After the fire finished burning, it had destroyed the heart of Baltimore’s business district. Remarkably, the area was back up and running within two years. The area’s revitalization was aided by the fact that the harbor was a crucial part of the city and, to get to it, you had to go to through the burn zone. However, that was not the only reason, and may not have been much of a reason at all.
The city created a burn zone commission to rebuild the area and to redesign it as thoughtfully as possible. It is the work of that commission which led to the widening of streets, the rebuilding of wharfs, and the improvement in overall access to downtown.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is that businesses didn’t flock to the suburbs or to other towns. In 1904 there were no highways or cars to aid in the daily commute. Cities were the heart of business becasue you needed to live close to the office. If businesses moved out, people would have to do the same. It was thus natural for a community to rebuild the center of town, as opposed to doing nothing and forcing people out of the city to work. The B&O Railroad was one of the first to rebuild. Their former headquarters was in the heart of the hot zone and was completely destroyed. They built a brand new headquarters right on the newer, wider, revitalized Charles St.
This building, though not a survivor of the fire, is still over a century old. The building serves as a historical reminder of the fire just as the Alex Brown building does, or as the Power Plant does. It serves as a reminder of a community that was strong enough to rebuild as opposed to disband after facing one of the worst disasters of its time.
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