About
Baltimore City
Baltimore city, north-central Maryland, U.S. It lies at the
head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 miles (24 km) above
Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is Maryland's largest city and
economic hub and covers a land area of 81 square miles (209
square km). The city, separated from Baltimore county in
1851, is the only city in Maryland not located within a
county.
Baltimore was established in 1729 and named for the Irish
barony of Baltimore (seat of the Calvert family,
proprietors of the colony of Maryland). The founders
intended the settlement to be merely an outlet for locally
grown tobacco, but by 1760 Baltimore was exporting
considerable amounts of flour as well as tobacco. At the
outbreak of the American Revolution, it was a bustling
seaport and shipbuilding centre. Baltimore clippers plied
the seas, and trade extended to the Caribbean. The U.S.
Navy's first ship, Constellation, was launched in Baltimore
in 1797, and its namesake, the last all-sail warship built
(1854) for the navy, has been moored in the city's harbour
since 1968; in the late 1990s the ship underwent extensive
restoration. After the British occupation of Philadelphia
during the U.S. War of Independence, the Continental
Congress met in Baltimore (December 1776-March 1777).
During the War of 1812 the British tried to capture
Baltimore; U.S. forces' successful defense (Sept. 13-14,
1814) of nearby Fort McHenry (now a national monument and
historic shrine) was the inspiration for Francis Scott
Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner." In 1827 the nation's
first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, started from the
city's Mount Clare Station (preserved; now the site of a
railroad museum). During the American Civil War (1861-65),
though Maryland did not secede from the Union, many of its
citizens had Southern sympathies. Union troops occupied
Baltimore throughout the war, and the city recovered only
gradually from that period of severe disruption.
A fire on Feb. 7, 1904, razed most of the business
district, but recovery was rapid. At the beginning of World
War I, Baltimore began to develop industrially with the
construction of steelworks, oil refineries, and related war
industries. It is now a major seaport with extensive
ship-repair facilities and a highly diversified economy.
The headquarters of the Federal Social Security
Administration is in the city, and industrial parks dot the
surrounding area. The port, which is relatively free of
shipping hazards, opens to the sea through Chesapeake Bay
and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. A period of urban
decay in the city centre after World War II was followed by
a major renovation of the downtown and waterfront areas.
In the 1920s and early '30s Baltimore acquired an
intellectual aura from the work of H.L. Mencken, essayist
and editor, and his circle, including journalists on The
Sun newspaper. Educational institutions in the Baltimore
area include the renowned Johns Hopkins University (1876);
Coppin State College (1900), Towson University (1866), the
University of Maryland, Baltimore (1807), and the
University of Baltimore (1925), all part of the University
of Maryland system; and Loyola College (1852), the College
of Notre Dame of Maryland (1873), Morgan State University
(1867), the Maryland Institute College of Art (1826), and
the Peabody Conservatory of Music (1857). The city's
cultural facilities include the Enoch Pratt Free Library
(1884), the Peale Museum (1814), the Baltimore Museum of
Art (1914), the Walters Art Gallery (1934), and a symphony
orchestra, civic opera, and stage theatre. The city's Inner
Harbor area was revitalized in the 1980s and includes the
National Aquarium in Baltimore.
In 1789 Baltimore became the first Roman Catholic diocese
in the United States, and the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
(1806-20) was the nation's first Roman Catholic cathedral;
St. Mary's Seminary and University was founded in 1791. The
Shot Tower (1828) is a 234-foot (71-metre) shaft that was
used to manufacture round shot. The Washington Monument
(1829), a 178-foot (54-metre) Doric column, is located
north of the city centre. Hampton National Historic Site,
Aberdeen Proving Ground, and Pimlico Race Course (home of
the Preakness Stakes) are nearby.
The city's representatives in professional sports are the
Orioles (baseball) and the Ravens (football). The
birthplace of the baseball player Babe Ruth is preserved as
a shrine and museum. The Lacrosse Hall of Fame Museum at
Johns Hopkins University attests to the popularity of the
old Indian game in Baltimore.
The Baltimore-Washington International Airport also serves
Washington, D.C. The Harbor Tunnel Thruway (1957) and
Francis Scott Key Bridge (1977) cross the Patapsco River.
Inc. town, 1745; city, 1796. Pop. (1990) city, 736,014;
Baltimore PMSA, 2,382,172; Washington-Baltimore CMSA,
6,726,395; (1996 est.) city, 675,401; (1995 est.) Baltimore
PMSA, 2,469,985; Washington-Baltimore CMSA, 7,107,116.
