Discover Baltimore: Four Centuries of Change
Heritage Walk
The Chesapeake Bay was Baltimore’s gateway. Trade with Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and southern U.S. ports flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries. The city specialized in receiving raw materials (grain, textiles, guano, sugar cane, tobacco, oysters, fruits and vegetables, ores), processing them, and sending them back out as finished products (flour, sail cloth and clothing, fertilizer, sugar, cigars, canned goods, ironwork and steel). Baltimore also dominated regional trade, as small craft plied the bay bringing agricultural goods to market and departing with manufactured items to sell in small-town general stores.
From the American Revolution until the Civil War, enslaved African Americans represented
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The Inner Harbor evolved as the city grew. Dredge and fill operations extended the land three blocks south of Water Street, the original shoreline. Today, Federal Hill remains the only original land feature. After port facilities moved several miles south in the 1950s, Baltimore’s leaders embarked on an ambitious and highly successful Inner Harbor redevelopment effort that has made the city a world leader in waterfront re-vitalization. The Inner Harbor’s attractions often draw annual crowds larger than those of Disney World.
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Years listed under the images-1752, 1834, 1869, 1889, 1912, 1961, 1984, 2005.
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1st image-This rare, mid-19th century glimpse
2nd image-Occupying an entire square block near the harbor at Gay and Lombard streets from 1820 to 1902, the domed Baltimore Exchange and Custom House symbolized Baltimore’s maritime might. Designed by Benjamin Latrobe, it was considered the finest commercial building in the United States.
3rd image-In the 1920s, Centre Market (two blocks directly north) bustled with activity. Oliver Wendell Holmes described Baltimore as the “Gastronomic Metropolis of the Union.”
4th image-Chesapeake Bay sailing vessels docked beside the Power Plant around 1931. Farms along the Chesapeake Bay not only fed the canning industry, but also supplied Baltimore’s ten market houses.
5th image-The steamships of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company, commonly known as the Old Bay Line, connected Baltimore to points along the Chesapeake Bay from 1840 to 1962. The company’s imposing Light Street building, constructed in 1897, stood about where the Baltimore Visitor Center stands today.
6th image-For
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Follow the trail markings embedded in the sidewalk to experience this Baltimore adventure. Rest stops and restaurants offer places to relax along the way.
Heritage Walk Star Attractions.
1. U.S.S. Constitution
2. World Trade Center-Top of the World
3. Baltimore Maritime Museum
4. Baltimore Public Works
5. Baltimore Civil War Museum
6. Flag House and Star Spangled Banner Museum
7. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture.
8. Carroll Museum
9. Friends Meeting House
10. Nine North Front Street
11. Phoenix Shot Tower
12. St Vincent de Paul Church
13. War Memorial
14. Zion Lutheran Church
15. Peale Museum
16. City Hall
17. Battle Monument
18. Alex Brown Building.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1729.
Location. 39° 17.194′ N, 76° 36.413′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in the Inner Harbor.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, in the Chesapeake Bay Region, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Dr. William V. Lockwood (within shouting distance of this marker); Be A Part of Something Bigger Than A New Space: Baltimore History (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Candler Building (about 300 feet away); The Reginald F. Lewis Museum (about 300 feet away); Discovering the Jones Falls (about 400 feet away); Atlantic Coastal Plain (about 500 feet away); Piedmont Plateau (about 500 feet away); Always Changing
Credits. This page was last revised on April 17, 2020. It was originally submitted on June 3, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. This page has been viewed 572 times since then and 43 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on June 3, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. 2, 3. submitted on February 17, 2020, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. 4, 5. submitted on June 3, 2017, by Don Morfe of Baltimore, Maryland. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
