About Baltimore

Presently, Baltimore is Maryland's largest city. It is the 29th most populated city in the country and it was established by the Constitution of Maryland. Therefore, it is also not part of any county, because of this it is the largest independent city in the United States with a population of 620,961 as of 2015. As of 2016, the population of the Baltimore metropolitan area was estimated to be just under 3 million making it the 21st largest metropolitan area in the United States. Founded in the year of 1729, Baltimore is the second largest seaport in the Mid Atlantic. In addition, at one time Baltimore's Inner Harbor was the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing facility. After a major manufacturing decline, rail transportation and industrialization, shifted to a service type economy, with the Johns Hopkins Hospital founded 1889, and Johns Hopkins University founded 1876. In fact, it is now the city's top two companies.

​Also, with hundreds of identified districts, Baltimore has been called "a city of neighborhoods". As a matter of fact celebrity residents have included writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Edith Hamilton, Frederick Douglass, and H.L. Mencken. Jazz musician James "Eubie" Blake, singer Billie Holiday, actor and filmmaker John Waters, and baseball player Babe Ruth. During the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, later the American national anthem, in Baltimore.

Additionally, Baltimore has the most public monuments per capital than any other city in the United States. It is home to some of the earlier National Register historic districts in the country. In addition this included Fell's Point (1969), Federal Hill (1970) and Mount Vernon Place (1971). More than 63,000 properties, or just about one in three buildings in the city are listed on the National Register, more than any other city in the country.

BALTIMORE FUN FACTS:

• Baltimore is home to the first umbrella factory in America was established in 1828.
• It is also has the first post office system in the United States was inaugurated in Baltimore in 1774.
• Additionally, it is home to the first railroad station in Baltimore was built in 1830.
• Home to the first dental school in the world, it was founded in Baltimore in 1840.
• Also, the first telegraph line in the world was established between Washington, D.C. and Baltimore in 1844.
• Baltimore was the first city to implement 311 service as a non-emergency hotline.
• The first civic monument dedicated to President George Washington, Baltimore's Washington Monument, is located in Mount Vernon.
• The very first successful manned balloon launch in the United States launched from Baltimore and was operated by 13-year-old Edward Warren in 1784.
• The first professional sports organization in the United States, The Maryland Jockey Club, was formed in Baltimore in 1743.
• In fact, America's first Catholic cathedral, the Baltimore Basilica of Assumption, is located in Baltimore.
• In addition, Baltimore was the first United States city to illuminate its streets using hydrogen gas in 1816. Electricity replaced these lamps a considerable time ago.