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Introduction
Baltimore, city in northern Maryland,
adjacent to Baltimore County. Baltimore is located
at the head of navigation of the Patapsco River,
near its mouth on Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is the
largest city in Maryland and is one of the busiest
ports in the United States. It is a major
industrial, research, and educational center.
Population
Baltimore’s population has steadily declined
since World War II (1939-1945), when many
people began leaving the city to move to the
suburbs. The population of Baltimore
decreased from 786,775 in 1980 to 651,154 in
2000. According to the 2000 census, blacks
represent 64.3 percent of the population;
whites, 31.6 percent; Asians, 1.5 percent;
and Native Americans, 0.3 percent. Native
Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
numbered 222 at the time of the census.
People of mixed heritage or not reporting
race are 2.1 percent of inhabitants.
Hispanics, who may be of any race, make up
1.7 percent of the population.
While the population of Baltimore proper
has been steadily decreasing, the
population of the metropolitan area has
been increasing. The Baltimore area had
2,552,994 inhabitants in 2000, up from
2,382,172 in 1990. The Baltimore area is
also part of the larger
Washington-Baltimore Consolidated
Metropolitan Region, which had a
population of 7.6 million in 2000.
Economy
With one of the world’s largest
natural harbors, Baltimore has
always been a port city.
Excellent rail, road, and air
connections make it attractive
for industry, manufacturing, and
trade. Today, however,
Baltimore’s economy focuses on
research and development,
especially in the areas of
aquaculture, pharmaceuticals,
and medical supplies and
services. In addition to private
laboratories, the city is home
to more than 60 federal research
laboratories, and to Columbus
Center, a large marine
biotechnology center that opened
in 1994.
The Urban
Landscape
Baltimore covers a land
area of 209.3 sq km
(80.8 sq mi). The older
sections of Baltimore
are laid out in a grid
pattern superimposed on
a radial pattern of
principal arteries. The
city is characterized by
row houses, most of
which are brick, and by
winding, tree-lined
streets with
freestanding homes, most
of which are in the
outlying sections.
Baltimore is a city of
greenery, with about
2,600 hectares (about
6,400 acres) of land
devoted to parks.
Points of
Interest
Druid Hill Park
is the site of
the city zoo and
conservatory.
Other places of
interest include
Fort McHenry
National
Monument and
Historic Shrine;
and the home and
grave of the
writer Edgar
Allan Poe; the
row house where
journalist and
editor H. L.
Mencken spent
most of his
life; the
birthplace of
baseball player
Babe Ruth; and
many historic
structures,
including the
Basilica of the
Assumption of
the Blessed
Virgin Mary, the
first Roman
Catholic
cathedral built
in the United
States
(1806-1821). The
city has
monuments
dedicated to
Christopher
Columbus (1797)
and George
Washington
(1815-1829). The
Lacrosse Hall of
Fame Museum at
Johns Hopkins
University
celebrates the
game created by
Native
Americans. The
Inner Harbor is
the site of the
National
Aquarium and the
Maryland Science
Center. Oriole
Park at Camden
Yards is the
home of the
Baltimore
Orioles
professional
baseball team.
The Baltimore
Ravens of the
National
Football League
(NFL) play in
Ravens Stadium.
Educational
and
Cultural
Facilities
Among
the
Baltimore
region’s
numerous
institutions
of
higher
learning
are
Johns
Hopkins
University
(1876),
with its
noted
medical
school
and
hospital,
the
Peabody
Conservatory
of Music
at Johns
Hopkins
University
(1857),
Loyola
College
in
Maryland
(1852),
the
College
of Notre
Dame of
Maryland
(1873),
the
University
of
Maryland
at
Baltimore
(1807),
the
University
of
Baltimore
(1925),
Morgan
State
University
(1867),
Baltimore
Hebrew
University
(1919),
Maryland
Institute,
College
of Art
(1826),
Goucher
College
(1885),
Coppin
State
College
(1900),
and
Sojourner-Douglass
College
(1980).
The
Enoch
Pratt
Free
Library
is one
of the
nation’s
oldest
libraries.
The
Peale
Museum,
the
Walters
Art
Gallery,
the
Baltimore
Museum
of Art,
and the
Baltimore
and Ohio
Railroad
Museum
(partly
housed
in the
oldest
railroad
station
in the
country)
display
wide-ranging
collections.
The
Lillie
Carroll
Jackson
Museum
honors
the
civil
rights
leader
who was
president
of
Baltimore’s
National
Association
for the
Advancement
of
Colored
People
(NAACP)
chapter
from
1935 to
1970.
Also of
note are
the
Baltimore
Symphony
Orchestra
and the
Baltimore
Opera
Company.
History
Before European settlement, the site of Baltimore was inhabited by a Native American people known as the Susquehannock. The area was explored by English soldier John Smith in 1608 and was settled in 1661. In 1729 the town was founded and named for the barons Baltimore, the British founders of the Maryland Colony. Established as a tobacco port, the town rapidly developed into a flour-milling and shipbuilding center, with a flourishing trade with Europe and the Caribbean. In 1777, while Philadelphia was occupied by the British during the American Revolution, the Continental Congress met in Baltimore. It was incorporated as a city in 1797. During the War of 1812 the British made an attempt to eliminate privateers operating out of Baltimore. The ensuing battle in 1814, centered around Fort McHenry, inspired American lawyer and poet Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
A second phase of growth began in 1828, when America’s first railroad, the Baltimore and Ohio, was built to compete for the western trade created by New York’s Erie Canal. At the start of the American Civil War (1861-1865), though Maryland did not secede from the Union, the city’s Southern sympathies provoked riots and led to its occupation by Union troops.
Heavy industrial development began in 1897 with the opening of the Sparrows Point steel mill. In 1904 a fire destroyed most of the downtown section, which was soon rebuilt. Both World War I (1914-1918) and World War II (1939-1945) promoted great industrial growth, especially in steel works and oil refining, which led to a diversification of the economy.
Following the war, many middle-class whites left Baltimore for the surrounding suburbs. During the 1950 and 1960s the city was the site of civil rights demonstrations for integration in schools and public places. In 1968, after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., Baltimore was the site of race riots. By the mid-1970s the city had a black majority, and Clarence Burns became the city’s first black major in 1987.
In the 1970s and 1980s people continued to move to the suburbs. From 1960 to 1980 the city’s population dropped by 16 percent. In response, the city started redevelopment projects to revitalize areas such as the Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor became home to Harborplace, an area of shops and restaurants, in 1980 and to the National Aquarium the following year. In 1992 the Oriole Park at Camden Yards, where the Baltimore Orioles professional baseball team plays, opened in downtown Baltimore.
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