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Baltimore is
an independent city and the largest city in the state of
Maryland in the United States. The city is a major U.S.
seaport, situated closer to major Midwestern markets than
any other major seaport on the East Coast. As of 2006,
the population of Baltimore City was 640,961.[10] The Baltimore
Metropolitan Area, which includes the city's surrounding
suburbs, has approximately 2.6 million residents. Baltimore
is the largest city in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan
Area (CMSA) of approximately 8.1 million residents. Baltimore's
metropolitan area is the 20th largest in the country.
The city is named after the founding
proprietor of the Maryland Colony, Lord Baltimore in
the Irish House of Lords. Baltimore himself took his
title from a place named Baltimore in Ireland, which
is an Anglicized form of the Irish language Baile an
Tí Mhoir. meaning "Town of the
Big House". Baltimore in County Cork was the seat
of Lord Baltimore. Baltimore became the second leading
port of entry for immigrants to the United States during
the 1800s. Once an industrial town with an economic base
in manufacturing, Baltimore's economy has shifted primarily
to a service sector-oriented, with the largest employer
no longer Bethlehem Steel but The Johns Hopkins University
and The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Because there is also a Baltimore County surrounding (but
not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as
Baltimore City when a clear distinction is desired.
History
Baltimore from across the Patapsco RiverDuring the 17th
century, various towns called "Baltimore" were
founded as commercial ports at various locations on the
upper Chesapeake Bay. The Maryland colonial General Assembly
created the port (at Locust Point) in 1706 as a tobacco
port of entry. The present city dates from July 30, 1729,
and is named after Cæcilius Calvert, Lord Baltimore,
who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province
of Maryland. Like many early U.S. cities, this name came
from a place in Europe. Cæcilius Calvert was a son
of George Calvert who was awarded the Barony of Baltimore
in County Cork Ireland in 1625 by King James I of England.
George Calvert hence became the first Lord Baltimore.
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.
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, American forces won by repulsing
joint land and naval attacks.
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,
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.
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.
Two years later, on September 10, 1906, the Baltimore
American newspaper reported that the city had risen from
the ashes and "one of the great disasters of modern
time had been converted into a blessing."
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
while its suburbs grew dramatically, bottoming out in 2000
at 636,251. In the 21st century, the city's population
has stabilized and is again rising, mostly due to revitalization
efforts in many city neighborhoods. The mid-July 2006 Census
estimate was 640,961.
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 of 1968 but instead went to Memphis,
Tennessee to join the sanitation worker strike.)
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 cargo
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 American municipalities
have since implemented the practice.
21st century
Baltimore's skyline continued growth with completed projects
such the as Inner Harbor East residential, retail and business
district (foreground) since the turn of the 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, Baltimore was affected
by Hurricane Isabel from flooding as a result of tidal
surge, affecting primarily the Fells Point community and
the Inner Harbor and surrounding low areas. Many places
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.
Beginning in 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.[18][19] 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.
On January 17, 2007, Sheila Dixon became the first woman
to hold the office of Mayor of Baltimore.[21] 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.[22] 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 oak[citation needed], bradford pear, poplar,
southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), several species
of Hardy palms[23] 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. The average date
of first freeze in Baltimore is November 13, and the average
last freeze is April 2.[25]
The Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area is the 4th
largest Combined Statistical Area in the United States,
with an estimated population of 8,052,496. The Baltimore-Towson
Metropolitan Statistical Area is the 19th largest MSA,
with a population of 2,655,675.
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). 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).
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 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). 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.
Cityscape
Baltimore is the home of the National Aquarium, one of
the world's largest.
A view of downtown from the NortheastBaltimore 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.
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 ball 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
zone full of dilapidated warehouses, into a bustling commercial
district full of bars, restaurants and retail establishments
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