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Baltimore is an independent city located in the U.S. state of Maryland on the eastern coast of the United States of America. As of 2005, the population of Baltimore City was 641,943 and the Baltimore-Towson metropolitan area has approximately 2.6 million residents . Baltimore is the largest city in Maryland and serves as the state’s major cultural and industrial center.

The city is named after the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony, Lord Baltimore in the Irish House of Lords. Baltimore became the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States during the 1800s. The city is a major U.S. seaport, situated closer to major midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast.

Because there is also a Baltimore County surrounding (but not including) the city, it is sometimes referred to as Baltimore City when a clear distinction is desired.

People from Baltimore are known as “Baltimoreans” (sometimes self-deprecatingly or derogatorily referred to as “Baltimorons.”

History

During the 17th century, various towns called “Baltimore” were founded as commercial ports at various locations on the upper Chesapeake Bay. The present city dates from July 30, 1729, and is named after Lord Baltimore, who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Baltimore grew swiftly in the mid- to late 18th century as the granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean. The profit from sugar encouraged the maximum possible cultivation of cane and the importation of food. The relatively shorter distance between Baltimore and the Caribbean colonies allowed swift transport and minimized the spoilage of flour.

One of Baltimore’s greatest moments occurred during the War of 1812 with the British, who had declared Baltimore “A nest of Pirates.” Baltimore’s Fort McHenry came under attack by British forces near the harbor after the British had burned Washington, D.C. Known today as the Battle of Baltimore, American forces won the decisive battles by repulsing a joint land and naval attack by the British forces. They fought to a stalemate at the Battle of North Point after killing the British commander General Ross. British reinforcements were not possible after the British Navy was repulsed by the defenders of the fort, and all forces then withdrew. It was the naval engagement that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the poem “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the lyrics to the United States’ national anthem. The battle was memorialized in the Battle Monument which is on the city seal.

Baltimore is also the site of the first architectural monument honoring George Washington, a 178-foot Doric column erected in 1829 and designed by Robert Mills, who later designed the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Baltimore became an independent city in 1851, being detached from Baltimore County at that time. Prior to the Civil War, Maryland was a slave-holding state. During the Civil War, Maryland was officially part of the [[Union (American Civil War), but kept slavery.legal. Pro-Southern sentiment led to the Baltimore riot of 1861, when Union soldiers marched through the city. After the riot, Union troops occupied Baltimore, and Maryland came under direct federal administration — in part, to prevent the state from seceding — until the end of the war in April 1865. This was considered a necessary move by the Union to prevent Washington, D.C., from being completely surrounded by seceded Confederate territory. The case Ex parte Merryman, written by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney (himself a Marylander), dealt with the habeas corpus rights of Marylanders jailed by the Abraham Lincoln Administration and strongly rebuked Lincoln for his actions.

The Great Baltimore Fire on February 7, 1904, destroyed over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours and forced most of the city to rebuild. Immediately afterward, Mayor Robert McLane was quoted in the Baltimore News as saying, "To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." He then refused assistance, stating "As head of this municipality, I cannot help but feel gratified by the sympathy and the offers of practical assistance which have been tendered to us. To them I have in general terms replied, 'Baltimore will take care of its own, thank you.'" (McLane committed suicide on May 30.) Two years later, on September 10, 1906, the Baltimore-American reported that the city had risen from the ashes and "one of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing."

Baltimore is the location of the Baltimore World Trade Center, the world's tallest equilateral five-sided building (the five-sided JPMorganChase Tower in Houston, Texas is taller but has unequal sides).

Baltimore is also the location of Pimlico Race Course, the home of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing. The Preakness has been run since 1873.

Baltimore's population peaked at 949,708 in the 1950 Census, which ranked it as the sixth-largest city in the country, behind Detroit, and ahead of Cleveland. For the next five decades, the city's population declined while its suburbs grew dramatically, bottoming out in 2000 at 636,251. In the 21st century, the city's population has stabilized and is once again rising, mostly due to revitalization efforts in many city neighborhoods.

In 1955 Flag House Courts, a public housing project made up of 3 12-story buildings, was built. The buildings were eventually demolished in 2001.

In recent years, efforts to redevelop the downtown area have led to a revitalization of the Inner Harbor. In 1979 the Baltimore Convention Center was opened and was subsequently renovated and expanded in 1996. Harborplace, a modern urban retail and restaurant complex, was opened on the waterfront in 1980, followed by the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland's largest tourist destination, and another cultural venue, the Baltimore Museum of Industry in 1981. In 1992, the Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball moved from Memorial Stadium to Oriole Park at Camden Yards downtown, and six years later the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League moved next door into PSINet Stadium (later renamed M&T Bank Stadium following PSINet's bankruptcy).

On October 2, 1996, Baltimore became the first city in the United States to adopt 311 as a non-emergency "hot line" telephone number, in order to reserve the use of 911 for genuine emergencies. The concept has been highly successful, and numerous other American municipalities have since implemented the practice.

A 60-car train derailment occurred in a tunnel in Baltimore on July 18, 2001. The derailment sparked a chemical fire that raged for six days and virtually shut down the downtown area until the heat caused a water main to rupture, largely extinguishing the fire but also causing significant flooding in the streets above. Three weeks later, manhole covers flew into the air as underground explosions along West Pratt Street followed due to residual explosive chemicals from the fire left in the sewers.

In 2003, the Baltimore Development Corporation announced that three hotel projects were being reviewed. As of September 2006, the 756-room, $305 million Hilton hotel project is currently under construction west of the Baltimore Convention Center. The City of Baltimore hopes to have it finished and opened by August 2008. (See Baltimore Convention Center Hotel Project for more details regarding the convention center hotel.)

Also in 2003, Baltimore was affected by Hurricane Isabel from flooding as a result of tidal surge, affecting primarily the Fells Point community and the Inner Harbor and surrounding low areas. Many places were flooded, including the sports center ESPN Zone, the Baltimore World Trade Center (which remained closed for approximately a month during cleanup efforts), and most of the Inner Harbor. Water levels rose some 20 feet in areas, flooding underground parking garages and displacing thousands of cubic yards of trash and debris.

Beginning in the early part of the 21st century, Baltimore has undergone a major building spree in the downtown area, specifically in the Inner Harbor East district. The skyline has extended further outward and upward,and will continue to do so well into the next decade. ARC Wheeler, a Philadelphia-based developer has been approved to build a new hotel/condominium complex that will be the city's new tallest building, dubbed "10 Inner Harbor," initially approved at 59 stories and 717ft tall, but rumored to be in the process of being redesigned to be even taller. Other proposals for downtown skyscrapers are twin 65-story towers at sites on E. Saratoga Street and Guilford Avenue, an 800ft.+ tower and complex located on the banks of the Patapsco River's middle branch area, and a 40-story condo and hotel tower at 300 E. Pratt Street.

Law and government

Baltimore is an independent city — not part of any county. For most governmental purposes under Maryland law, Baltimore City is treated as a "county"-level entity. The United States Census Bureau uses counties as the basic unit for presentation of statistical information in the United States, and treats Baltimore as a county equivalent for those purposes.

Baltimore has been a Democratic stronghold for over 150 years, with Democrats dominating every level of government.

Mayor
The current mayor of Baltimore is Democrat Martin O'Malley, currently in his second term. He is also the Democratic Party nominee to challenge Robert Ehrlich, the Republican incumbent for Governor of Maryland. (For a full list of mayors that served the city, see List of Baltimore Mayors.)

Baltimore City Council
Grassroots pressure for reform, voiced as Question P, restructured the city council in November of 2002, against the will of the mayor, the council president, and the majority of the council. A coalition of union and community groups, organized by ACORN, backed the effort.

The Baltimore city council is now made up of 14 single member districts and one elected at-large council president. Sheila Dixon is the current council president. On November 2, 2004, Dixon won re-election in a two-way contest; Joan Floyd, a Green Party candidate, was the only challenger; the Republicans did not field a candidate.

State Government
Baltimore and its suburbs were long underrepresented in the Maryland General Assembly, while rural areas were heavily overrepresented. Since Baker v. Carr in 1969, the Baltimore suburbs account for a substantial majority of seats in the state legislature.

Baltimore dominated Maryland state politics prior to 1969, however; even today, most of the states' highest elected officials come from the Baltimore area.

Federal Government
Baltimore is split between three congressional districts — the 2nd, represented by Dutch Ruppersberger; the 3rd, represented by Ben Cardin; and the 7th, represented by Elijah Cummings. All three are Democrats; a Republican has not represented a significant portion of Baltimore since Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. stepped down from the 2nd Congressional District seat to run for governor — a position he won by defeating Kathleen Kennedy Townsend.

Both of Maryland's Senators, Paul Sarbanes and Barbara Mikulski, are from Baltimore. Sarbanes is not running for reelection in 2006; the Democratic candidate for his seat, Cardin, is from Baltimore as well, as is the second place finisher in the primary that Cardin won, former 7th District Congressman Kwesi Mfume.

Culture

The city's geography and history as a working class port town has given it a very distinctive social flavor. The most prominent example is the city's association with blue crabs. The Chesapeake Bay for years was the East Coast's main source of blue crabs, and Baltimore became the central hub of the crab industry. In the tourist district (between Harborplace and Fells Point), it is almost impossible to find a shop or restaurant that does not serve crabs or crabcakes, or sell some sort of crab related merchandise. Maryland's distinctive way of eating crabs is often not understood by outsiders. Traditionally, crabs are steamed in rock salt and Old Bay Seasoning, a favored local all-spice manufactured in Baltimore for decades. They are eaten on tables spread with newspaper with the use of only a wooden mallet, a knife, and one's hands. Cold beer is also said to be a must.

Another popular Baltimore food item is the "chicken box". A chicken box is an inexpensive meal consisting of 4 or 5 fried chicken pieces served in a fast food carry out box with some kind of starch as a side (e.g. mashed potatoes, fries, rice, but usually biscuits). The item is chiefly sold at independent fried chicken shops and delis in the city. Chicken boxes are usually enjoyed with "Half and Half", a drink combining iced tea and lemonade — referred to elsewhere in the U.S. as an "Arnold Palmer".

Baltimore Club or Baltimore House is a recent musical movement that started in the late eighties in the clubs of Baltimore City. The earliest masters of this style were DJ Technics, the Dew Doo Kids, and Rod Lee, it is a fast pace style combining hip hop, house, and techno music together. The songs will sample hooks and repeat them over beats going as fast as 140 beats per minute. It has gained enough popularity to spring artist like D.O.G., the Bossman, and Young Leek to major deals with Universal, So So Def, and Roc-a-fella. The recent stars of this music movement are DJ K Swift and DJ Blackstarr. Though club music is a DJ led movement, recently Rap stars have taken over the scene and created a new sub-genre of rap, the stars are the aforementioned D.O.G. and Young Leek, also A-MAZ-ON, Tae Eazy, Deuce Tre Deuce, Prince, and Penny X. This movement has become so huge that it has been recognized by MTV as the next big movement and has been hailed as Next Up by Vibe. There is no telling when Baltimore Club will blow up onto the national scene, but, regardless, it has become a huge part of what makes up Baltimore's image, both internally and externally.

The city's favored local beer has traditionally been National Bohemian, or, as residents refer to it, Natty Boh. In some areas of Baltimore, locals call it "National." The beer and its one time mascot, Mr. Boh, are considered indelible parts of Baltimore culture. Though it is said that few truly enjoy the drink, the historically low price and association with the city make it a local favorite. The National Brewing Company was also the "inventor" of Colt 45 malt liquor in 1963. Natty Boh was also the long-time beer of choice for Orioles and Colts fans at Memorial Stadium. After the Orioles moved from Memorial Stadium in 1991, Natty Boh was no longer available to fans at Baltimore sporting events. However, for the 2006 Orioles season, "Boh is Back" and is being served throughout Oriole Park.
The Block

Residents are often proud of Baltimore's old-fashioned and often seedy characteristics. One of the more famous seedy spots in the city is The Block, a stretch of district along Baltimore Street between South and Gay Streets. Since the late 19th century, the location has variously been home to burlesque shows, nightclubs, strip clubs, pornography shops, and prostitution.

Though the presence of BPD Headquarters at one end of the district has cut down on many illegal activities, the adult entertainment has continued and the area is still popular for city night life.

Baltimore is noted for its near-omnipresent rowhouses. Rowhouses have been a feature of Baltimore architecture since the 1790s, with early examples of the style still standing in the Federal Hill and Fells Point neighborhoods. Older houses may retain some of their original features, such as marble doorsteps, widely considered to be Baltimore icons in themselves. Later rowhouses dating from the 1800s-1900s can be found in Union Square and throughout the city in various states of repair. They are a popular renovation property in neighborhoods that are undergoing urban renewal, although the practice is viewed warily by some as a harbinger of "yuppification." Elsewhere in the city, rowhouses can be found abandoned, boarded-up, and reflective of Baltimore's inner-city blight.

Marble steps found along the streets of Baltimore are as much a part of the city's culture as crabs and baseball games. The use of marble for steps is due to the presence of high quality white marble in Cockeysville, a town 17 miles north of Baltimore harbor by highway. Indeed, the marble found there is so attractive, stone was hauled all the way from this northern Maryland town to the nation’s new capital, instead of local Potomac marble quarries, for use in decorative construction around Washington, D.C., including the Washington Monument, and 108 columns of the capitol building. During the construction phase of the Washington Monument, that is through the middle of the 19th century, the marble gained in popularity as a decorative stone and was used omnipresently for the steps of rowhouses surrounding Baltimore harbor and in Fells Point. Baltimoreans take pride in the fact that their mundane doorsteps are made from the same beautiful white marble used for the construction of the famous Washington Monument. Scrubbing marble steps has become a tradition in Baltimore. The ritual includes scrubbing the marble with Bon Ami powder and pumice stone.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of Baltimore's culture are the people themselves. Though nowadays the city is extremely culturally diverse, the lasting image of Baltimoreans seems to be the "Hon" culture exemplified most markedly by the longer established families and residents of the Highlandtown, Canton, Locust Point and Hampden neighborhoods. Between the 1950s and 70s, it wasn't uncommon to see working class local women dressing in bright, printed dresses with out-dated glasses and beehive hairdos. Men were often dressed casually, but with a general factory or dock worker look, as many in town did indeed have such jobs.

The name of the culture comes from the often parodied Baltimore accent and slang. "Hon" was a common informal name for someone else, properly pronounced "hohn", with emphasis on the vowel. Baltimore’s accent exemplifies a dialectal continuum between Tidewater American English and Delaware Valley American English, loosely possessing the vowel shifts of the former and general pronunciation of the latter. For instance, "Baltimore" is pronounced "Bawlamer" or even "Balmer," and "Maryland" becomes "Murland" or "Murlan." Other common pronunciations include "ool," "amblance," "wooder," "warsh," "sharr," "dug," "tew" (oil, ambulance, water, wash, shower, dog, and two, respectively).

John Waters parodies the Hon culture, as well as Baltimore itself, extensively in his movies. For a somewhat accurate representation of Baltimorese, one can look to Waters' narration spots in his 1972 movie Pink Flamingos. Waters himself used a local commercial for Mr Ray's Hair Weaves as his main inspiration. The commercial was famous around town for Mr. Ray's extreme Baltimore accent. "Cawl todaey, for your freee hame showink..." was the most memorable line from that commercial, translating as "Call today, or for your free home showing..."

"Corned Beef Row" is a stretch of East Lombard Street that was once the center of Jewish life in Baltimore. Today, only a few landmarks remain. Notable is Attman's Delicatessen, founded in 1915, which is famous throughout the city for its hot corned beef sandwiches. [22] The Jewish Museum of Maryland is located on nearby Lloyd Street. [23] The museum campus includes the historic Lloyd Street and B’nai Israel Synagogues and a modern museum building with changing exhibition galleries and research library.

Baltimore was home to Henry Louis Mencken, better known as H.L. Mencken, journalist, satirist, and social critic. Mencken attended the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, one of best public schools in the city. Mencken achieved iconic status for the editorial columns he wrote at the Baltimore Sunpapers. His work earned him the nickname “The Sage of Baltimore”. His personal papers are held in the “Mencken Room” of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. The house he lived in for most of his life, located at 1524 Hollins Street in the city’s Union Square neighborhood, is on the National Register of Historic Places.