Inner Harbor Development History
Historical Perspective: Baltimore's Waterfront Promenade
Baltimore’s Waterfront Promenade represents a unique public and private partnership that has ensured public access to the city’s most cherished natural asset – its harbor. It is a public pedestrian walkway that functions as a waterfront sidewalk for development sites and public spaces that have emerged from former industrial waterfront. The concept of the currently seven-mile promenade was established in the 1960’s as a key component in the Inner Harbor Master Plan – a visionary plan that proposed massive redevelopment of land adjacent to the historic harbor that was the basis for the founding of Baltimore in 1729. As the City had gained control over the land that was once sites for rotting warehouses and piers, it was able to create the parkland that edges the Inner Harbor (The Basin as it was called historically) and construct the wide brick walkway that became known as the promenade. The Inner Harbor park and its brick walkway met instant success and approval by the local population. It was the site for the initial City Fairs and other events. The commercial development of Harborplace in 1980 became an instant attraction and sealed the successful fate of the Inner Harbor.
The success of the Inner Harbor enlightened the City to consider extending its success to the adjacent waterfront neighborhoods. In 1984, The Baltimore City Department of Planning published a book “The Baltimore Harbor” that recounted the history of the waterfront and identified opportunities for future waterfront development. Fells Point, Canton, the South Baltimore waterfront, the Middle Branch and Inner Harbor East were seen as potential candidates for creative redevelopment. The Inner Harbor East area had been home to small industries and lumber yards throughout its history. By the 1970’s, however, the use of the properties had been drastically reduced and a fire in a significantly large lumber yard made redevelopment possible. The City hired a planning firm to develop the Inner Harbor East Master Plan that included an extension of the promenade along the project’s waterfront. Once again, the land adjacent to the water in this area was publicly owned as a joint ownership deal had been struck between one of the areas primary landowners and the city. The City built the promenade through Inner Harbor East through a series of construction contracts in the late 1980’s and 1990’s.
Fells Point, one of the original villages that became Baltimore in 1797, had been experiencing significant redevelopment since the late 1960’s highway relocation battle was fought and successfully won by its population. The promenade requirements in Fells Point and its adjacent waterfront neighborhood to the east, Canton, were legalized through the Fells Point and Canton Waterfront Urban Renewal Plans. As development occurred on waterfront parcels in these areas, each developer was required to set back the development from the water’s edge to allow for the promenade construction to city specifications and grant a public easement to the City over the land for the promenade.
Concurrently, an extension of the Inner Harbor success was being anticipated along the South Baltimore waterfront. The City had control of the waterfront of the Inner Harbor only as far south as the Rusty Scupper lease site. Beyond the Inner Harbor lay the former Bethlehem Steel Shipyards, lying fallow and ripe for redevelopment. A joint effort between the developer for the shipyards, the nearby community and the City, produced the Key Highway Urban Renewal Plan which was adopted in 1986 to guide development. Once again, a key component was the established route and specifications for the promenade. The promenade has been constructed on several development parcels and will continue to expand as development continues.
The City also played a significant role in providing additional open space along the promenade route, especially in Canton. The Canton Waterfront and Harris Creek Parks provide public waterfront open space through which the promenade passes.
The Middle Branch, a separate part of the harbor from the Inner Harbor, was planned for a more natural, wetlands shoreline development approach. It is here that the Gwynns Falls Trail touches the waterfront, allowing hikers and bikers the opportunity to experience the tidal aspects of the shoreline. Future development plans will continue that approach.
Non-contiguous waterfront sites, such as the Tide Point development in Locust Point have included public promenades and companion public easements through the City’s review process.
The promenade will continue to expand and enrich as development along the waterfront continues in Baltimore. Current examples include the former Allied Chemical Site on the western tip of Fells Point - a proposed Planned Unit Development (PUD) that includes a promenade and a significant public waterfront open space component. The first phase of this PUD is proposed to be completed by 2007. Canton Crossing, a PUD to the east of Canton Waterfront Park will likewise include a waterfront promenade and required public easement. This project’s first phase is nearing completion.
