Midtown Baltimore Photography

The area that I photographed is the cultural center of Baltimore, with many of its stately townhouses, along with the Baltimore School of Art, Contemporary Museum, Maryland Historical Society and Walters Art Gallery. It is sandwiched on the north by Midtown and its townhouses and on the south by the Central Business District.

The Contemporary Museum

From the left to right: St. James Place, New Howard Hotel, Congress Hotel and Mayfair Theatre

A townhouse on W. Monument Street

The Enoch Pratt House

The Contemporary Museum from the Maryland Historical Society

A townhouse across from the Maryland Historical Society

The Winona Apartment Building

Another view of the Winona Apartment Building

The First Presbyterian Church (thanks for correction!)

Another view of the Grace and St. Peter’s Church

The entrance to the Grace and St. Peter’s school

Looking east down W. Monument Street

The Maryland Historical Society

Another view of the Maryland Historical Society

Baltimore Westside Photography- Part One (Howard Street)

For a long time up until the 1960′s/1970′s, Howard and Eutaw streets were the main retail and entertainment districts of Baltimore. Filled to the brim with 3 department stores (Hutzlers, Stewart’s, and Brager-Gutman’s), 3 major theatres (the Mayfair, the Maryland (connected to Congress/Kernan Hotel) and the Hippodrome), it attracted travellers from around the country to its glories. Suburbanization and white/wealth flight pulled away its most valuable customers and the stores followed suit into the suburbs. For about 30/40 years, the stores have either layed empty or with low-end stores catering to a lower-income clientele. However, the City of Baltimore as well as the Baltimore Development Corporation and a gaggle of investors are re-investing in the area to create a revitalization similar to that of the Inner Harbor and HarborEast. They hope that pushing out the lower-end stores and rehabbing the storefronts as well as adding new buildings (condominiums, apartments, etc.) will breath new air into the area and revitalize it. However, only time will tell.

Part Two

The following pictures were taken on Howard Street:

St. James Place on the corner of Howard and Franklin streets

Another shot of St. James Place

St. James Place

St. James Place

Last shot of St. James Place with the Congress Hotel peaking out from the right

The Congress Hotel

The Mayfair Theatre

Western High School, now Chesapeake Commons apartments

Another shot of the Chesapeake Commons apartments

Chesapeake Commons Apartments
The Howard Street view of the Chesapeake Common Apartments

Looking east down Centre Street from Howard Street

Martick’s Restaurant Francais on Mulberry Street, 1 block from Howard

A close up of the tile front of Martick’s Restaurant Francais

Another shot of Martick’s Restaurant Francais

Looking west down Saratoga street

The United Optical Center building on the corner of Park avenue and Saratoga street

220-222 Saratoga Street

218 Saratoga Street

Maison Marconi on Saratoga Street, near Cathedral

A closeup of Maison Marconi on Saratoga Street

Looking down W. Saratoga street with the Providence Savings Bank on the left

Providence Savings Bank on Howard Street

Looking south on Howard Street with the Hutzler Brothers department store on the right

The newer addition to the now closed Hutzler Brothers department store

A closeup of the Hutzler Brothers department store entrance

Two buildings that were added to the Hutzler Brothers Complex

A closeup of the Hutzler Brothers department store entrance

The Hutzler Brothers building, which was built before the brick one on the right

Stewart’s department store, now converted into the world headquarters for Catholic Relief Services

Centerpoint Apartments on Howard and Baltimore Streets

An old bank that has been converted into a Kentucky Fried Chicken

Avalon Centerpoint Apartments on Howard and Fairmount Streets

The Baltimore National Trust building from Howard and Lombard streets

Apartments on 8 South Howard Street

Part Two of the Baltimore Westside Photography Set

Baltimore History Book Scans Part Three

Part one, Part two

The third part of the Baltimore History Books that I scanned:

The following images were scanned from Baltimore: Charm City by Dan Rodricks and Roger Miller

The White Tower Diner

The interior of the Alex Brown and Sons building

Haussner’s Restaurant

The following pages are scanned from Bygone Baltimore by Jacques Kelly

The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company building

The interior of a 1880′s Baltimore mansion

The Rennert Hotel

The Rennert Hotel Dining Room (top) and the Congress Hotel (bottom)

The cornerstone laying ceremony for the Southern Hotel (top left page), the Lobby of the Southern Hotel (bottom left page) and the Emerson Hotel (right page)

The Maryland Theatres with the attached Congress/Kernan Hotel

The left page and right page that shows the Crystal Room in the Emerson Hotel

The following scans are from Baltimore: A Picture History by Francis Beirne and Carleton Jones

The Merchants Exchange and the Shot Tower

The Rennert Hotel

A group of female bicyclists and the interior of an Auchentoroly Terrace home in the 1880′s

Part one and Part two of the Baltimore History Books that I scanned

Baltimore History Book Scans Part Two

Part one, Part Three

The second page of the Baltimore History Books that I scanned:

These scans are from Lost Baltimore: A Portfolio of Vanished Buildings by Carleton Jones

The Baltimore Exchange and Custom House

The St. James Hotel

The Baltimore-American Building

The Fava Fruit Building

The Farmers and Merchants National Bank

The Rennert Hotel

The Altamont Hotel

The Marburg Tobacco Building

The Baltimore & Ohio Headquarters Building

The Emerson Hotel

The Metropolitan Savings Bank

The Old Sun Building

The Tower Building (Maryland Casualty Insurance)

The Colonial Trust Company

The McCormick & Company Building

This page is scanned from Greetings from Baltimore: Postcard Views of the City by Bert Smith

The McCormick Building and the Recreation Pier

This page is scanned from Baltimore Transitions by Mark Miller

Liberty Street looking north from Lexington Street (1918), notice the Rennert Hotel in the upper right hand corner

These pages are scanned from Baltimore: When She Was What She Used to Be by Marion and Mame Warring

Demolition of the Merchant’s Exchange

The Alex Brown and Sons Building on Baltimore and Calvert Streets

The Altamont Hotel

The Maryland Theatre attached to the Congress Hotel

The Rennert Hotel

Part one and Part Three of the Baltimore History Book scans

Baltimore History Book Scans Part One

On Friday, I scanned quite a few (63 to be exact) pages of the following books on Baltimore History: part two, part three

Baltimore: A Picture History by Francis F. Beirne and Carleton Jones
Baltimore: Charm City by Dan Rodricks and Roger Miller
Greetings from Baltimore: Postcard Views of the City by Bert Smith
Baltimore Transitions by Mark Miller
Lost Baltimore: A Portfolio of Vanished Buildings by Carleton Jones
Baltimore: When She Was What She Used to Be by Marion Warren and Mame Warren
A Guide to Baltimore Architecture by John Dorsey and James D. Dilts

These scans are not designed to copy the book for free usage online but to further enlighten Baltimoreans and non-Baltimoreans on the greatness of our city, in its past and present.

The second part and third part of the Baltimore History Books that I scanned.

The first round of scans (26) are from A Guide to Baltimore Architecture by John Dorsey and James D. Dilts

Pennsylvania Station and the Greek Orthodox Church

The Belvedere Hotel and the Automobile Garage (which is now part of the University of Baltimore)

The Winans House

The Bauernschmidt House and the Valve House

The Syracuse Brothers Company Building and the Paca-Pratt Building

The Abell Building and the Bromo-Seltzer (Emerson) Tower

The Baltimore Equitable Society Building and the Eutaw Savings Bank Building

The Hutzler Brothers Complex and the Provident Savings Bank

Kresge’s Department Store

The Furness House, the Chamber of Commerce Building and the United States Custom House

The Tower Building and the Safe Deposit and Trust Company Building

The Old Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company Building

The Alex Brown and Sons Building and One South Calvert Street

The Equitable Building

The Marburg Tobacco Warehouse

Charles Center South and the Edward A. Garmatz Federal Courthouse

The Hansa Haus and the Savings Bank of Baltimore

The Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Building and the Mechanic Theatre

One Charles Center and the Baltimore Gas and Electric Building

The Masonic Temple, Fidelity Building and the Central Savings Bank

The Commercial Credit Company Annex and the Old YMCA Building

The Hamilton Street Row Houses and the First Unitarian Church

The Engineering Center (Club)

The second page of the Engineering Club and the Thomas-Jencks-Gladding House

Brownstone Row and Asbury House

The St. Ignatius/Center Stage Building

The second part and third part of the Baltimore History Books that I scanned.

Baltimore Architecture Part Three

All of these pictures are available at:
http://flickr.com/photos/13766781@N05/sets/72157602391522455/

The Washington Monument looking north on Charles Street

The Washington Monument

The Washington Apartments

Another view of the Washington Apartments

The Stafford Hotel (now apartments) with a monument to John Eager Howard, an American revolutionary war hero

Another view of The Stafford hotel

The Washington Apartments and Stafford Hotel

The Stafford Hotel and Graham-Hughes House

The Graham-Hughes House

Another view of the Graham-Hughes House

Baltimore Architecture Part Two

All of these images are available at:
http://flickr.com/photos/13766781@N05/sets/72157602391522455/

Temple Gardens apartment building facing Druid Hill reservoir

Severn Apartments at corner of W. Monument and Cathedral streets in Mount Vernon, Baltimore

Johns Hopkins Hospital

View of downtown Baltimore City from the East

Alpha Phi Alpha building on St. Paul’s street

The Walters Art Gallery on Charles Street

Charles Street facing south from the Washington Monument

Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church

Another view of the Mount Vernon Place Methodist Church

The main building of the Peabody Institute

Another view of the Peabody Institute

The monument to the Marquis de Lafayette in front of the Peabody

The Lafayette Monument from the Peabody

The Hackerman House, which is connected to the Walters Art Gallery

Another view of the Hackerman House

Paris Architecture

All these pictures can be found at: http://flickr.com/photos/13766781@N05/sets/72157602336247138/

Arc d’Triomphe

Notre Dame

Berthillon (best ice cream in the world!)

Mansion on the Champs-Elysee

Musee d’Orsay

Clock inside Musee d’Orsay

Houses facing the Hotel Raphael

La Conciergie on the Ile de la Cite

Looking east down the Rue de Rivoli

Hotel de Crillon

Le Louvre des Antiquaires

Place Vendome

Branch of La Samaritaine, the Parisian department store

Legion of Honor Museum

Looking west down the Rue de Rivoli

Palais Royal

Baltimore Architecture Part One

All these pictures are available at: http://flickr.com/photos/13766781@N05/sets/72157602391522455/

The Baltimore Trust Building

The World Trade Center

The Monumental Life Building

The Baltimore Trust Building

The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Building

Burke’s Restaurant

The Brewer’s Exchange

The London Fog Factory

HarborEast looking east

Spinnaker Bay Condominiums at HarborEast

Enoch Pratt Free Library

Enoch Pratt Free Library

A former White Coffee Pot restaurant

The Congress Hotel in Baltimore

The Conservatory in Druid Hill Park

The Temple Gardens Apartment Building

The Esplanade Apartment Building

The Esplanade Apartment Building

The Emersonian Apartment Building

The Emersonian Apartment Building

The Chateau Apartment Building

The Riviera Apartment Buildings

The Belvedere Hotel in Baltimore

The Belvedere Hotel at the corner of Chase and Charles streets in Baltimore was built in 1903 as the premier hotel in Baltimore and all of Maryland. It was the favored social meeting spot for the debutantes and aristocracy of Maryland in the early 20^th century. It was built on the spot of the house of John Eager Howard, a Maryland Revolutionary War hero. The Hotel was designed by Parker and Thomas who designed the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus in the 1870’s. Many presidents such as Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, Harding, Herbert Hoover, John Kennedy stayed here as well as the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor (who grew up near the Belvedere), General Douglass MacArthur and the Queen of Romania. The Belvedere hit hard times in the 70’s and 80’s as much of Baltimore did, and it was converted into student-housing who mistreated it and eventually restored and converted into condominiums.