Downtown Baltimore is the central business district of Baltimore, Maryland, traditionally bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to the west, Franklin Street to the north, President Street to the east, and the Inner Harbor area to the south. In 1904, downtown Baltimore was almost destroyed by a massive fire with damages estimated at $150 million. Since the City of Baltimore was chartered in 1796, this downtown nucleus has been the focal point of business in the Baltimore metropolitan area. It has also increasingly become a heavily populated neighborhood with over 37,000 residents and new condominiums and apartment homes being built steadily.
Geography
City Center is the historic financial district in Baltimore that has increasingly shifted eastward and into the Inner Harbor. Hundreds of businesses are found here, and it remains the center of life in Baltimore, MD. The area is home to most of Baltimore’s skyscrapers, including the Bank of America building, the M&T Bank Building, the Transamerica Tower, the Baltimore World Trade Center, the old IBM building, and the massive Charles Center district. It includes historic Charles Street and significant commercial and cultural activity avenues along Pratt Street, east to west, and St. Paul Street-Calvert Street, north to south.
The Inner Harbor is the chief commercial and tourist destination in Baltimore, visited by over 13 million people a year. The Inner Harbor features many restaurants, hotels, retail areas (such as Harborplace), and entertainment (such as Power Plant Live!). National Geographic named it one of the best summer trips in 2012 (along with all of Baltimore in general). The Inner Harbor is also home to a variety of museums and scientific institutions such as the Maryland Science Center, the National Aquarium in Baltimore, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, the Flag House & Star-Spangled Banner Museum, Port Discovery children’s museum, and Living Classroom environmental education centers. Like much of Baltimore, the area features historic, often industrial, buildings from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that have been repurposed for modern industry and residences, including the Pratt Street Power Plant, which was built in 1900. It now hosts a Barnes & Noble bookstore, the Baltimore Hard Rock Cafe, and other retail tenants. EZ Bed Bug Exterminator Baltimore
Westside Baltimore is the western portion of downtown Baltimore that includes the Market Center and many of the newest developments in downtown Baltimore, including the Baltimore Convention Center. It is also home to the site of the “Superblock” project, which will include hundreds of condos and apartments as well as a variety of retail and commercial space spaces. The former home of Baltimore’s many andfamedand famed department stores, Westside Baltimore is now anchored by the University of Maryland, Baltimore consisting of the University of Maryland Health System, University of Maryland School of Law, and the University of Maryland Biopark. The Westside is also home to several performing arts centers, including the Hippodrome Theatre, Royal Farms Arena, and the Everyman Theatre. In its original location, G. Krug & Son Ironworks and Museum is the oldest continually operating blacksmith shop in the United States and a museum.
Check out different neighborhoods like Federal Hill
