In its early years, Baltimore city government met in a series of buildings that it purchased or leased, including the Maryland Insurance Company building on South Street from 1801 to approximately 1812; the Baltimore Dancing Assembly Rooms at the northeast corner of Holliday and East Streets (later Fayette Street) from 1818 to 1823; the Baltimore Exchange Company from 1823 to 1830; and Peale's Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts from 1830 until city government moved into the new City Hall in the spring of 1875.[4] At the laying of the cornerstone for the new building on October 18, 1867, speaker John H.B. Latrobe noted of the museum location that "the First Branch held its sessions in what was formerly the very modest picture gallery of Peale's Museum, and the Second Branch succeeded a collection of stuffed animals in an adjacent room."[5]
City HallEdit
The site for the new building was selected and some designs were submitted before the American Civil War. The cornerstone for the building, under Frederick's new design, was not laid until 1867; construction was completed eight years later. At a cost of more than $2 million (in 1870s money), the Baltimore City Hall is built largely of many courses and rows of thicknesses of brick with the exterior walls faced with white marble. The marble alone, quarried in Baltimore and Baltimore County (famous "Beaver Dam" quarry), cost $957,000.[6] The segmented dome capping the building is the work of Baltimore engineer Wendel Bollman, known for his iron railroad bridges. At the time of its construction, the cast iron roof was considered one of the largest structures of its kind.[7]
RenovationsEdit
By the end of World War II, City Hall was showing signs of age and deterioration. The slate roof leaked, the exterior marble was eroding in places and the heating, cooling and electrical systems needed to be replaced. Even the cast iron dome's fastenings had rusted through and many plates were cracked. In 1959, 15 pounds of iron ornament came loose and plunged 150 feet into the Board of Estimates hearing room. In 1974 the city voted to renovate the old city hall rather than build a new one. Architectural Heritage Inc., in association with Meyers, D'Aleo and Patton Inc., local architects, were retained to begin the design. The ceremonial chambers were restored and the office space was doubled. In the process the dome was disassembled and put back together. Two years and $10.5[8] million later the Mayor, the City Council and other city departments moved back into the building.[9] Usable space was increased almost twofold after the renovation, by fitting in two extra floors, by replacing dead storage space in the basement with offices, and by moving corridor walls to maximize office space.
In 2009, a building survey found that sections of the building's marble exterior were cracked and crumbling due to age. The city approved spending $483,000 for repairs to be made the same year.[10]
In 2008, the City Hall's bell "Lord Baltimore", cast in 1887, was repaired by its original manufacturer, McShane Bell Foundry.[11]
IncidentsEdit
On October 11, 1883, James F. Busey, a Democratic ward operative, was shot and killed outside of City Hall. The man who shot him, William T. Harig, was also a Democrat from another ward. The two got into a political argument and after some punches were thrown, both men drew their pistols and began firing at each other in rapid succession. Busey fired wildly; Harig did not, hitting Busey four times. Harig was taken into custody and charged with murder.[12]
Nearly 93 years later, Charles A. Hopkins stormed the temporary City Hall with a hand gun and killed a city councilman. On April 13, 1976, Hopkins, angered that his restaurant was being shut down, killed Dominic Leone, a member of the Baltimore City Council. Hopkins also wounded another city councilman, a police officer and a mayoral aide during the shooting spree. Hopkins was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings but has spent most of his life since then at mental health facilities. In 2007, a Baltimore judge reduced his level of confinement.[13]
^. Johns Hopkins University. Archived from the original on 2008-04-14. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
^Arthur Townsend (June 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Baltimore City Hall" (PDF). Maryland Historical Trust. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
^Baltimore (Md.); Forrester, Allen E. (1877). The City hall, Baltimore. History of construction and dedication. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Baltimore, Prepared and printed by authority of the mayor and City council.
^Latrobe, John H. B. (John Hazlehurst Boneval); YA Pamphlet Collection (Library of Congress) DLC (1867). Address delivered at the laying of the corner stone of the city hall. The Library of Congress. [Baltimore] Cox's monumental printing office.
^City Hall: History of Construction and Dedication. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. 1878.
^Dorsey, John; Dilts, James D. (1981). A Guide to Baltimore Architecture (Second ed.). Centreville, Maryland: Tidewater Publishers. pp. 86–87. ISBN0-87033-272-4.
^Linskey, Annie (May 21, 2009). . The Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
^John Fritze (January 5, 2008). "City Hall bell set to toll anew". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 22, 2023.
^"Baltimore Shooting Affray: Ward Politicians Engage In Target Practice". the New York Times. 1883-10-12. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
^"Baltimore judge reduces level of confinement for City Hall shooter". The Daily Record. Baltimore. 2007-08-13. Retrieved 2008-05-10.
External linksEdit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baltimore City Hall.
Baltimore City Hall, Baltimore City at Maryland Historical Trust
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. MD-46, "Baltimore City Hall, Holliday Street, Baltimore, Independent City, MD", 25 photos, 1 color transparency, 30 data pages, 3 photo caption pages
October 19, 2023
baltimore, city, hall, official, seat, government, city, baltimore, state, maryland, city, hall, houses, offices, mayor, those, city, council, baltimore, building, also, hosts, city, comptroller, some, various, city, departments, agencies, boards, commissions,. Baltimore City Hall is the official seat of government of the City of Baltimore in the State of Maryland The City Hall houses the offices of the Mayor and those of the City Council of Baltimore The building also hosts the city Comptroller some various city departments agencies and boards commissions along with the historic chambers of the Baltimore City Council Situated on a city block bounded by East Lexington Street on the north Guilford Avenue formerly North Street on the west East Fayette Street on the south and North Holliday Street with City Hall Plaza and the War Memorial Plaza to the east the six story structure was designed by the then 22 year old new architect George Aloysius Frederick 1842 1924 in the Second Empire style a Baroque revival with prominent Mansard roofs with richly framed dormers and two floors of a repeating Serlian window motif over an urbanely rusticated basement 2 3 Baltimore City HallGeneral informationArchitectural styleSecond EmpireLocation100 North Holliday St Baltimore MarylandCoordinates39 17 27 1 N 76 36 38 5 W 39 290861 N 76 610694 W 39 290861 76 610694Completed1867 1875Design and constructionArchitect s George A Frederick Wendel BollmanU S National Register of Historic PlacesDesignatedMay 8 1973Reference no 73002180 1 Baltimore City LandmarkDesignated1971 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 City Hall 1 3 Renovations 2 Incidents 3 References 4 External linksHistory Edit nbsp City Hall in 1873Early years Edit In its early years Baltimore city government met in a series of buildings that it purchased or leased including the Maryland Insurance Company building on South Street from 1801 to approximately 1812 the Baltimore Dancing Assembly Rooms at the northeast corner of Holliday and East Streets later Fayette Street from 1818 to 1823 the Baltimore Exchange Company from 1823 to 1830 and Peale s Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts from 1830 until city government moved into the new City Hall in the spring of 1875 4 At the laying of the cornerstone for the new building on October 18 1867 speaker John H B Latrobe noted of the museum location that the First Branch held its sessions in what was formerly the very modest picture gallery of Peale s Museum and the Second Branch succeeded a collection of stuffed animals in an adjacent room 5 City Hall Edit The site for the new building was selected and some designs were submitted before the American Civil War The cornerstone for the building under Frederick s new design was not laid until 1867 construction was completed eight years later At a cost of more than 2 million in 1870s money the Baltimore City Hall is built largely of many courses and rows of thicknesses of brick with the exterior walls faced with white marble The marble alone quarried in Baltimore and Baltimore County famous Beaver Dam quarry cost 957 000 6 The segmented dome capping the building is the work of Baltimore engineer Wendel Bollman known for his iron railroad bridges At the time of its construction the cast iron roof was considered one of the largest structures of its kind 7 Renovations Edit By the end of World War II City Hall was showing signs of age and deterioration The slate roof leaked the exterior marble was eroding in places and the heating cooling and electrical systems needed to be replaced Even the cast iron dome s fastenings had rusted through and many plates were cracked In 1959 15 pounds of iron ornament came loose and plunged 150 feet into the Board of Estimates hearing room In 1974 the city voted to renovate the old city hall rather than build a new one Architectural Heritage Inc in association with Meyers D Aleo and Patton Inc local architects were retained to begin the design The ceremonial chambers were restored and the office space was doubled In the process the dome was disassembled and put back together Two years and 10 5 8 million later the Mayor the City Council and other city departments moved back into the building 9 Usable space was increased almost twofold after the renovation by fitting in two extra floors by replacing dead storage space in the basement with offices and by moving corridor walls to maximize office space In 2009 a building survey found that sections of the building s marble exterior were cracked and crumbling due to age The city approved spending 483 000 for repairs to be made the same year 10 In 2008 the City Hall s bell Lord Baltimore cast in 1887 was repaired by its original manufacturer McShane Bell Foundry 11 Incidents EditOn October 11 1883 James F Busey a Democratic ward operative was shot and killed outside of City Hall The man who shot him William T Harig was also a Democrat from another ward The two got into a political argument and after some punches were thrown both men drew their pistols and began firing at each other in rapid succession Busey fired wildly Harig did not hitting Busey four times Harig was taken into custody and charged with murder 12 Nearly 93 years later Charles A Hopkins stormed the temporary City Hall with a hand gun and killed a city councilman On April 13 1976 Hopkins angered that his restaurant was being shut down killed Dominic Leone a member of the Baltimore City Council Hopkins also wounded another city councilman a police officer and a mayoral aide during the shooting spree Hopkins was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings but has spent most of his life since then at mental health facilities In 2007 a Baltimore judge reduced his level of confinement 13 References Edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 Baltimore City Hall Johns Hopkins University Archived from the original on 2008 04 14 Retrieved 2008 05 10 Arthur Townsend June 1972 National Register of Historic Places Registration Baltimore City Hall PDF Maryland Historical Trust Retrieved 2016 03 01 Baltimore Md Forrester Allen E 1877 The City hall Baltimore History of construction and dedication University of Illinois Urbana Champaign Baltimore Prepared and printed by authority of the mayor and City council Latrobe John H B John Hazlehurst Boneval YA Pamphlet Collection Library of Congress DLC 1867 Address delivered at the laying of the corner stone of the city hall The Library of Congress Baltimore Cox s monumental printing office City Hall History of Construction and Dedication Mayor and City Council of Baltimore 1878 Dorsey John Dilts James D 1981 A Guide to Baltimore Architecture Second ed Centreville Maryland Tidewater Publishers pp 86 87 ISBN 0 87033 272 4 An Engineer s Guide To Baltimore Johns Hopkins University Archived from the original on September 2 2006 Retrieved 2008 05 09 Baltimore City Hall Holliday Street Baltimore Independent City MD Historic American Buildings Survey Library of Congress c 1981 Archived from the original on 2012 12 13 Retrieved 2008 05 09 Linskey Annie May 21 2009 Things falling apart at Baltimore City Hall The Baltimore Sun Archived from the original on April 8 2020 Retrieved 2009 06 04 John Fritze January 5 2008 City Hall bell set to toll anew Baltimore Sun Retrieved June 22 2023 Baltimore Shooting Affray Ward Politicians Engage In Target Practice the New York Times 1883 10 12 Retrieved 2008 05 10 Baltimore judge reduces level of confinement for City Hall shooter The Daily Record Baltimore 2007 08 13 Retrieved 2008 05 10 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baltimore City Hall Baltimore City Hall Baltimore City at Maryland Historical Trust Historic American Buildings Survey HABS No MD 46 Baltimore City Hall Holliday Street Baltimore Independent City MD 25 photos 1 color transparency 30 data pages 3 photo caption pages Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Baltimore City Hall amp oldid 1176334959, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
