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Baltimore Belt Line

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The Baltimore Belt Line was constructed by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) in the early 1890s to connect the railroad's newly constructed line to Philadelphia and New York City/Jersey City with the rest of the railroad at Baltimore, Maryland . It included the Howard Street Tunnel , the Mount Royal Station for B&O's Royal Blue Line passenger trains, and the first mainline railroad electrification in the United States. CSX Transportation currently operates the line as part of its Baltimore Terminal Subdivision .

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101-520: The B&O's original connection to New York in Baltimore was through surface street transfers to the old Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad (PW&B), with passenger / freight cars (also known then as rail carriages) pulled by horses along the east–west running East Pratt Street route, first between the B&;O's old Pratt Street Depot at Pratt and South Charles Streets, then later using

202-524: A Town on the North side of the Patapsco River." Surveyors began laying out the town on January 12, 1730. By 1752 the town had just 27 homes, including a church and two taverns. Jonestown and Fells Point had been settled to the east. The three settlements, covering 60 acres (24 ha), became a commercial hub, and in 1768 were designated as the county seat. The first printing press was introduced to

303-612: A clash between local youth and police that resulted in a state of emergency declaration and a curfew. Baltimore has seen the reopening of the Hippodrome Theatre in 2004, the opening of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture in 2005, and the establishment of the National Slavic Museum in 2012. On April 12, 2012, Johns Hopkins held a dedication ceremony to mark

404-534: A connection across the Potomac River at Washington, D. C., to the southern railroads. The massive Pennsylvania main line carried most traffic to the northeast. By the 1970s, however, both railroads were failing financially. The PRR had been merged into Penn Central in 1968, and two years later the new company declared bankruptcy. The B&O became part of the Chessie System in 1973, which in turn

505-619: A decline in major manufacturing, heavy industry , and restructuring of the rail industry , Baltimore has shifted to a service-oriented economy . Johns Hopkins Hospital and University are the top employers. Baltimore is home to the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball , and the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League . Many Baltimore neighborhoods have rich histories. The city

606-678: A key link in what has now become the principal rail freight line from Baltimore to Philadelphia and beyond. This segment of the CSX network is considered a chokepoint for freight train service from the Port of Baltimore to East Coast and Midwest markets. See Baltimore Terminal Subdivision . On July 18, 2001, a 60-car CSXT freight derailed in the Howard Street Tunnel, sparking a fire that burned for six days and blocked traffic for much longer. The Howard Street Tunnel fire called attention to

707-563: A lower profile than wood crossties. The Maryland Department of Transportation subsequently applied for a $ 155 million FY2016 FASTLANE grant to help fund a project based on this lower-cost plan, but the grant was not received. In December 2016, MDOT reapplied for a FASTLANE grant of the same amount in the FY2017 round of funding. In addition to the federal funds expected from the grant, the State of Maryland would contribute $ 145M, and CSX $ 125M, towards

808-627: A minority. The Baltimore Council passed the ordinance, and it became law on December 20, 1910, with Democratic Mayor J. Barry Mahool 's signature. The Baltimore segregation ordinance was the first of its kind in the United States. Many other southern cities followed with their own segregation ordinances, though the US Supreme Court ruled against them in Buchanan v. Warley (1917). The city grew in area by annexing new suburbs from

909-462: A nonprofit environmental advocacy group, filed a lawsuit against Fleischmann's Vinegar Company Inc. , the largest vinegar manufacturer in the U.S. The company was accused of polluting the water channels in Jones Falls with illegal acidic chemicals, causing around 1,000 fish to die beginning in 2021. The lawsuit also stated that the members of Blue Water Baltimore discovered dead fish and eels in

1010-579: A part in the American Revolution . City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr. led many residents to resist British taxes , and merchants signed agreements refusing to trade with Britain. The Second Continental Congress met in the Henry Fite House from December 1776 to February 1777, effectively making the city the capital of the United States during this period. Baltimore, Jonestown , and Fells Point were incorporated as

1111-757: A period of dormancy in Baltimore City archaeological findings which had persisted since the 1980s. During the Late Woodland period, the archaeological culture known as the Potomac Creek complex resided in the area from Baltimore south to the Rappahannock River in present-day Virginia . The city is named after Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore , an English peer, member of the Irish House of Lords and founding proprietor of

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1212-635: A transportation corridor. The valley of the Jones Falls carries Falls Road (which is numbered as Maryland Route 25 ), the tracks for the Amtrak Northeast Corridor , the Jones Falls Expressway (JFX) of Interstate 83 , and the Baltimore Light Rail . The Baltimore Penn Station also rests on an elevated platform in the valley. It also carries tracks for a historic rail line which is currently served by

1313-474: A unique skyline peppered with churches and monuments developed. Baltimore acquired its moniker "The Monumental City" after an 1827 visit to Baltimore by President John Quincy Adams . At an evening function, Adams gave the following toast: "Baltimore: the Monumental City—May the days of her safety be as prosperous and happy, as the days of her dangers have been trying and triumphant." Baltimore pioneered

1414-483: Is Baltimore's nonprofit historic and architectural preservation organization, which works to preserve and promote Baltimore's historic buildings and neighborhoods. Baltimore is officially divided into nine geographical regions: North, Northeast, East, Southeast, South, Southwest, West, Northwest, and Central, with each district patrolled by a respective Baltimore Police Department . Interstate 83 and Charles Street down to Hanover Street and Ritchie Highway serve as

1515-602: Is a neoclassical design by Benjamin Latrobe, and one of the oldest Catholic cathedrals 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 was founded and endowed by John McKim. The building

1616-400: Is bordered by Anne Arundel County to the south. Baltimore exhibits examples from each period of architecture over more than two centuries, and work from architects such as Benjamin Latrobe , George A. Frederick , John Russell Pope , Mies van der Rohe , and I. M. Pei . Baltimore is rich in architecturally significant buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica (1806–1821)

1717-558: Is home to some of the earliest National Register Historic Districts in the nation, including Fell's Point , Federal Hill , and Mount Vernon . Baltimore has more public statues and monuments per capita than any other city in the country. Nearly one third of the buildings (over 65,000) are designated as historic in the National Register , more than any other US city. Baltimore has 66 National Register Historic Districts and 33 local historic districts. The historical records of

1818-542: Is named the Jones Falls Expressway, for 1.7 miles (2.7 km) until Slaughterhouse Branch and Moores Branch join it next to the I-83 overpass over Maryland Route 25 (MD 25, Falls Road) (39.39587° -76.66442°). The Jones Falls travels southeast for 1.5 miles (2.4 km), passing through Lake Roland Park , until it meets Lake Roland , an impounding of the stream. (39.39069° -76.64639°) In Lake Roland, Roland Run and Towson Run both join. Once it leaves Lake Roland,

1919-443: Is one of few remaining structures of its kind. It was constructed without the use of exterior scaffolding. The Sun Iron Building, designed by R.C. Hatfield in 1851, was the city's first iron-front building and was a model for a whole generation of downtown buildings. Brown Memorial Presbyterian Church , built in 1870 in memory of financier George Brown , has stained glass windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany and has been called "one of

2020-444: Is the tallest equilateral pentagonal building in the world at 405 feet (123 m) tall. The Harbor East area has seen the addition of two new towers which have completed construction: a 24-floor tower that is the new world headquarters of Legg Mason , and a 21-floor Four Seasons Hotel complex. The streets of Baltimore are organized in a grid and spoke pattern, lined with tens of thousands of rowhouses . The mix of materials on

2121-701: The Amtrak Northeast Corridor enters the valley upon exiting the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel and bridging the Jones Falls, with Howard Street Bridge directly above this intersection. MD 25 ends shortly after (splitting into the one-way couplet of eastbound Lanvale Street and westbound Lafayette Avenue), with the Jones Falls Trail joining city streets, and the Light Rail also leaves the valley to join Howard Street. After

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2222-754: The Baltimore Convention Center (1979). Harborplace , an urban retail and restaurant complex, opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium , Maryland's largest tourist destination, and the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. In 1995, the city opened the American Visionary Art Museum on Federal Hill. During the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the United States , Baltimore City Health Department official Robert Mehl persuaded

2323-465: The Baltimore Ravens football team moved into M&T Bank Stadium next to Camden Yards. Baltimore has had a high homicide rate for several decades, peaking in 1993, and again in 2015. These deaths have taken an especially severe toll within the black community. Following the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015, the city experienced major protests and international media attention, as well as

2424-653: The Baltimore Streetcar Museum . The MTA Maryland Route 27 also provides transportation on Falls Road; however, at some point it was moved from following 36th Street south to other city streets. The Jones Falls is spanned by many bridges within Baltimore City's borders, and often the Jones Falls Expressway rests directly above the river. The Jones Falls begins as a small stream in Baltimore County near Garrison at

2525-663: The Baltimore and Philadelphia Railroad ) to connect to the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad , in turn connecting with the Central Railroad of New Jersey for B&O's New York service across the Hudson River to Manhattan . The combination also provided a connection to the Staten Island Railway , which served as the terminal switching company for the B&O's New York freight service across

2626-511: The Hudson River or Upper New York Bay to Manhattan . New B&O president Charles F. Mayer made the Belt Line a priority by the 1870s, and recruited young railroader Samuel Rea to work on it as Chief Engineer. Connecting the new Philadelphia Branch to the rest of the B&O system was a considerable engineering challenge. A new surface line across the center of town was politically impossible and prohibitively expensive. Building around

2727-665: The Jones Falls Trail . About a 1 ⁄ 4 mile (400 m) before it intersects Stony Run, the Jones Falls goes over a 10 feet (3 m) waterfall named "Round Falls". About 0.6 miles (1 km) after Stony Run, and after passing by the Baltimore Streetcar Museum , the CSXT -operated Baltimore Belt Line bridges the river, bound for the Howard Street Tunnel . The Jones Falls then immediately passes underneath North Avenue . Just south of North Avenue,

2828-482: The Midwest . By 1820 its population had reached 60,000, and its economy had shifted from its base in tobacco plantations to sawmilling , shipbuilding , and textile production. These industries benefited from war but successfully shifted into infrastructure development during peacetime. Baltimore had one of the worst riots of the antebellum South in 1835, when bad investments led to the Baltimore bank riot . It

2929-543: The National Aquarium , Maryland Science Center , Pier Six Pavilion , and Power Plant Live . Jones Falls The Jones Falls is a 17.9-mile-long (28.8 km) stream in Maryland . It is impounded to create Lake Roland before running through the city of Baltimore and finally emptying into the Baltimore Inner Harbor . The Jones Falls valley has a long history in the city of Baltimore as

3030-772: The National Guard , leaving 10 dead and 25 wounded. The beginnings of settlement movement work in Baltimore were made early in 1893, when Rev. Edward A. Lawrence took up lodgings with his friend Frank Thompson, in one of the Winans tenements, the Lawrence House being established shortly thereafter at 814-816 West Lombard Street. On February 7, 1904, the Great Baltimore Fire destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours, leaving more than 70 blocks of

3131-608: The Province of Maryland . The Calverts took the title Barons Baltimore from Baltimore Manor , an English Plantation estate they were granted in County Longford , Ireland . Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish name Baile an Tí Mhóir , meaning "town of the big house". In the early 1600s, the immediate Baltimore vicinity was sparsely populated, if at all, by Native Americans. The Baltimore County area northward

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3232-482: The U.S. state of Maryland . With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census , it is the 30th-most populous US city . Baltimore was designated as an independent city by the Constitution of Maryland in 1851, and is the most populous independent city in the nation. As of 2020 , the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was 2,838,327, the 20th-largest metropolitan area in the country. When combined

3333-720: The Union during the American Civil War , following the 55–12 vote by the Maryland General Assembly against secession. Later, the Union's strategic occupation of the city in 1861 ensured Maryland would not further consider secession. The Union's capital of Washington, D.C. was well-situated to impede Baltimore and Maryland's communication or commerce with the Confederacy . Baltimore experienced some of

3434-689: The United Arab Emirates , and Michael Bloomberg . In September 2016, the Baltimore City Council approved a $ 660 million bond deal for the $ 5.5 billion Port Covington redevelopment project championed by Under Armour founder Kevin Plank and his real estate company Sagamore Development. Port Covington surpassed the Harbor Point development as the largest tax-increment financing deal in Baltimore's history and among

3535-560: The Washington–Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA) had a 2020 population of 9,973,383, the third-largest in the country. Though the city is not located within or under the administrative jurisdiction of any county in the state, it is part of the Central Maryland region, together with the surrounding county that shares its name . The land that is present-day Baltimore was used as hunting ground by Paleo-Indians . In

3636-486: The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. Public order was not restored until April 12, 1968. The Baltimore uprising cost the city an estimated $ 10 million (US$ 88 million in 2024). A total of 12,000 Maryland National Guard and federal troops were ordered into the city. The city experienced challenges again in 1974 when teachers, municipal workers , and police officers conducted strikes. By

3737-402: The deep South and by white suburbanization , the relative size of the city's black population grew from 23.8% in 1950 to 46.4% in 1970. Encouraged by real estate blockbusting techniques, recently settled white areas rapidly became all-black neighborhoods, in a rapid process which was nearly total by 1970. The Baltimore riot of 1968 , coinciding with uprisings in other cities , followed

3838-505: The B&O chose started from the existing end of the track at Camden Street Station , at the west end of "The Basin" (modern Inner Harbor ) of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River. A tunnel was constructed directly under Howard Street, heading north–south until just before it crossed the existing PRR line. At the north portal of the tunnel, Mount Royal was constructed between 1891 and 1896. The track then curved around

3939-478: The Baltimore area and inhabited primarily the north bank of the Potomac River in what are now Charles and southern Prince George's counties in the coastal areas south of the Fall Line . European colonization of Maryland began in earnest with the arrival of the merchant ship The Ark carrying 140 colonists at St. Clement's Island in the Potomac River on March 25, 1634. Europeans then began to settle

4040-499: The Belt Line in southern Charles Village collapsed after a heavy rainstorm, sending part of East 26th Street and a number of cars onto the tracks. No one was injured but the tracks were blocked by debris, shutting down railroad operations as well as the city block directly above them. On May 2, 2014, freight trains once again began running through the tunnels along this stretch of the Baltimore Belt Line. East 26th Street

4141-422: The Belt Line, both as a risk to the surrounding structures and as a link in rail traffic. CSXT has implemented various improvements to increase the integrity of the link, but is limited by the shallow depth of the bore (only three feet or 0.91 meters below the surface at the south end) and the instability of the surrounding soil. On April 30, 2014, a block-long portion of a retaining wall in a below-grade stretch of

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4242-637: The City of Baltimore in 1796–1797. The city remained a part of surrounding Baltimore County and continued to serve as its county seat from 1768 to 1851, after which it became an independent city . The Battle of Baltimore against the British in 1814 inspired the U.S. national anthem, " The Star-Spangled Banner ", and the construction of the Battle Monument , which became the city's official emblem. A distinctive local culture started to take shape, and

4343-664: The Europeans. In 1661 David Jones claimed the area known today as Jonestown on the east bank of the Jones Falls stream. The colonial General Assembly of Maryland created the Port of Baltimore at old Whetstone Point, now Locust Point , in 1706 for the tobacco trade . The Town of Baltimore, on the west side of the Jones Falls, was founded on August 8, 1729, when the Governor of Maryland signed an act allowing "the building of

4444-458: The Jones Falls becomes a small river. Not long after leaving the lake, the Jones Falls enters Baltimore directly underneath an intersection of Interstate 83 and the Baltimore Light Rail 's mainline, with both routes beginning to parallel I-83. For the remainder of the Jones Falls' course, I-83 enters the Jones Falls valley, where it constantly crosses over, parallels, and covers the river. Another 1 ⁄ 2 mile (800 m) after entering

4545-472: The Jones Falls exits the conduit and flows several more blocks before it empties into the east side of the Inner Harbor (39.28657° -76.60457°) near Mr. Trash Wheel . As far back as 1990, city-sponsored planning studies showed support for the idea of partially demolishing I-83 and thus daylighting the Jones Falls. More recent suggestions include a long-range plan proposed by Marc Szarkowski, while he

4646-655: The National Aquarium, Camden Yards have helped revive the Inner Harbor area from what once was an exclusively industrial district full of dilapidated warehouses into a bustling commercial district full of bars, restaurants, and retail establishments. After an international competition, the University of Baltimore School of Law awarded the German firm Behnisch Architekten 1st prize for its design, which

4747-474: The Port of Baltimore instead of by truck. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan said that the state would explore other funding solutions if the FY2017 FASTLANE grant is not received. On July 22, 2019, U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao announced the award of $ 125 million in federal infrastructure funding for the project. Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the most populous city in

4848-546: The United States today. Lexington Market was also a center of slave trading. Enslaved Black people were sold at numerous sites through the downtown area, with sales advertised in The Baltimore Sun . Both tobacco and sugar cane were labor-intensive crops. In 1774, Baltimore established the first post office system in what became the United States, and the first water company chartered in the newly independent nation, Baltimore Water Company, 1792. Baltimore played

4949-576: The area further north, in what is now Baltimore County . Since Maryland was a colony, Baltimore's streets were named to show loyalty to the mother country, e.g. King, Queen, King George and Caroline streets. The original county seat , known today as Old Baltimore, was located on Bush River within the present-day Aberdeen Proving Ground . The colonists engaged in sporadic warfare with the Susquehannock, whose numbers dwindled primarily from new infectious diseases, such as smallpox , endemic among

5050-588: The beginning of the 1970s, Baltimore's downtown area, known as the Inner Harbor, had been neglected and was occupied by a collection of abandoned warehouses. The nickname "Charm City" came from a 1975 meeting of advertisers seeking to improve the city's reputation. Efforts to redevelop the area started with the construction of the Maryland Science Center , which opened in 1976, the Baltimore World Trade Center (1977), and

5151-550: The built-up nature of the area traversed and the hilly terrain, much of its line through town was in tunnels, which posed severe ventilation problems. Large chimneys were constructed above the Pennsylvania line, in a not entirely successful attempt to disperse the fumes from the coal-fired locomotives . However, by 1890 electric locomotion was beginning to appear possible, and in 1892 the B&O thus contracted with General Electric (GE) for electric locomotives, powerhouse equipment, and an electrical distribution system. This equipment

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5252-400: The city in 1765 by Nicholas Hasselbach , whose equipment was later used in the printing of Baltimore's first newspapers, The Maryland Journal and The Baltimore Advertiser , first published by William Goddard in 1773. Baltimore grew swiftly in the 18th century, its plantations producing grain and tobacco for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean . The profit from sugar encouraged

5353-428: The city limits on downtown streets in the more primitive years of early American railroading. In 1884, the PW&B was purchased and absorbed by the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), the growing dominant regional line in the Northeast states and a major rival of the B&O, and the PRR cut off the connection to the East Coast seaboard's main line. The B&O then proceeded to build its Philadelphia Branch (formally known as

5454-426: The city's 1.6-mile-long (2.6 km) Francis Scott Key Bridge , which constituted a southeast portion of the Baltimore Beltway , was struck by a container ship and completely collapsed . A major rescue operation was launched with US authorities attempting to rescue people in the water. Eight construction workers, who were working on the bridge at the time, fell into the Patapsco River . Two people were rescued from

5555-433: The city's mayor to form a committee to address food problems. The Baltimore-based charity Moveable Feast grew out of this initiative in 1990. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles baseball team moved from Memorial Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards , located downtown near the harbor. Pope John Paul II held an open-air mass at Camden Yards during his papal visit to the United States in October 1995. Three years later

5656-418: The city, Western Run joins near Mount Washington (39.36717° -76.64835°). The Jones Falls, I-83, and the Light Rail continue south for 4.4 miles (7.1 km) before the last major stream, Stony Run , empties into the stream near Druid Hill Park (39.31683° -76.62672°). Along the way, MD 25 enters the valley, running parallel to the river opposite of the highway and rail lines. MD 25 is also paralleled by

5757-411: The completion of one of the United States' largest medical complexes – the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore – which features the Sheikh Zayed Cardiovascular and Critical Care Tower and The Charlotte R. Bloomberg Children's Center. The event, held at the entrance to the $ 1.1 billion 1.6 million-square-foot-facility, honored the many donors including Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan , first president of

5858-504: The cost of the project. In expectation of the grant funding, CSX is investing $ 25M in the tunnel – $ 21M to improve its water discharge system, and $ 4M for engineering and design of the clearance improvements. The project, which would also increase the clearance at nine bridges north of the tunnel, would last 4–5 years (due to having to be scheduled around active rail traffic), create about 500 construction jobs, and would result in 178,000 containers per year being moved by rail from

5959-414: The cultivation of cane in the Caribbean and the importation of food by planters there. Since Baltimore was the county seat, a courthouse was built in 1768 to serve both the city and county. Its square was a center of community meetings and discussions. Baltimore established its public market system in 1763. Lexington Market , founded in 1782, is one of the oldest continuously operating public markets in

6060-569: The downtown area burned to the ground. Damages were estimated at $ 150 million in 1904 dollars. As the city rebuilt during the next two years, lessons learned from the fire led to improvements in firefighting equipment standards. Baltimore lawyer Milton Dashiell advocated for an ordinance to bar African-Americans from moving into the Eutaw Place neighborhood in northwest Baltimore. He proposed to recognize majority white residential blocks and majority black residential blocks and to prevent people from moving into housing on such blocks where they would be

6161-402: The downtown population grew 130 percent as old commercial properties have been replaced by residential property. Still the city's main commercial area and business district, it includes Baltimore's sports complexes: Oriole Park at Camden Yards , M&T Bank Stadium , and the Royal Farms Arena ; and the shops and attractions in the Inner Harbor: Harborplace , the Baltimore Convention Center ,

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6262-412: The earliest violence associated with the American Civil War . The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad , the nation's oldest, was built in 1830 and cemented Baltimore's status as a transportation hub, giving producers in the Midwest and Appalachia access to the city's port . Baltimore's Inner Harbor was the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the US and a major manufacturing center. After

6363-522: The early 1600s, the Susquehannock began to hunt there. People from the Province of Maryland established the Port of Baltimore in 1706 to support the tobacco trade with Europe, and established the Town of Baltimore in 1729. During the American Revolutionary War , the Second Continental Congress , fleeing Philadelphia prior to its fall to British troops , moved their deliberations to Henry Fite House on West Baltimore Street from December 1776, to February 1777, permitting Baltimore to serve briefly as

6464-405: The east end of B&O's Camden Street Station in 1897. The Howard Street Tunnel , originally a 1.4-mile (2.3 km) long tunnel under Howard Street in downtown Baltimore, took four and a half years to build (1890–1895) and was the longest tunnel on the B&O's system. Its construction cost $ 7 million (equivalent to more than $ 200 million in 2018) and required 2,400 workers. In

6565-453: The east–west dividing line and Eastern Avenue to Route 40 as the north–south dividing line; however, Baltimore Street is north–south dividing line for the U.S. Postal Service . Central Baltimore, originally called the Middle District, stretches north of the Inner Harbor up to the edge of Druid Hill Park . Downtown Baltimore has mainly served as a commercial district with limited residential opportunities; however, between 2000 and 2010,

6666-407: The face of these rowhouses also give Baltimore its distinct look. The rowhouses are a mix of brick and formstone facings, the latter a technology patented in 1937 by Albert Knight. John Waters characterized formstone as "the polyester of brick" in a 30-minute documentary film, Little Castles: A Formstone Phenomenon . In The Baltimore Rowhouse , Mary Ellen Hayward and Charles Belfoure considered

6767-433: The first casualties of Civil War on April 19, 1861, when Union Army soldiers en route from President Street Station to Camden Yards clashed with a secessionist mob in the Pratt Street riot . In the midst of the Long Depression that followed the Panic of 1873 , the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad company attempted to lower its workers' wages, leading to strikes and riots in the city and beyond . Strikers clashed with

6868-584: The government of Baltimore are located at the Baltimore City Archives . The Baltimore area had been inhabited by Native Americans since at least the 10th millennium BC , when Paleo-Indians first settled in the region. One Paleo-Indian site and several Archaic period and Woodland period archaeological sites have been identified in Baltimore, including four from the Late Woodland period . In December 2021, several Woodland period Native American artifacts were found in Herring Run Park in northeast Baltimore, dating 5,000 to 9,000 years ago. The finding followed

6969-400: The harbor to 480 feet (150 m) in the northwest corner near Pimlico . In the 2010 census, Baltimore has a total area of 92.1 square miles (239 km ), of which 80.9 sq mi (210 km ) is land and 11.1 sq mi (29 km ) is water. The total area is 12.1 percent water. Baltimore is almost surrounded by Baltimore County, but is politically independent of it. It

7070-776: The intersection of Caves and Garrison Road (39.41771° -76.75750°). It travels southeast for 3.3 miles (5.3 km) before joining the North Branch Jones Falls stream near Stevenson (39.41225° -76.70937°). North Branch Jones Falls originates near Worthington by the intersection of Park Heights Avenue and Walnut Avenue (39.46135° -76.75057°). The North Branch travels south for 5.2 miles (8.4 km) before joining Jones Falls stream. The falls then travels east for 1.3 miles (2.1 km) before Dipping Pond Run joins at ( 39.41424° -76.68557°). The Jones Falls continues east another 0.8 miles (1.3 km) before Deep Run intersects near Brooklandville (39.41467° -76.67060°). The stream then continues south along Interstate 83 (I-83), which

7171-399: The largest urban redevelopment projects in the country. The waterfront development that includes the new headquarters for Under Armour, as well as shops, housing, offices, and manufacturing spaces is projected to create 26,500 permanent jobs with a $ 4.3 billion annual economic impact. Goldman Sachs invested $ 233 million into the redevelopment project. In the early hours of March 26, 2024,

7272-433: The line opened in 1895, 68 years after the line was founded in 1827 as America's first passenger / freight railroad. Initially there were plans to build three new stations in Baltimore, but concern for interference with freight haulage and expense eventually reduced this to a single station at Mount Royal Avenue, just west by the Jones Falls stream, which opened on September 1, 1896. Lower-level platforms were added later at

7373-439: The mid-1980s, the tunnel's original length of 1.4 miles or 7,340 feet (2,237 m) was extended an additional three-tenths of a mile (480 m) further south of its original Camden Station portal when the B&O successor CSX Transportation 's mainline track east of the Baltimore & Ohio Warehouse at Camden Yards was covered over for construction of Interstate 395 . The tunnel is brick-lined with iron-arched centerings. At

7474-430: The most significant buildings in this city, a treasure of art and architecture" by Baltimore magazine. The 1845 Greek Revival -style Lloyd Street Synagogue is one of the oldest synagogues in the United States . The Johns Hopkins Hospital , designed by Lt. Col. John S. Billings in 1876, was a considerable achievement for its day in functional arrangement and fireproofing. I.M. Pei's World Trade Center (1977)

7575-582: The nation's capital , before it returned to Philadelphia in March 1777. The Battle of Baltimore was pivotal during the War of 1812 , culminating in the failed British bombardment of Fort McHenry , during which Francis Scott Key wrote a poem that would become " The Star-Spangled Banner ", designated as the national anthem in 1931. During the Pratt Street Riot of 1861 , the city was the site of some of

7676-565: The new terminal and B.& O.'s general headquarters of Camden Street Station (built 1857–1865) to the PW&;B's President Street Station (built 1849–1850) at President and Fleet Streets, east of the harbor past the waterfront piers from the early 1830s to early 1870s. This transfer process was also used because of ordinances passed by the Baltimore City Council in 1831 prohibiting the use of early steam locomotives within

7777-617: The northwest corner of the center city going east, passed through six other (much shorter) tunnels, continuing across the northern outskirts of downtown, curving around the Northeast corner of the old City, finally heading southeast to meet the already constructed line just north of the Canton neighborhood and connecting with the East Coast route. The cost of construction drove the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad into bankruptcy shortly after

7878-491: The outskirts of town would have required massive regrading and bridging, as the terrain is extremely hilly and the line would cut across every watershed flowing into the harbor. As a temporary expedient, traffic was handled through Baltimore on carfloats across the Patapsco River / Baltimore harbor and port from Canton to Locust Point , but it was clear that a direct connection would have to be built. The route

7979-464: The owner of the plant. The announcement of the shutdown came the same day as environmental testing at the facility from the state was planned to commence. A spokesperson for Kerry Group , an Ireland-based parent company for the facility, stated that, “The company will transfer production from Baltimore to other facilities as part of a broader consolidation of activity within the network,”. The company did not comment on if there were any layoffs caused by

8080-430: The plan. The RK&K study was more limited, assessing only the area from Fayette Street to Chase Street. The long-range Szarkowski concept includes selected portions of the watershed from as far north as Woodberry, though with significantly less engineering detail included. A civic group, Friends of the Jones Falls , is active in advocating for the daylighting of the river. On April 5, 2023, Blue Water Baltimore ,

8181-614: The rapid succession of bridges, the Jones Falls almost immediately enters a tunnel, the Jones Falls Conduit, which curves to flow directly underneath I-83 (39.30896° -76.61964°). After passing by Baltimore's Pennsylvania Station , situated directly in the valley, the Northeast Corridor exits the valley, and the Jones Falls Conduit and I-83 curve sharply to the south. The river and highway continue to Fayette Street. Here, I-83 ends; two blocks south of this point,

8282-479: The rowhouse as the architectural form defining Baltimore as "perhaps no other American city". In the mid-1790s, developers began building entire neighborhoods of the British-style rowhouses, which became the dominant house type of the city early in the 19th century. Oriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball park, which opened in 1992 and was built as a retro style baseball park. Along with

8383-619: The shutdown, but they did not file layoff notices with the Maryland Department of Labor. A test from the Maryland Department of the Environment conducted on Dec. 20, 2023 found that a small amount of green dye was visible in Jones Falls just below the back wall of the facility. Earlier that day, Maryland environmental officials stated that red and green dye might be seen in the Jones Falls waters, however this

8484-525: The steam locomotive closed its cylinder cocks, took up the load, and the electric locomotive uncoupled on the fly, accelerating ahead to a pocket siding between the tracks. General Electric installed rotary converters in B&;O's powerhouse near Mt. Royal Station, having a combined capacity of 5,000 kW to convert 13,200-volt, 3 phase, 25-cycle AC to 675 volts DC . In 1936, these rotary converters were replaced by mercury arc rectifiers . Initially power

8585-455: The stream to cool down the vinegar, including the removal of chlorine. Additionally, according to an inspection by state regulators, they had discharged more than 643,300 gallons of water into the stream per day, which was more than double the amount of the company's original estimation of 295,000 gallons. In December 2023, as a result of the lawsuits, the Baltimore plant of Fleischmann's Vinegar Company had to shut down production, according to

8686-492: The surrounding counties through 1918, when the city acquired portions of Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County . A state constitutional amendment, approved in 1948, required a special vote of the citizens in any proposed annexation area, effectively preventing any future expansion of the city's boundaries. Streetcars enabled the development of distant neighborhoods areas such as Edmonson Village whose residents could easily commute to work downtown. Driven by migration from

8787-498: The time of completion it was considered innovative for its use of electricity for illumination and powering of locomotives . Inside the tunnel, there was an underground platform for trains serving Camden Station. The Howard Street Tunnel is listed on the National Register of Historic Places . By this time the Pennsylvania Railroad line through Baltimore and points south had been in operation for twenty years. Due to

8888-415: The use of gas lighting in 1816, and its population grew rapidly in the following decades, with concomitant development of culture and infrastructure. The construction of the federally funded National Road , which later became part of U.S. Route 40 , and the private Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B. & O.) made Baltimore a major shipping and manufacturing center by linking the city with major markets in

8989-424: The varying distance to the third rail. The electrification was finally discontinued in 1952 when dieselization made it unnecessary. Throughout much of its history until the end of passenger trains in 1958, the line had relatively low passenger traffic, averaging six daily New York– Washington trains each way. Freight traffic was also limited by the scarcity of online industry east of Baltimore and B&O's lack of

9090-412: The water streams, illegal chemicals pumping out from unauthorized extra pipes on the property into the Jones Falls stream, and various highly acidic toxins around the foundation of the plant. The Maryland Department of the Environment also filed its own lawsuit through the U.S. District Court of Baltimore the same day. Reportedly, the company bypassed safety requirements when discharging treated water into

9191-753: The water, and the bodies of the remaining six were all found by May 7. Replacement of the bridge was estimated in May 2024 at a cost approaching $ 2 billion for a fall 2028 completion. Baltimore is in north-central Maryland on the Patapsco River , close to where it empties into the Chesapeake Bay . Baltimore is located on the fall line between the Piedmont Plateau and the Atlantic coastal plain , which divides Baltimore into "lower city" and "upper city". Baltimore's elevation ranges from sea level at

9292-410: Was delivered beginning in 1895, and the first train pulled by an electric locomotive operated through the Howard Street Tunnel on June 27, 1895. The grade on the electrified portion was downhill to Camden Station; therefore traffic heading southbound ("westbound", in B&O timetables), from Mount Royal Station, simply drifted through the tunnels. Since the engine was not working, the smoke produced

9393-525: 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 and a scholarly interest in recently published drawings of Athenian antiquities. The Phoenix Shot Tower (1828), at 234.25 feet (71.40 m) tall, was the tallest building in the United States until the time of the Civil War, and

9494-566: Was merged into CSX in 1980. In 1976 the PRR line became part of the newly formed Amtrak system. The line was subsequently called the Northeast Corridor (NEC), and its role as a freight line became relatively minor. The 1987 accident at Chase, Maryland , involving a Conrail locomotive led to further reductions in freight traffic on the NEC. The Belt Line (now operated by CSX) is therefore

9595-538: Was relatively light. Going upgrade northbound ("eastbound", in B&O timetables) the electric locomotives were coupled to the front of the train at Camden Station and pulled the entire train, including the steam locomotive, through the Howard Street tunnel. When northbound passenger trains stopped at Mt. Royal Station at the north end of the tunnel, the electric locomotive was uncoupled. Northbound freight trains were pulled by electric locomotives for another two miles, until reaching Huntingdon Avenue in east Baltimore. There

9696-445: Was reopened to vehicular traffic a year later. Reconstructing the Howard Street Tunnel to accommodate double-stacked intermodal containers had been once thought to cost $ 1–3 billion. However, in April 2016, a $ 425 million plan was revealed that would create the needed 1.5 ft (0.46 m) of additional clearance in the tunnel by trimming and notching its arched ceiling, lowering its floor, and using steel crossties, which have

9797-601: Was selected for the school's new home. After the building's opening in 2013, the design won additional honors including an ENR National "Best of the Best" Award. Baltimore's newly rehabilitated Everyman Theatre was honored by the Baltimore Heritage at the 2013 Preservation Awards Celebration in 2013. Everyman Theatre will receive an Adaptive Reuse and Compatible Design Award as part of Baltimore Heritage's 2013 historic preservation awards ceremony. Baltimore Heritage

9898-408: Was supplied through a unique system in which a pickup shoe rode in a channel above and to one side of the track. This proved vulnerable to contamination from coal smoke, and after a short time it was replaced by a conventional third rail system. When the Howard Street track was made into a gantlet to allow higher clearances, the pickup contacts on one side were mounted on swinging arms to accommodate

9999-494: Was these riots that led to the city being nicknamed "Mobtown". Soon after the city created the world's first dental college, the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery , in 1840, and shared in the world's first telegraph line , between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. , in 1844. Maryland, a slave state with limited popular support for secession , especially in the three counties of Southern Maryland, remained part of

10100-634: Was used as hunting grounds by the Susquehannock living in the lower Susquehanna River valley. This Iroquoian-speaking people "controlled all of the upper tributaries of the Chesapeake" but "refrained from much contact with Powhatan in the Potomac region " and south into Virginia. Pressured by the Susquehannock, the Piscataway tribe , an Algonquian-speaking people , stayed well south of

10201-505: Was working for the Philadelphia firm Dremodeling, and a more immediate and concrete plan commissioned by the city from Baltimore-based Rummel, Klepper & Kahl in 2009. The Szarkowski vision is wide ranging, including infill housing, an expansion of Penn Station, a system of roundabouts, a multi-story sculpture and several new, buried transit lines. Szarkowski has publicly acknowledged the extremely ambitious and long-range nature of

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