| 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. ............................................................. 
Updated 3-11-2010 Baltimore's Harbor basin ( below ) 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, ( Above ) 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. Views are of Light Street
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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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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. |
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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 1927, the below ads were shown in local Baltimore newspapers. 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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| 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 ( See Kilduff's Baltimore Building Page for more
on the Tower Building ). |
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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, in which the highways going by ( I-83 and I-95 ) , make the harbor more of a lagoon. |
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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. |
| 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 3-11-2010 |
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