Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Port of Baltimore

Gwynns Falls Trail

Photographed By Don Morfe, April 14, 2017

1. Port of Baltimore Marker

Inscription. Baltimore was a late bloomer in colonial America. Chartered in 1729, the port grew rapidly after the Revolutionary War to become by 1800 the new nation’s third largest city. The harbor proved ideal for shipping grain from Central Maryland and flour from the Ellicott mills along the Patapsco River and the Gwynns Falls. Highways and then railroads linked Ohio River Valley farms and Pennsylvania coalfields with the port. Shipbuilding flourished with a succession of Baltimore Clippers, steamboats, and Liberty ships. The port lost its prominence in the trucking era after World War II. Shipping and industrial operations moved from the Inner to Outer Harbor, and the waterfront underwent a residential and commercial transformation.

Whether the city of Baltimore was located by accident or design,…(it is) the best of any Atlantic cities for residence, commerce, trade, and manufacture.
J. Thomas Scharf, 1881.

(Inscription above the image in the lower left) Baltimore Harbor from Light Street, 1895. (Inscription above the image in the upper right)
Steamboats and horse-drawn wagons line up to transfer goods at the Light Street Wharf about 1900. Enoch Pratt Free Library.

Erected by Gwynns Falls Trail Council/A Project of the Parks & People Foundation.

Topics. This memorial is listed

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in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars • Roads & Vehicles • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1729.

Location. 39° 16.894′ N, 76° 36.672′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in the Inner Harbor. Memorial is on Key Highway. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Baltimore MD 21202, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Olmsted Legacy (here, next to this marker); United States Merchant Seamen Memorial (a few steps from this marker); Private Armed Schooner of Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); Baltimore’s Part in Saving the Bay (within shouting distance of this marker); Jake's Skatepark (within shouting distance of this marker); Generating Electricity from the Sun (within shouting distance of this marker); A History of Firsts in Baltimore (within shouting distance of this marker); 120 East Montgomery Street (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.

Photographed By Don Morfe, April 14, 2017

2. Port of Baltimore Marker

This marker is the one on the right of the two markers.

Photographed By Don Morfe, April 14, 2017

3. Port of Baltimore Marker

The Maryland Science Center is in the background.

Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on April 23, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 1,623 times since then and 1,284 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on April 23, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.