| From
the cobblestone streets of historic Fells Point and Federal
Hill, up the wide avenues of wealthy Mount Vernon, and across
the countless modest blue-collar enclaves, Baltimore wears
many different faces. On the east and west sides, seamless
blocks of the city's trademark redbrick row houses, each fronted
by white marble steps, radiate outward from the modern towers
of downtown Baltimore.
The town of Baltimore was established by the Colonial government
in 1729, at the end of the broad Patapsco River that empties
into the Chesapeake Bay. The town grew as a port and shipbuilding
center and enjoyed booming business during the War of Independence.
Because it was the home port for a significant portion of
U.S. Navy vessels and for privateers (many of them skippering
the infamously swift Baltimore clipper ships) that preyed
on British shipping, the city was a natural target for the
enemy during the War of 1812. After capturing and torching
Washington, D.C., the British fleet sailed up the Patapsco
River and bombarded Baltimore's Ft. McHenry, but in vain.
The 30- by 42-ft, 15-star, 15-stripe flag was still flying
"by the dawn's early light," a spectacle that
inspired Francis Scott Key to write "The Star-Spangled
Banner."
After
the War of 1812, Baltimore prospered as a slave market,
and during the Civil War the population's sympathies were
divided between North and South, provoking riots. The first
bloodshed of the Civil War occurred in Baltimore when the
Sixth Massachusetts Regiment was stoned by an angry group
of Baltimoreans. (This is a town whose regional identity
has always been, and remains, ambiguous.)
In the
postbellum period, Baltimore became a manufacturing center,
notably of iron, steel, chemical fertilizer, and textiles.
It also became the oyster capital of the world, packing
more of those tasty mollusks than any other place in 1880.
After a 1904 fire destroyed 1,500 structures, Baltimore
rebuilt valiantly and rode the economic roller coaster over
two world wars and the Great Depression. The city's manufacturing
base faltered in the 1950s and '60s, but the massive revitalization
efforts of the '80s helped the city get back on its feet.
Today,
Baltimore's Inner Harbor provides the heartbeat of a vibrant,
growing metropolis. The downtown renaissance at Charles
Center and Inner Harbor spurred a growth in tourism, making
it a $1 billion-a-year industry by the mid-1980s. Historic
neighborhoods such as Bolton Hill, Federal Hill, Fells Point,
Otterbein, and Roland Park (developed by Frederick L. Olmsted,
co-designer of New York City's Central Park) are home to
businesspeople and families who only a few years ago might
have lived in the suburbs.
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