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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. 

This seemed like the perfect picture to use for the powerplant.  I took this on a day which, in one way, was quite the opposite of the day in which the Great Baltimore Fire occurred.  It was quite the opposite as it was a terrible downpour.  However, I also took this picture on a day when the wind was so strong that we could see the lights on the ceiling of our office appear to move back and forth as our building was actually moving in the opposite direction.  The wind was pushing clouds and rain in every direction.  For a long time I couldn’t see more than a foot out the window.  Then there was a short break, and I took this picture.  

The point of this story is that it was windy, much like the day in which the fire ran through the city.  Wind played an unbelievably crucial role in the course of the fire.   It was a change in wind that saved the Otterbein and Federal hill areas, essentially straight ahead in this picture.  It was also the wind that pushed the fire east insuring that every building between Charles St. and the Jones Falls was exposed to the fire. 

One thing that you should realize is that, despite everything working against them, firefighters came from other cities to help.  By other cities I mean cities as far away as Philadelphia and New York.  That’s not to mention every town in between which sent their fire trucks as urgently as they could.   This is also 1904.  It’s not like there were big red trucks with ladders and pump engines.  Fire trucks were generally trailers, to be pulled for the most part by horses.  

To make matters worse, the mayor at the time was not available to talk with other mayors and other cities and to ask for help.  He was out trying to direct people on the street and to help direct the fire department, whose leader was incapacitated shortly after the fire began.  So those towns that sent help did so sometimes without any communication from anyone in charge of anything in the City of Baltimore.   Help coming to town was a real fortunate incident in and of itself. 

What’s worse was that the fire trucks that did come to town were unable to use the hydrants and the water system in Baltimore because their hoses used a different kind of coupling from that used in Baltimore.  So the help that fortunately came was rendered useless. 

 Because of everything going so badly, the strong west wind, which pushed the fire through the financial district, was actually almost a good thing.  The wind’s change allowed the firemen that were there to prevent the fire from spreading in other directions.  The eastward movement was almost unstoppable, but firemen were able to protect the area from (visible in yesterday’s picture, but barely) Charles and Fayette, northward.  The wind change saved not just the residential northern areas of the city, but it also gave buildings like City Hall a fighting chance.    

In addition, there was a river, the Jones Falls, to the east and straight in the course of the wind, where trucks from other cities could draw water without a coupling.  The fire was moving directly towards the only place where every firefighter could draw water.  It was at that river where a final stand was made and where the fire was stopped. 

As the fire crept eastward, it was bound on the south by the harbor.   Fireboats tried for hours to protect the wharfs.   Eventually they (the wharfs, not the boats) all succumbed to the fire.  However, the Power Plant, which was situated firmly on a pier in the water, surrounded by burning wharfs, was saved.    

 We are looking at a fixture of the Inner Harbor.    Most people think that the power-plant was untouched by the fire.  However, one of the three buildings included in the power plant “complex” actually did burn.   If you look at the building today you can see three distinct parts.  Of course one was built only a few years ago, but it still retains much of the impression it had then.  

Our view here is from the north-east, looking southwest.  In fact, this spot is only 200 or so feet west of where the fire eventually ended.  So, if you think about it, the camera is where the fire ended, everything to the right burned, this building was connected to the burn zone, and yet, here it is.  

Most people think of this building, which has been repurposed as a retail area after many years without a purpose, as a reminder of the past in Baltimore.  It’s ability to resist the fire and to resist for many decades the almost more menacing threat of vacancy is rather remarkable.   

At the corner of Charles and Fayette sits (right foreground) the Union Trust company building, another survivor of the fire.  Though not touted as fireproof it too survived the fire in that its structural elements withstood the flames while the rest of the building burned.  Keep in mind that the fire was not at it hottest yet.  The hottest part of the fire, when the flames could be seen from 50 miles away, was right at the intersection where the continental building sits. 

Sadly, of all the buildings I visited during this quest, this is the one which shows the least pride in its survival.  Perhaps after the current rennovations there will be a plaque or something to denote its significance.

This is the former headquarters of the Continental Trust Company, located at the corner of Baltimore and Calvert streets.  It is today called One Calvert Plaza.  At the time of the fire, this was the tallest building in the state, 14 floors tall.  It was built in 1899 and was touted as being “Fireproof” thanks to its steel structural components.  While the fire destroyed 2500 buildings, it ran past and through this building.  The building is still standing today as a result of that steel.  There is another side to the story in that almost all of the building save the structural components did burn.  Nothing is ever completely fireproof.   

This week will have nothing to do with the TV show survivor, but will highlight some surviving buildings.  Specifically, buildings that survived the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.  I’ll add a little bit of the history every day as well.  (If you want to skip ahead, this is a great resource)

Today’s builidng is the former headquarters of Alex Brown, which was, at the time of the fire, contained right in this little bank branch.   (Also of note: Though this building survived, one thing that’s interesting about the fire is that no bank vaults anywhere in the city were harmed.  All the money thoughout the burn zone ended up being safe.)  The building itself remains a bank to this day, which is interesting becasue most buildings have ben re-tasked.     

The Fire started to the west and worked its way east, before it was eventually held at bay by firefighters usinge the Jones Falls as a source of water to keep the flames away.   This building is on the northen end of the burn zone, right in the center between where the fire began and where it ended.    

Zeebra:  Should we tell everyone over there that the zoo will be closing for the winter on December 14th.

Rhinocerous:  Eh, I’m too tired.   Maybe after the food guy comes.