Federal Hill

Federal Hill. The Signal Towers on Federal Hill. The elevated plateau known as Federal Hill Park, or Federal Hill, has long served as a lofty observation point dating back to colonial times. The park area at the top of Federal Hill sits about 80 ft. about its base and 150 ft. above the sea line.1 Navigators and sea merchants took advantage of the site's topography and in 1795 constructed a marine observation tower on the top portion of Federal Hill. The construction was financed through about 300 subscriptions of $2.50 each, and subscribers were generally owners of merchant ships that frequented the port.2, The tower was approximately 30 ft. high and watchmen could climb the ladders to the top for an aerial view of approaching ships to the Baltimore harbor. At this height, sight lines, aided by a telescope, stretched about fifteen miles on a clear day.3 Watchers at the top of the would display flags corresponding to the type or owner of the approaching ship and imminent arrival of goods to Baltimore's port., For several years, the tower was used for observation of commercial seafaring activity, though in the early 1880s the use expanded to military in defense of Baltimore during the War of 18 12. Similar ship notification methods were used in warfare, with certain types of flags indicating the approach of enemy warships. No British ships made it past Fort McHenry during the war in part due to the benefit of an observatory tower on top of Federal Hill. For this reason, Federal Hill was also referred to as "Signal Hill" during this timeframe., The tower continued to serve dual commercial and miliary uses through the 1800s, most prominently during the Civil War. Union troops occupied Federal Hill for much of the war and moved the tower several times though it remained in service.4, When the City of Baltimore acquired Federal Hill to be a public park in 1880, the tower owners proposed a new, more aesthetically pleasing tower.5 The old tower was soon supplanted with an ornate replacement designed to provide shade for visitors while still serving as an observatory for approaching sea traffic. Unlike the first tower, the second tower was poorly constructed and existed for a mere seventeen years until 1902 due to the need for structural repairs. It was ultimately felled by strong winds. The second tower was also the victim of the rapidly advancing technology of the times.6, Observation sites shifted south to Sparrows Point and thereafter to Cove Point, about 60 miles south in the Chesapeake Bay.7 The advent of the telephone and improvements to seafaring equipment rendered the signal tower a part of Federal Hill history., (captions] , The original observatory and tower were built in 1795 by Captain David Porter so that ships' arrivals could be signaled to residents and merchants. Courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture (ID 52)., The ornate Victorian-era tower replaced the original 1795 observatory around 1880. Courtesy of the Maryland Center for History and Culture (ID 49)., A postcard from 1911 depicting the Victorian-era tower. Courtesy of University of Maryland Libraries., Special thanks to Dave Schenning of Baltimore Heritage., References: , 1. National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form - April 16, 1969 , 2. Federal Hill - A Baltimore National Historic District (pg 30) - Norman G. Rukert - 1980 , 3. Maritime Exchange in Service 25 years - The Baltimore Sun, June 7, 1924 , 4. The Federal Hill Observatory - The Baltimore Sun, April 29, 1865 , 5. Federal Hill - A Baltimore National Historic District (pg 34) - Norman G. Rukert - 1980 , 6. Tower Must Come Down - The Baltimore Sun, August 3, 1902, 7. Ibid