Baltimore

Baltimore, Maryland 

With a population of 585,708 in 2020, Baltimore will be the most populated city in the U.S. state of Maryland, the fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the thirty-first most populous city overall. The Constitution of Maryland[a] established Baltimore as an independent city in 1851, and it is currently the most populated autonomous city in the country. The Baltimore metropolitan area had a projected population of 2,838,327 as of 2021, ranking it as the 20th largest metropolitan region in the nation. Baltimore is a key city in the Washington-Baltimore combined statistical area (CSA), the third-largest CSA in the country, with a projected population of 9,946,526 in 2021. Baltimore is located about 40 miles (64 km) north-northeast of Washington, D.C. 

The Susquehannock Native Americans, who were predominantly settled further northwest than where the city was subsequently developed, frequented the Baltimore region as hunting grounds before European invasion. Maryland Province colonists founded the Town of Baltimore in 1729 and the Port of Baltimore in 1706 to assist the European tobacco trade. In the middle of the 18th century, Nicholas Hasselbach and William Goddard respectively brought the first printing press and newspapers to Baltimore. 

Francis Scott Key penned a poem that would later become "The Star-Spangled Banner" during the key Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, which culminated in the unsuccessful British bombardment of Fort McHenry. The song was later chosen as the American national anthem in 1931. The city witnessed some of the first acts of violence connected to the American Civil War during the Pratt Street Riot of 1861. 

The construction of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the country's first railroad, in 1830 solidified Baltimore's position as a key transportation center by providing access to the city's port for farmers in the Midwest and Appalachia. The Inner Harbor of Baltimore used to be the country's second-busiest point of entry for immigrants. Baltimore also served as a significant hub for industry. Baltimore has transitioned to a service-oriented economy following a collapse in heavy industry, significant manufacturing, and the rail industry. The two largest employers in the city are Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins University. The NAACP, ABET, the National Federation of the Blind, Catholic Relief Services, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, World Relief, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Social Security Administration all have their corporate offices in Baltimore and the surrounding area. The National Football League's Baltimore Ravens and Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles are both based in Baltimore. 

The history of many Baltimore neighborhoods is extensive. Fell's Point, Federal Hill, and Mount Vernon are a some of the city's oldest National Register Historic Districts, along with others. Between 1969 and 1971, shortly after historic preservation legislation was implemented, these were listed to the National Register. No other city in the nation has more public statues and monuments per resident than Baltimore. More than any other American city, the city has about one third (over 65,000) of its structures listed on the National Register as historic. 33 local historic districts and 66 National Register Historic Districts can be found in Baltimore. The Baltimore City Archives is where you may find the city of Baltimore's historical documents. 

Climate 

According to the Köppen climatic classification, Baltimore has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa), which features long, hot summers, cold winters, and a summer peak in yearly precipitation. Zones 7b and 8a of the USDA's plant hardiness map include Baltimore. Typically, summers are mild with sporadic afternoon thunderstorms. The average temperature in July—the warmest month—is 80.3 °F (26.8 °C). Winters can be chilly or mild, but they can also vary, and there may be sporadically snowfall. For example, in January, the daily average temperature is 35.8 °F (2.1 °C), though temperatures frequently reach 50 °F (10 °C) and can occasionally fall below 20 °F (7 °C) when Arctic air masses affect the region. 

The two mildest seasons are spring and autumn, with spring having the most days with precipitation. With a daily average temperature of 80.7 °F (27.1 °C) in July, the summers are hot and muggy, and the mix of the two causes sporadic thunderstorms. On summer afternoons when hot air rises over inland areas, a southeasterly bay breeze from the Chesapeake typically develops; prevailing winds from the southwest combining with this breeze as well as the UHI of the city center can substantially exacerbate air quality. Despite being distant from the traditional coastal storm surge zones, downtown Baltimore may experience flooding in the late summer and early fall depending on the path of hurricanes or their leftovers. 

The average amount of snow that falls annually is 19 inches (48 cm), but it fluctuates widely depending on the winter, with some years getting little to no snowfall and others experiencing several significant nor'easters. The outlying and inland areas of the Baltimore metropolitan region are often cooler, especially at night, than the city center and the coastal towns due to lower urban heat island (UHI) as opposed to the city proper and distance from the moderating Chesapeake Bay. As a result, winter snowfall is more substantial in the northern and western suburbs, where certain places average more than 30 in (76 cm) of snow per winter. The formation of the rain-snow line in the metro area is by no means unusual. As warm air replaces cold air at the low to mid-levels of the atmosphere, freezing rain and sleet occasionally occur in the area throughout the winter. Sleet or freezing rain results from the cold air being blocked by mountains to the west when a breeze comes from the east. 

Baltimore is vulnerable to the rising effects of climate change, just like the rest of Maryland. Given the current state of degradation of Baltimore's water system, flooding has historically destroyed homes, put lives in danger, and caused significant sewage backups. This is especially true in lower class, mainly black communities. 

From -7 °F (-22 °C) on February 9, 1934, and February 10, 1899, to 108 °F (42 °C) on July 22, 2011, are considered extreme dates. An average year has three days with temperatures of 100 °F (38 °C) or higher, 43 days with temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher, and nine days with highs below freezing. 

Economy 

The city was once primarily industrial, with an economic foundation centered on the processing of steel, shipping, auto manufacturing (General Motors Baltimore Assembly), and transportation. However, due to deindustrialization, the city lost tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs, which affected the local population. Currently, 31% of jobs in the city are in the low-wage service sector, which is the city's main economic driver. At the turn of the 20th century, Baltimore was the top producer of rye whiskey and straw hats in the United States. Additionally, it was a pioneer in processing crude oil from Pennsylvania that had been piped into the city. 

Baltimore's unemployment rate was 5.8% as of March 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, while 37% of its children and a quarter of its inhabitants live in poverty. Employment and the local economy are anticipated to be further impacted by the 2012 closure of a significant steel mill at Sparrows Point. 207,000 commuters entered Baltimore city daily in 2013, according to the Census Bureau. With 29.1 million square feet of office space, downtown Baltimore is the main economic asset in Baltimore City and the surrounding area. The number of tech workers is increasing quickly, and the Baltimore metro area is ranked 8th among 50 U.S. metro areas in the CBRE Tech Talent Report. Baltimore was ranked fourth among America's "new tech hot spots" by Forbes. 

The Johns Hopkins Hospital is located in the city. Under Armour, BRT Laboratories, Cordish Company, Legg Mason, McCormick & Company, T. Rowe Price, and Royal Farms are a few other significant businesses in Baltimore. One of Baltimore's cultural landmarks is an American Sugar Refining-owned sugar plant. Lutheran Services in America and Catholic Relief Services are two charities with offices in Baltimore. 

As of mid-2013, nearly a quarter of the jobs in the Baltimore region were in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math); maintenance and repair specialists were included in this count. This statistic can be partly attributed to the city's extensive undergraduate and graduate schools. 

Culture 

Baltimore, a historically working-class port city, has been referred to be a "city of neighborhoods" since it contains 72 designated historic districts that have historically been inhabited by many ethnic groups. The three downtown areas along the port that are most notable today are Little Italy, which is situated between the other two and is home to Baltimore's Italian-American community and where U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew up. The Inner Harbor and Fells Point were once popular hangouts for sailors but have since undergone renovations and gentrification. The historic hub of the city's cultural and artistic life is Mount Vernon, which is located further inland. It is the location of the remarkable Washington Monument, which was built earlier than the one in Washington, D.C. and is perched on a hill in a 19th-century urban plaza. Baltimore, which was the second-largest port of entry into the US after Ellis Island in New York and New Jersey, also boasts a sizeable German American population. Nearly 2 million German, Polish, English, Irish, Russian, Lithuanian, French, Ukrainian, Czech, Greek, and Italian people arrived in Baltimore between 1820 and 1989; the majority of them did so between 1861 and 1930. Baltimore had about 40,000 immigrants annually by 1913 when World War I cut off the immigration stream. Baltimore's heyday as a hub for immigration had long since passed by by 1970. Additionally, there was a Chinatown with little more than 400 Chinese people that existed from at least the 1880s. There is still a Chinese restaurant there as of 2009, however there is still a local Chinese-American association. 

With over 100 old breweries in the city's past, Baltimore has a rich history when it comes to manufacturing beer, a craft that flourished there from the 1800s until the 1950s. The former American Brewery Building on North Gay Street and the National Brewing Company building in the Brewer's Hill area serve as the best surviving examples of that past. The first six-pack in the country was introduced by the National Brewing Company in the 1940s. National Bohemian Beer, also known as "Natty Boh," and Colt 45 were two of National's most well-known brands. Colt 45 was not named after the.45 caliber handgun ammunition round, but rather after running back Jerry Hill, jersey number 45, of the 1963 Baltimore Colts, according to a "Fun Fact" on the Pabst website. Even though they are now produced outside of Maryland, both brands are still available in bars around the Baltimore region and are served at Orioles and Ravens games. All cans, bottles, and packaging feature the Natty Boh emblem, and it's still simple to find Natty Boh-themed goods at Maryland shops, including a number in Fells Point. 

Every year, the city's Bolton Hill neighborhood, near the Maryland Institute College of Art, hosts the Artscape festival. The "biggest free arts event in America" is how Artscape describes itself. The Maryland Film Festival is held in Baltimore in May, with the historic Charles Theatre serving as its main location and housing all five of its screens. Baltimore has played host to numerous film and television productions. Both The Wire and Homicide: Life on the Street were filmed and set in Baltimore. Despite being filmed in Baltimore, House of Cards and Veep are both set in Washington, D.C. 

There are cultural museums in various fields of study in Baltimore. The art collections of the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art are well known worldwide. The largest collection of Henri Matisse artworks is housed at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Congress has designated the American Visionary Art Museum as the country's national museum of visionary art. With more than 150 lifelike and life-size wax figures, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum is the first African American wax museum in the nation. 

Population 

Baltimore is a city in the Maryland counties of Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Baltimore City. Additionally, it serves as Baltimore County's County seat. It is the largest city in Maryland and the 29th largest city in the United States with a projected population of 575,133 in 2023. Baltimore's population has declined by -4.51% from the most recent census, which showed that there were 602,274 people living there in 2020, and is now falling at a pace of -0.61% annually. Baltimore has a population density of 7,105 persons per square mile and a total length of nearly 92 miles. 

Baltimore has a 23.37% poverty rate and a $74,246 average household income. The median monthly cost of rent in recent years has been, and the median value of a home is. Baltimore's median age is 35.5 years, with 34.3 years for men and 36.7 years for women. 

Baltimore is situated alongside the Patapsco River in the center of Maryland. Baltimore City is another name for the autonomous city of Baltimore. According to estimates, Baltimore's population has increased to 622,000, a very small but positive increase for the city, which has seen a population decline of more than one-third during the past 60 years. 

Since reaching a peak of 949,700 in 1950, Baltimore's population hasn't increased till now. As more young professionals and immigrants settle in the neighborhood, downtown Baltimore and the surrounding areas have improved. In addition, there is a rise in foreign migration and a decline in Baltimore's population. Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake declared her intention to grow the city's population by "10,000 families" within ten years in December 2011. In 2018, it appeared that the statistics were against her; the population of Baltimore was reportedly 611,648 at the time. This decrease represents a 1.5% decline in the city's population. 

However, the Baltimore metropolitan region is far bigger, with a population of 6.7 million. It is now the twentieth-largest metro region in the nation. 

Top 2 News Websites 

WBAL NewsRadio 

Listeners can tune in to WBAL NewsRadio in Baltimore, Maryland, and the surrounding area for news, weather, traffic, and thought-provoking talk programming. 

WBAL-TV 11 

WBAL-TV has the most recent items on sports, weather, and news in Baltimore. 

Current City Mayor 

As Baltimore's 52nd mayor, Brandon M. Scott is striving to reduce gun violence, rebuild public confidence in the government, and improve Baltimore. 

In May 2019, Scott's colleagues unanimously chose him to lead the Baltimore City Council. As Council President, Scott created and unveiled the first-ever legislative agenda for the position, which was centered on equity, creating safer, stronger communities, streamlining municipal administration, and investing in Baltimore's youth. Scott previously represented Baltimore's 2nd District in the City Council. One of the youngest individuals to be elected to the Baltimore City Council, he was initially elected in 2011 at the age of 27. 

As a prominent advocate for lowering violence in Baltimore during his first tenure, Scott reintroduced Council Oversight of the Baltimore Police Department by holding quarterly hearings. He thinks that in order to reduce violence, a comprehensive, all-hands-on-deck strategy would be needed, one that acknowledges that violence is basically a public health issue. Scott spearheaded legislative proposals that allowed the Baltimore Police Department to report crimes online and share copious amounts of crime data. Scott proposed and won approval for legislation establishing Baltimore's open data policy in 2016. 

Early in 2018, the then-Councilman Scott introduced and won approval for significant equity legislation in Baltimore. All city departments must function in accordance with his equity assessment program statute, which also mandates that all operational budgets, construction budgets, and proposed legislation be evaluated in light of equity. The execution of that law is just getting started. 

An emerging political star is Mayor Scott. He was the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for YEO's America's Cabinet and a member of the Young Elected Officials Network. Additionally, he presided over the Large Cities Council of the National League of Cities. 

Mayor Scott is a prominent member of the community, an official, and a longtime resident of Baltimore City. Scott, a proud resident of Baltimore, is a graduate of St. Mary's College of Maryland and MERVO High School. He resides in Northeast Baltimore's Frankford area.