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11 Most Endangered
West Side of Downtown Baltimore
Year Listed: 1999
Location: Baltimore , Maryland
Current Status: Favorable
Threat: Deterioration, Neglect
Significance
The story of Baltimore's rise as a major commercial port and one of America's leading urban centers can be traced in the neoclassical cornices, Romanesque arches, cast-iron facades, and Art Deco details of this once-bustling downtown district. Centered on Howard Street, these blocks of fashionable residences, specialty grocers, sleek department stores, dignified banks, luxurious hotels, productive workshops and fantastic movie palaces drew throngs of shoppers and theater-goers for more than a century. But the bright lights of Baltimore's retail and entertainment mecca began to dim in the 1960s as changes in demographics and the rise of suburban sprawl took their toll. Today the area, shabby but largely intact, has been the target of several revitalization plans – many of which have called for the condemnation and demolition of important historic structures that have great reuse potential.
Updates
May 21, 2009: In a letter to Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon, Richard Moe expressed the National Trust's concerns about the latest redevelopment plan for the "Superblock," a key West Side parcel that includes multiple historic buildings – many of which could be revitalized with historic tax credits. As the project progresses, the National Trust will continue to advocate for a solution that preserves the Superblock's unique character and streetscape.
In conjunction with the area's 11 Most listing, Preservation Maryland and Baltimore Heritage released a preservation-based revitalization plan for the West Side. In addition, Preservation Maryland persuaded the Baltimore City Council to include the preservation of historic buildings and retention of small, locally owned businesses as objectives in the new West Side Master Plan. In 2001, preservationists, West Side merchants and citizens of Baltimore celebrated the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement drafted by the Maryland Historical Trust and the City of Baltimore that will save hundreds of designated buildings from the wrecking ball.
Baltimore's West Side is not yet saved, however. Many of the buildings have already been rehabbed, notably the Hippodrome Theatre – a spectacular 1914 movie palace, now opened for live performances – and adjacent historic financial buildings on Eutaw Street. Other West Side rehabilitation projects include the Congress, the Hechts Company building, the Stewarts Building, and the Bank of America Centerpoint project. Many other projects are in the works, but some have been slowed by lawsuits, and others do not live up to the spirit of the 2001 Memorandum of Agreement.
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