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| Kilduff's Baltimore Harbor page
is NOT intended to be a history
of the Baltimore Harbor. It is simply intended to share a few
views of the Baltimore skyline and harbor which I have found
over the years. Please feel free to contact me with corrections,
questions, and comments. .................................. 
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Baltimore's Harbor basin ( above ) in a drawing before anything was built. If you look to the right, you can see the Jones Falls stream emptying out onto the Harbor. I'm not sure who to credit the picture to , so if anyone knows, please let me know. The point of perspective is most likely Federal Hill. Below, ( below ) the development begins along the water line. |
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By the 1800's, Baltimore's harbor was one of the most popular ports on the East Coast. The port's activity helped to give Baltimore a strong industrial base , and the City grew quickly over the years. Postcards above show the Light Street activity of Baltimore. |
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| Scenes of the commerce along
the waterfront, as the Harbor developed. Above views are of Light Street
over the years. Below, a few looks at the Northern border, Light
Street in postcards over the years. ............................................... 
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.......................................................................Pratt Street, Baltimore Maryland 1912. |
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| A look at a ship coming in the harbor
around the 1920's, carrying watermelon, likely from the Eastern Shore
of Maryland. The water in Baltimore's harbor was never all that clean, with
spoiled produce often thrown overboard from ships and boats and left rotting
in the water.Below, Oyster boats unload. |
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| Postcard Right : Rare view
looking East out of the Harbor, likely taken from the area
of the old McCormick Spice Building. The scene shows the
old steamboats that would up and down
the Chesapeake Bay. This view is likely from the 1900's. |
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.................................................................................................Baltimore Harbor around 1912 |
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| The pictures, to
the above left and above right , are common of what would be seen in
the harbor around the 1920's. City Hall can be seen in the rear
right of the picture, indicating this picture was probably taken
around the area of today's Maryland Science Center. ........................................... 
........................................................................................Baltimore Harbor around 1912 |
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.........................................................Baltimore's Light Street piers, circa 1912 ( above ) and 1919 ( below ) . ................ 
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| Steamboats out of Baltimore were
common for years , allowing travelers to go to the Eastern
Shore and the amusement parks over there ( Betterton and
Tolchester ) or perhaps to Virginia or New York. .............................. 
In 1878 , the above ad was shown in local Baltimore Directory. Small beaches and amusement parks along the Chesapeake Bay were the popular destinations for Baltimoreans escaping the heat of Baltimore's summers. |
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Above, the Steamboat " City of Norfolk", and to the right, a unidentified steamboat. |
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............................................................Baltimore's Harbor view, circa 1912, above and below. ........................................ 
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| Here are several different views
from the Federal Hill area north towards the City Skyline.
In the shot to the right , you can clearly see the Pepsi
Cola plant that was located on Key Highway. These photos date
from about 1900 to the 1940's. |
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| A 1930's view
of the Harbor shows a steamboat traveling east out into the
Bay. The skyline in the picture shows a Baltimore just beginning
to come about. The tallest building in this picture, the Tower
Building, was torn down in the 1980's. |
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| Looking north on
Light Street, probably around the 1940's. Baltimore's
docks and wharfs were still very active and Light Street was full
on shipping activity and markets. Much of the water in this view
was later filled in to create the bulkhead for Sam Smith
Park, which was later built into Harbor Place. The buildings directly
on the lower left of the postcard have been replaced by a Hyatt
Regency Hotel. |
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| ....... In these photos and
old postcards , you can see the skyline slowly beginning to
progress. The smaller buildings on the waterfront have all long
been replaced, except for the power plant building, which is
currently used as a restaurant and attractions. To the far right
of the photos, you can see the dome of Baltimore's City Hall, and just
to the left of that, the Tower Building. |
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Below , is a old postcard view of ocean liners that were once
seen everywhere in the Inner Harbor area. |
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Long before Baltimore
came up with the Inner Harbor concept and Harborplace, Baltimore's
waterfront was a working harbor, complete with piers, docks and
steamboats. The postcard view on the
right shows the Harbor in the early 1960's, with a surviving
steamboat at Pier One, and a freighter docked in front of the old News
American Building . Today 's view , seen below and below
right , of the same location show the Harborplace complex
and the Baltimore Aquarium. |
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.............1964 plans for the Inner Harbor ( above ) , in which the highways going by ( I-83 and I-95 ) , make the harbor more of a lagoon. Below, the plans don't include any highways, but the 1950's plan ( below ) had filling in much of the harbor and building out into the water more from the Northern coastline. .......................... 
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...................................................1960's view of Baltimore " Inner Harbor " looking north on Light Street from Key Highway . |
| In the 1950's, The Wilson Line's S.S.
Bay Belle was popular for cruising around harbor. The Bay Belle
sailed out of the Broadway Pier for years. ................................................................ 
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......Pictures from Eastern High Yearbooks circa - 1950's............. |
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......................This shot is actually a different shot of the ship seen above top left . Look closely and you'll see the differences. |
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Another cruise students in the Baltimore area would go on in the 1950's, the Tolchester, which I believe was also on the Wilson Line. .......................................................................... 
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| Another Wilson Line cruise boat I
have found references to was the S.S. Mount Vernon. I found
one reference that shows Towson College in 1962 taking the boat to
a amusement park called Marshall Park. Ring any bells anyone ? ( Thanks to Tom H. < March 2010 > - I've got an answer ! ;" The ship steamed the Potomac from Washington D.C. and made stops at Marshall Hall Amusement Park ( on the Maryland side ) and Mount Vernon ( on the Virginia side ) . " The ship appears to have sunk at pier in the early 1960's. Elvis Presley performed once on the ship ( at dock ). I know it's not really " Baltimore Harbor", but seeing that there are very few references of the ship on the web, we'll leave the entry on the page. |
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............................................................................................................Wilson's Line S.S. Mount Vernon |
| Baltimore's Port Welcome around
the 1960's. The Port Welcome would cruise up and down the Harbor, and would
even travel as far as Annapolis and Betterton. Many of us growing
up in Baltimore in the 1960's and 1970's remember the Port Welcome,
which gave a great water view of Baltimore's Harbor. The group of Port
Welcome pictures come from area high schools and colleges, when the Port
Welcome was used for cruises down the Bay. |
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..............1960's shot of the Port Welcome on a cruise and a aerial look at the Port Welcome at the dock, around the same time. |
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.......Much of the Inner Harbor shore is being developed. Area like Federal Hill and Fell's Point have seen a lot residences going up. |
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| Click here
for a index of Baltimore's Steamboat lines |
Please feel free to email Kilduffs with any questions
or comments . 
Updated -2012 |
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