Baltimore, Maryland

Baltimore is the most populated city in the state of Maryland. Baltimore is situated in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Founded in 1729, Baltimore is a major U.S. port and is positioned closer to major Midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast. After a decline in manufacturing industries, Baltimore transformed into a service sector-oriented economy. Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Hospital are now the city's largest employers.

Baltimore exhibits structures from each period of architecture over more than two centuries, and work from many famous architects such as Benjamin Latrobe, John Russell Pope, Mies Van Der Rohe and I.M. Pei.

The city has architecturally important buildings in a variety of styles. The Baltimore Basilica (1806-1821) is was done by Benjamin Latrobe in a neoclassical design, and also the oldest Catholic Cathedral in the United States. In 1813 Robert Cary Long, Sr. built for Rembrandt Peale the first significant structure in the United States designed specifically to be a museum.

History

The Town of Baltimore was established on July 30, 1729, and is named after Lord Baltimore (Cecilius Calvert), who was the first Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland. Cecilius Calvert was a son of George Calvert, who became the First Lord Baltimore of County Cork, Ireland in 1625. Baltimore grew rapidly in the 18th century as a granary for sugar-producing colonies in the Caribbean.

Baltimore played an important part in events leading to and including the American Revolution. City leaders such as Jonathan Plowman Jr. moved the city to join the resistance to British taxes and merchants signed agreements to end trade with Britain. After the war, the Town of Baltimore, nearby Jonestown, and an area known as Fells Point were incorporated as the City of Baltimore in 1797.

The Midwestern city was the site of the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. The British attacked Baltimore on the night of September 13, 1814 after burning Washington, D.C. United States forces from Fort McHenry successfully defended the city's harbor from the British. Francis Scott Key, a Maryland lawyer, was aboard a British ship where he had been negotiating for the release of an American prisoner. Key witnessed the barrage from this ship and later wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", a poem retelling the attack.

The state of Maryland did not secede during the American Civil War, but remained a part of the United States. However, at the beginning of the war Union soldiers marched through the city, Confederate sympathizers attacked the troops, which led to the Baltimore riot of 1861. Four soldiers and 12 civilians were killed during the riot, which caused Union troops to occupy Baltimore.