Baltimore: A Working City

March 04, 2011

My old home town... All Images © Steve Ember

Baltimore’s downtown showplace, the Inner Harbor. The neon “wave”design marks the National Aquarium, one of the major attractions. The tall building to its left is Baltimore’s pentagonal shaped World Trade Center. © Steve Ember

In stark contrast, the pre-development Inner Harbor and downtown skyline, c.1960, seen from approximately the same vantage point as the previous image.

Where Francis Scott Key saw “the rockets’ red glare” – Fort McHenry’s cannons look out on Baltimore’s wide harbor. © Steve Ember

Baltimore’s Washington Monument in Mount Vernon Square.

View looking uptown along North Charles Street from atop the Washington Monument.

Looking downtown along North Charles Street from atop the monument. The Bank of America building with its traditional architecture was Baltimore’s first skyscraper. Completed in 1927 as the Matheson Building, it remained Baltimore’s tallest for decades.

Looking west over Mount Vernon Square along W. Monument Street from the top of the Washington Monument.

The welcoming red doors of the Admiral Fell Inn along the cobblestoned streets of Fells Point.

Two tug boats, the Cape Ann and the Grace McAllister, docked at Fells Point, frame the Procter & Gamble plant, appearing closer in telephoto perspective, across Baltimore’s deep water harbor.

After-Work Conviviality in one of Fells Points bars and restaurants.

Another view across the harbor from Fells Point.

The maritime history of Baltimore is reflected in the offerings on the sidewalk cart of this establishment in bustling Fells Point.

Railfan inspects a Porter 0-4-0 steam locomotive at the Baltimore and Ohio Transportation Museum.

My high school, Baltimore City College. We proudly called it “The Castle on the Hill.”

The hearty Greek cuisine and inviting atmosphere at Ikaros in Baltimore’s Greek Town is a culinary highlight of Baltimore, a city of great ethnic diversity, well represented in some of its fine restaurants.

The hearty Greek fare in Xenos Kohilas’ restaurant Ikaros is complemented by photographs he has taken in his homeland.

Before there was BWI (Baltimore Washington International), there was – in my childhood – a sleepy little airport called Friendship. Friendship International Airport, named for the small town where it was located was a place of magic and wonderment for an

Baltimore’s downtown and harbor as it looked in 1964, taken by an excited kid in a Piper Tri-Pacer.

The newly completed Jones Falls Expressway sweeps past Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Railroad Station and neighboring Post Office and parallels Mount Royal Avenue before turning south toward the harbor in this aerial, also from 1964.

The view along Pratt Street at dusk, from the roof of the World Trade Center. Just beyond the tall buildings rises the clock tower of an old Baltimore landmark, the Bromo Seltzer Building.

Looking north at dusk from the roof of the World Trade Center.

Hotels and office towers along Pratt Street, across from Harbor Place.

Reflections in the Inner Harbor from the dock at the National Aquarium.