Development Corporation announced that three hotel projects were being reviewed. As of September 2006, the 756-room, $305 million Hilton hotel project is currently under construction west of the Baltimore Convention Center. The City of Baltimore hopes to have it finished and opened by August 2008. (See Baltimore Convention Center Hotel Project for more details regarding the convention center hotel.)
Also in 2003, on September 18, Hurricane Isabel brought flooding to Baltimore with a tidal surge, which affected primarily the Fells Point community, the Inner Harbor, and surrounding low areas. Many sites were flooded, including the sports center ESPN Zone, the Baltimore World Trade Center (which remained closed for approximately a month during cleanup efforts), and most of the Inner Harbor. Water levels rose some 20 feet (6 m) in areas, flooding underground parking garages and displacing thousands of cubic yards of trash and debris.
Since the early part of the 21st century, Baltimore has undergone a major building spree in the downtown area, specifically in the Inner Harbor East district. The skyline has extended and will continue to do so well into the next decade. ARC Wheeler, a Philadelphia-based developer has been approved to build a new hotel/condominium complex that will be the city's new tallest building, dubbed "10 Inner Harbor," approved at 59 stories and 750 ft (230 m) tall.[21][22] Other proposals for downtown skyscrapers are twin 65-story towers at sites on E. Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue, an 800 ft (240 m)+ tower and complex located on the banks of the Patapsco River's middle branch area, and a 50-story condo and hotel tower at 300 E. Pratt St.[23] Power Plant Live!, a collection of new bars and clubs and the popular concert venue Rams Head Live! located downtown has become a popular new destination in the Inner Harbor area. Since 2006, Virgin Festival has made its home in Baltimore at the Pimlico Race Course, drawing large crowds and popular music acts.
On January 17, 2007, Sheila Dixon became the first woman to hold the office of Mayor of Baltimore.[24] Formerly the president of the Baltimore City Council, Dixon became mayor when former Mayor Martin O'Malley resigned to become Governor of Maryland. Dixon was elected to a full term in November of 2007.
Geography
Topography
Baltimore is in the north central part of the state of Maryland, on the Patapsco River, 40 miles (60 km) northeast of Washington DC, very close to the Chesapeake Bay. The fall line, where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain, cuts through the western portion of the city, dividing Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city." Baltimore's City Hall lies approximately 34 feet (10.4 m) above sea level, with elevations in the city ranging from sea level to 480 feet (150 m) in the northwest corner.[25] According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 92.1 square miles (238.5 km²), of which, 80.8 square miles (209.3 km²) of it is land and 11.3 square miles (29.2 km²) of it is water. The total area is 12.240 percent water.
Baltimore's climate, with plentiful precipitation and a relatively long growing season, supports the presence of many different types of trees. Many species of trees thrive here and can be spotted throughout the city, including white oak, elm, maple, sycamore (Platanus occidentalis), southern live oakcitation needed, bradford pear, poplar, southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), several species of Hardy palms[26] and crepe myrtle. The city lies mostly in Plant Hardiness Zone 8, with a small portion of the northern and western city in zone 7.[27] The average date of first freeze in Baltimore is November 13, and the average last freeze is April 2.[28]
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is the 4th largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States, with an estimated population of 8,241,912. The Baltimore-Towson Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 20th largest MSA, with a population of 2,668,056.
1888 German map of Baltimore
Climate
Baltimore lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), according to the Köppen classification. The weather is moderated by the city's relative proximity to the ocean. The city gets relatively hot, humid summers and cool, moist winters.
July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average high temperature of 91 °F (32 °C) and an average low of 73 °F (22 °C).[29] Summer is also a season of very high humidity in the Baltimore area, with afternoon thunderstorms occurring regularly. The record high for Baltimore is 108 °F (42 °C), set in 1985. January is the coldest month, with an average high of 44 °F (6 °C) and an average low of 29 °F (-1 °C).[29] However, winter warm fronts can bring periods of springlike weather, and Arctic fronts can drop nighttime low temperatures into the teens. The record low temperature for Baltimore is -7 °F (-22 °C), set in 1934. Baltimore rarely experiences temperatures below 10 °F (−12 °C) or above 100 °F (38 °C). Due to an urban heat island effect in the city proper and a moderating effect of the Chesapeake Bay, the outlying, inland, and higher elevation parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually several degrees cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns.
As is typical in most East Coast cities, precipitation is generous, and very evenly spread throughout the year. Every month usually brings 3-4 inches of precipitation, averaging around 43 inches (1,100 mm) annually. Spring, summer, and fall bring frequent showers and thunderstorms, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Winter often brings lighter rain showers of longer duration, and generally less sunshine and more clouds. Snowfall can occur occasionally in the winter, with the average annual snowfall around 21 inches (53 cm). Baltimore averages only 2-3 snow events per year[30] In the northern and western suburbs, the climate begins to transition to continental, and thus winter snowfall amounts are usually higher, with some towns annually receiving 24-36 inches (61-91 cm).[31] Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in Baltimore, as warm air over rides cold air at the upper levels of the atmosphere. The cold air gets trapped against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain and or sleet.
The city lies in between two peculiar physical features that protect it from extreme weather and account for the relatively tempered seasons. The Appalachian Mountains protect central Maryland from much of the harsh northern winds and accompanying lake effect weather that bring subfreezing temperatures and heavy snows to the Great Lakes region, and the Delmarva Peninsula protects Baltimore from many of the tropical storms that affect the immediate coast.
-
-
-
-
- Average Monthly Temperatures and Precipitation for Baltimore, MD
| Month |
Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Apr |
May |
Jun |
Jul |
Aug |
Sep |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
Year |
Avg high °F
(°C) |
44
(7)
|
47
(8)
|
57
(14)
|
68
(20)
|
77
(25)
|
86
(30)
|
91
(33)
|
88
(31)
|
81
(27)
|
70
(21)
|
59
(15)
|
49
(9)
|
68
(20)
|
Avg low °F
(°C) |
29
(-1)
|
31
(0)
|
39
(4)
|
48
(9)
|
58
(14)
|
68
(20)
|
73
(23)
|
71
(22)
|
64
(18)
|
52
(11)
|
42
(6)
|
33
(1)
|
51
(11)
|
| Precipitation inches (mm) |
3.48 (88.4) |
3.07 (78.0) |
4.12 (104.6) |
3.06 (77.7) |
4.18 (106.2) |
3.28 (83.3) |
3.96 (100.6) |
4.05 (102.9) |
4.06 (103.1) |
3.19 (81.0) |
3.45 (87.6) |
3.60 (93.7) |
43.59 (1107.1)
|
Source: The Weather Channel[29]
Cityscape
A night time panorama of Baltimore's Inner Harbor.
Architecture
Washington Monument, in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore
Baltimore exhibits examples from each period of architecture over more than two centuries, and work from many famous architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, John Russell Pope, Mies Van Der Rohe and I.M. Pei.
The city has architecturally important buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica (1806-1821) is a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe, and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States. In 1813 Robert Cary Long, Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale the first substantial structure in the United States designed expressly as a museum. Restored, it is now the Municipal Museum of Baltimore, or popularly the “Peale Museum”. The McKim Free School founded and endowed by John McKim, although the building was erected by his son Isaac in 1822 after a design by William Howard and William Small. It reflects the popular interest in Greece when the nation was securing its independence, as well as a scholarly interest in recently published drawings of Athenian antiquities. The Phoenix Shot Tower (1828), at 215 feet (65.5 m) tall, was the tallest building in the United States until the time of the Civil war. It was constructed without the use of exterior scaffolding. The Sun Iron Building designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was city’s first iron-front building and it was a model for a whole generation of downtown buildings. The Johns Hopkins Hospital, designed by Lt. Col. John S. Billings in 1876 was a considerable achievement for its day in functional arrangement and fire proofing.
I.M.Pei's World Trade Center (1977) is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world at 405 feet (123.4 m) tall.
Future contributions to Baltimore's skyline include plans for a 717 foot (218.5 m) tall structure known as "10 Inner Harbor". The building was recently approved by Baltimore's design panel and will be completed around the year 2010. It will include luxury condominiums, a hotel, restaurants, and shopping centers. The Naing Corporation has approved a tower of 50-60 floors for the lot at 300 Pratt street, with the design currently being finalized. The Inner Harbor East area will see the addition of two new towers which have started construction: a 24-floor tower that will be the new world headquarters of Legg Mason, and a 44-floor Four Seasons Hotel complex.
The streets of Baltimore are organized in a grid pattern. The streets are lined with tens of thousands of brick and Formstone faced rowhouses. Many consider the rowhouse the architectural form most closely associated to the city. Some rowhouses are dated as far back as the 1790s.
Oriole Park at Camden Yards is considered by many to be the most beautiful baseball park in Major League Baseball, and has inspired many other cities to build their own versions of this Retro-Style Ballpark.
Camden Yards along with the National Aquarium have helped revive the Inner Harbor from what once was an industrial district full of dilapidated warehouses, into a bustling commercial district full of bars, restaurants and retail establishments.
Tallest buildings
-
Neighborhoods
-
Baltimore is officially divided into nine geographical regions: Northern, Northwestern, Northeastern, Western, Central, Eastern, Southern, Southwestern, and Southeastern, with each patrolled by a respective Baltimore Police Department district. However, it is not uncommon for locals to divide the city simply by East or West Baltimore, using Charles Street or I-83 as a dividing line, and/or into North and South using Baltimore Street as a dividing line.
The Central region of the city includes the Downtown area which is the location of Baltimore's main commercial area. Home to Harborplace, The Camden Yards Sports Complex (Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium), the Convention Center, and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the area also includes many nightclubs, bars and restaurants, shopping centers and various other attractions. It is also serves as the home to many of Baltimore's key business such as Legg Mason and Constellation Energy. In addition, the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus is housed in this area, with the long-associated University of Maryland Medical System adjacent to the school. The downtown core has mainly served as a commercial district with limited residential opportunities. However since 2002 the population in the downtown has doubled to 10,000 residents with a projection of 7,400 additional housing units coming available by 2012.[42] The Central region also includes the areas north of the downtown core stretching up to the edge of Druid Hill Park. Included in the more northern part of the Central region are the neighborhoods of Mount Vernon, Charles North, Reservoir Hill, Bolton Hill, Druid Heights, as well as several other neighborhoods. These neighborhoods include many residential options and are home to many of the city's cultural opportunities. Maryland Institute College of Art, the Peabody Institute of music, the Lyric Opera House, The Walters Art Museum, The Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, as well as several galleries are all located in this region.
The Northern region of the city lies directly north of the Central region and is bounded on the East by The Alameda and on the West by Pimlico Road is a suburban residential area home to many of the city's upper class residents in neighborhoods such as the Roland Park-Homewood-Guilford-Cedarcroft area. The Northern region is home to many of Baltimore's notable universities such as Loyola College, The Johns Hopkins University and College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
The Southern Region of the city, a mixed industrial and residential area, consists of the area of the city below the Inner Harbor east of the B&O railroad tracks. It is a mixed socio-economic region consisting of working class ethnically mixed neighborhoods such as Locust Point; the recently gentrified Federal Hill and Canton areas, home to many working professionals, pubs and restaurants; and low-income residential areas such as Cherry Hill.
The Eastern part of the city consists of the Northeastern, Eastern, and Southeastern regions of the city. Northeastern Baltimore is primarily a residential neighborhood home to Morgan State University bounded by the city line on its Northern and Eastern boundaries, Sinclair Lane, Erdman Avenue, and Pulaski Highway on its southern boundaries and The Alameda on its western boundaries. It has undergone demographic shifts over many years and remains a diverse but predominantly African American region of the city.[43][44][45]
The Eastern region is the heart of what is considered "East Baltimore" and is home to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Located below Erdman Avenue and Sinclair Lane above Orleans Street, it is almost an exclusively African American area home to low-income residential neighborhoods, several of which constitute many of Baltimore's high crime areas.
The Southeastern region of the city is located below Orleans Street bordering the Inner Harbor on its western boundary,the city line on its eastern boundaries and the Baltimore harbor on its southern boundaries is a mixed industrial and residential area. Home to many young professionals and working class people, it is an ethnically rich section of Baltimore home to many Polish Americans, Greek Americans, Italian Americans, African Americans and is also the center of the city's steadily growing Hispanic population.
The Western part of the city consists of the Northwestern, Western, and Southwestern regions of Baltimore. The Northwestern region of the city bounded by the county line on its northern and western boundaries, Gwynns Falls Parkway on the south and Pimlico Road on the East is a predominantly residential area home to Pimlico Race Course, Sinai Hospital and several of Baltimore's Synagogues. Once the center of Baltimore's Jewish community, it has undergone white flight since the 1960s and has become an almost exclusively African American area. It is home to many suburban residential areas primarily located above Northern Parkway and several lower-income areas below Northern parkway.
The Western region of the city located west of downtown is the heart of "West Baltimore" bounded by Gwynns Falls Parkway, Fremont Avenue, and Baltimore Street. Home to Coppin State University and Pennsylvania Avenue, it has been the center of Baltimore's African American culture for years home to many of the city's historical African American neighborhoods and landmarks. Once home to many middle to upper class African Americans, over the years, the more affluent African American residents have since left migrating to other sections of the city in addition to areas such as Randallstown and Owings Mills in Baltimore County and Columbia in Howard County. The area now constitutes a deprived socio-economic group of African American residents and like "East Baltimore", it is known for its high crime rates. Television series, such as The Wire, that concern themselves with Baltimore's crime problems have been based on events that took place in West Baltimore.
The Southwestern region of the city is bounded by Baltimore County to the west, Baltimore Street to the north, and downtown and the B&O railroad to the east. A mixed industrial and residential area, it has gradually shifted from having a predominantly White to a predominantly African American majority.
Adjacent communities
The City of Baltimore is bordered by the following communities, all unincorporated census-designated places. All are in adjacent Baltimore County, except Brooklyn Park and Glen Burnie, which are in adjacent Anne Arundel County. In addition, the southern part of the city is bordered by another unincorporated part of northeastern Anne Arundel County.
Culture
-
- See also: List of museums in Baltimore
Historically a working-class port town, Baltimore has sometimes been dubbed a "city of neighborhoods," with over 300 identified districts[46] traditionally occupied by distinct ethnic groups. Most notable today are three downtown areas along the port: the Inner Harbor, frequented by tourists due to its hotels, shops, and museums; Fells Point, once a favorite entertainment spot for sailors but now refurbished and gentrified (and featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle); and Little Italy, located between the other two, where Baltimore's Italian-American community was based–and where current U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew up. Further inland, Mt. Vernon is the traditional center of cultural and artistic life of the city; it is home to a distinctive Washington Monument, set atop a hill in a 19th century urban square, that predates the more well-known monument in Washington, D.C. by several decades.
The traditional local accent has long been noted and celebrated as "Baltimorese" or "Bawlmorese." One thing outsiders quickly notice is that the locals refer to their city as "Bawlmer" or "Ballmer," dropping with the "t" for the most part. The dialect is similar to that of many Marylanders, Virginians and Pennsylvanians; it may reflect the region's roots in Cornwall and the English West Country, as many of the original settlers of the Chesapeake Bay area came from this area in colonial times (Traditionally, many Marylanders call their state "Merlin"--and likewise, many Pennsylvanians call their state "Pennsavania," dropping the "l"). However, Baltimore's local accent also reflects the rich mix of ethnic groups from Ireland, Germany, and southern and eastern Europe who immigrated to the city during the industrial era. More recently, local pronunciations of "Baldamore" or "Ballmore" have become common.
As Baltimore's demographics have changed since World War Two, its cultural flavor and accents have evolved as well. Today, after decades of out-migration to suburbs beyond its corporate limits and significant in-migration of black Americans from Georgia and the Carolinas, Baltimore has become a majority black city with a significantly changed, but still regionally distinctive, dialect and culture. Recently, neighborhoods such as Federal Hill and Canton have undergone extensive gentrification and have proven to be popular places for young professionals and college students to reside. In addition, Latinos are making their mark, notably in neighborhoods near Fells Point.
Much of Baltimore's black American culture has roots that long predate the 20th century "Great Migration" from the Deep South. Like Atlanta, Georgia and Washington, D.C., Baltimore has been home to a successful black middle class and professional community for centuries. Before the Civil War, Baltimore had one of the largest concentrations of free black Americans among American cities. In the twentieth century, Baltimore-born Thurgood Marshall became the first black American justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Baltimore's culture has been famously celebrated in the films of Barry Levinson, who grew up in the city's Jewish neighborhoods. His movies Diner, Tin Men, Avalon, and Liberty Heights are inspired to varying degrees by his life in the city.
Baltimore native John Waters parodies the city extensively in his films, including the 1972 cult classic Pink Flamingos. His film Hairspray and its Broadway musical remake are also set in Baltimore.
See List of films shot in Baltimore, Maryland
Performing arts
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra is an internationally-renowned orchestra, founded in 1916 as a publicly-funded municipal organization. The current Music Director is Marin Alsop, a protégé of Leonard Bernstein. Center Stage is the premier theater company in the city and a regionally well-respected group. The Baltimore Opera is an important regional opera company, and The Baltimore Consort has been a leading early music ensemble for over twenty-five years. The France-Merrick Performing Arts Center, home of the restored Thomas W. Lamb-designed Hippodrome Theatre, has afforded Baltimore the opportunity to become a major regional player in the area of touring Broadway and other performing arts presentations.
Baltimore also boasts a wide array of professional (non-touring) and community theater groups. Aside from Center Stage, resident troupes in the city include Everyman Theatre and Baltimore Theatre Festival. Community theaters in the city include Fells Point Community Theatre and the Arena Players, which is the nation's oldest continuously operating African American community theater.[47]
Notable Persons
- See List of people from Baltimore
Economy
Once an industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation, Baltimore now has a modern service economy. Although deindustrialization took its toll on the city, costing residents tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs, the city is a growing financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region.
Greater Baltimore is home to six Fortune 1000 companies, Constellation Energy, Grace Chemicals (in Columbia), Black & Decker (in Towson), Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick & Company (in Hunt Valley). Other companies that call Baltimore home include, Brown Advisory, Alex Brown, a subsidiary of Deutsche Bank (of Baltimore origin, and at the time of its acquisition, the oldest continuously-running investment bank in the United States), FTI Consulting, Vertis, Thomson Prometric, Performax, Sylvan Learning/Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, 180°, Old Mutual Financial Network, and Advertising.com.
The city is also home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital, which will serve as the center of a new biotechnology park. The park, one of two such projects currently under construction in the city, will provide room for medical/technology start-ups as well as industry giants to tap into the wealth of knowledge in Baltimore. Baltimore is widely regarded as one of the world's most important repositories of medical knowledge.citation needed
Demographics
| Historical populations |
| Census |
Pop. |
|
%± |
| 1790 |
13,503 |
|
—
|
| 1800 |
26,514 |
|
96.4% |
| 1810 |
46,555 |
|
75.6% |
| 1820 |
62,738 |
|
34.8% |
| 1830 |
80,620 |
|
28.5% |
| 1840 |
102,313 |
|
26.9% |
| 1850 |
169,054 |
|
65.2% |
| 1860 |
212,418 |
|
25.7% |
| 1870 |
267,354 |
|
25.9% |
| 1880 |
332,313 |
|
24.3% |
| 1890 |
434,439 |
|
30.7% |
| 1900 |
508,957 |
|
17.2% |
| 1910 |
558,485 |
|
9.7% |
| 1920 |
733,826 |
|
31.4% |
| 1930 |
804,874 |
|
9.7% |
| 1940 |
859,100 |
|
6.7% |
| 1950 |
949,708 |
|
10.5% |
| 1960 |
939,024 |
|
−1.1% |
| 1970 |
905,759 |
|
−3.5% |
| 1980 |
786,775 |
|
−13.1% |
| 1990 |
736,014 |
|
−6.5% |
| 2000 |
636,251 |
|
−13.6% |
| Est. 2007 |
637,455 |
|
0.2% |
After New York City, Baltimore was the second city in the United States to reach a population of 100,000, (followed by New Orleans, Philadelphia, Boston).[48] In the 1830, 1840, and 1850 censuses of the United States of America, Baltimore was the second-largest city in population, surpassed by Philadelphia in 1860. It was among the top 10 cities in population in the United States in every census up to the 1980 census, and after World War II had a population of nearly a million. The city and metropolitan area currently rank in the top 20 in terms of population. In the 1990s, the US Census reported that Baltimore ranked as one of the largest population losers alongside Detroit and Washington D.C., losing over 84,000 residents between 1990 and 2000.[49]
As of 2006, the population was 637,455. The Baltimore–Towson metropolitan area, as of 2004, was estimated to have a population of 2.6 million.[50] The population density was 8,058.4 people per square mile (3,111.5/km²). There were 300,477 housing units at an average density of 3,718.6/sq mi (1,435.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 64.34% Black or African American, 31.63% White, 0.32% Native American, 1.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.67% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. 1.70% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. This census, however, does not accurately represent the city's Latino population, which, over the past few years, has been steadily increasing. This growth is mainly seen in the southeastern neighborhoods around Fells Point, Patterson Park, and Highlandtown, and in the city's Northwestern neighborhoods such as Fallstaff, as well as various neighborhoods of Northeastern Baltimore.[51] 6.2% of the population were of German ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 257,996 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 26.7% were married couples living together, 25.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.0% were non-families. 34.9% of all households are made up of individuals, and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42, and the average family size was 3.16.
In the city, the population age spreads were 24.8% for persons under the age of 18, 10.9% for ages 18 to 24, 29.9% for ages 25 to 44, 21.2% for ages 45 to 64, and 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $30,078, and the median income for a family was $35,438. Males had a median income of $31,767 versus $26,832 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,978. About 18.8% of families and 22.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 18.0% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Baltimore is an independent city — not part of any county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a "county"-level entity. The United States Census Bureau uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.
Baltimore has been a Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government.
Mayor
- For a full list of mayors who served the city, see List of Baltimore Mayors.
On November 6, 2007, incumbent Democratic Mayor Sheila Dixon was elected Mayor. Dixon, as former City Council President, had assumed the office of Mayor on January 17, 2007 when former Mayor Martin O'Malley took office as the Governor of Maryland.
Baltimore City Council
Grassroots pressure for reform, voiced as Question P, restructured the city council in November 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by ACORN, backed the effort.
The Baltimore City Council is now made up of 14 single member districts and one elected at-large council president. Stephanie Rawlings Blake is the council's president and Robert W. Curran is the Vice President.
State Government
- See also: Baltimore City Delega
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