Howard Street (Baltimore)

Howard Street
Light rail lines along North Howard Street at West Lexington Street
Owner	City of Baltimore
Location	Baltimore
Postal code	21201, 21218, 21230
North end	Artmuseum Drive and 29th Street
South end	Cal Ripken Way (I-395) and Conway Street

The light rail operating along Howard Street

Howard Street is a major north-south street through the central part of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. About 2½ miles long, the street begins at the north end of I-395 near Oriole Park at Camden Yards and ends near Johns Hopkins University, where it splits. To the right, it becomes Artmuseum Drive, the one-block home of the Baltimore Museum of Art. To the left, it becomes San Martin Drive, which winds road along the western perimeter of the Johns Hopkins University campus and ends at University Parkway. Howard Street is named in honor of former Maryland governor John Eager Howard.^[1] Two other streets in Baltimore, John and Eager Streets, are also named after him.^[2]

At one time, Howard Street was a two-way street throughout its entire route. In 1989, when construction began on the Central Light Rail line, Howard Street was made one-way in a northbound direction between Pratt Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard; as such, southbound traffic now uses Eutaw Street, one block to the west. The Light Rail operates along Howard Street within this area, which is most of Downtown Baltimore, and alongside Howard Street for much of the remainder of the street's route within the downtown area.

Landmarks

Notable landmarks on or near Howard Street include:

Tunnel

In the downtown area, a tunnel owned by CSX Transportation runs below Howard Street. This tunnel was first proposed in the 1880s and built in the 1890s as part of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.^[3]^[4]

Antique Row 895 N. Howard Street

Antique Row

Antique Row is a chain of antique shops located along the 800 block of North Howard Street of Downtown Baltimore City. This area of treasurable memorabilia has dated back as far as the late 19th century as a cabinetmaking center.^[5] In the 1950s Antique Row was at its great’s height, when there was over 50 shops open due to the busy nature of Howard Street. In the 1960s, the expansion of Maryland General Hospital hauled away shops that were on the west side of the street.^[5] Antique Row also took to a decline when the department stores along Howard street closed. The last one to close was the Hutzler's in 1989. The construction of the Baltimore Light Rail that same year also slowed down business for the shops for three consecutive years. Afterwards the light rail aided in the shops gaining back its momentum because people were now able to travel and not worry about parking. However, it never returned to the same amount of success it had previously

The Decline Antique Row not only had to battle the decline of local stores but the increase interest in other Downton attractions such as Fells Point and the Inner Harbor Consequently, the lack of activity on Howard Street has made a gateway for crime to increase and people visit less. The shops ultimately take the plunge because they are not getting sales which results in them having to close up shop or relocate. Amongst the many other dealers on the block, Jimmy Judd and his son downsized and moved to a stall. The decline in customers are causing shop owners and dealers to leave their original place of business behind just to see some sort of financial gain

Additions to the Legacy Antique Row is known for more than its vast collection of antiques but what it adds to the community. Antique Row is an advocate for the appreciation of the Arts. As a result, Antique Row has become the home for other honorable art attractions. For, instance the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center was at 847 N. Howard Street in 2000. The inclusion of other art based institutions are hopefully going to aid in the return of customers and Antique Rows history.^[6]

Howard Street Bridge

The Howard Street Bridge, seen from Interstate 83

One of Howard Street's unique features is the twin steel arch-style bridge that crosses over the Jones Falls Expressway, the CSX and Northern Central Railway (and currently the light rail), and Falls Road. Built in 1938 by the J. E. Greiner Company to replace an earlier 19th century iron arch bridge, the 979-foot (298 m) long bridge begins shortly after the Mt. Royal Avenue underpass, and continues to the intersection at North Avenue.^[7]^[8]

At times, there has been debate over what colors to paint the bridge.^[9] Request has been made from citizens to get involved in making the decision.^[10] Polling has been used as a method to determine the color the bridge should be painted.^[11]

On November 17, 2011, Occupy Baltimore protesters marched on the Howard Street Bridge.^[12] The bridge was chosen by the protesters because they said it was a symbol of the city's decaying infrastructure and the need to get Americans back to work.^[13]

Arches

During the 1980s, a series of decorative arches were installed along the downtown part of Howard Street in order to add a unique style to the area and its shops. However, when light rail construction began, most of these arches had to be removed because trains would not have been able to pass underneath.

Howard Street Tunnel fire

Main article: Howard Street Tunnel fire

On July 18, 2001, a freight train in the tunnel below Howard Street derailed, causing a chemical fire that raged for six days and did damage to Howard Street and the light rail that took a few months to repair.

References

^[14]^[15]^[16]

↑ "Maryland Digital Cultural Heritage - Digital Maryland". mdch.org.
↑ Baltimore Jewish Times
↑ "History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad". google.com.
↑ "Baltimore & Ohio Railroad". google.com.
1 2 Stiehm, Jamie. "The Antique Row Bypass; Slump: For Many Years, Howard Street was the Place to Go for Fine Furniture with a History. but Business has Fallen Off, and Dealers Don't Know when Or if it Will Return." The Sun: 0. Feb 15 1998. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
↑ Gunts, Edward. "Newest Addition to Add Culture to Antique Row; Transformation: As Part of an Attempt to Spruce Up Howard Street, the City has Donated a Building to an Organization that Honors and Teaches the Arts." The Sun: 0. Jul 15 1999. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
↑ Engineer's Guide to Baltimore: Howard Street Bridge
↑ MDSHA: Howard Street Bridge
↑ http://www.wbaltv.com/news/2592716/detail.html
↑ "Designing the City". google.com.
↑ "Digital Government". google.com.
↑ "Occupy Baltimore to rally on Howard Street Bridge Thursday afternoon". abc2news. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
↑ "Occupy Baltimore Protesters March Across Howard Street Bridge". CBS Baltimore. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
↑ Stiehm, Jamie. "The Antique Row Bypass; Slump: For Many Years, Howard Street was the Place to Go for Fine Furniture with a History. but Business has Fallen Off, and Dealers Don't Know when Or if it Will Return." The Sun: 0. Feb 15 1998. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2014
↑ Gunts, Edward. "Newest Addition to Add Culture to Antique Row; Transformation: As Part of an Attempt to Spruce Up Howard Street, the City has Donated a Building to an Organization that Honors and Teaches the Arts." The Sun: 0. Jul 15 1999. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2014
↑ Gunts, Edward. "ANTIQUE ROW FIXTURE GOES ON THE BLOCK." The Baltimore Sun: n/a. Feb 25 2010. ProQuest. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.

Streets in Baltimore

North-South Annapolis Road Artmuseum Drive Bellona Avenue Broadway Cal Ripken Way Calvert Street Carey Street Cathedral Street Caton Avenue Central Avenue Charles Street Druid Hill Avenue Erdman Avenue Eutaw Street Falls Road Fallsway Fulton Avenue Garrison Boulevard Gay Street Greene Street Greenmount Avenue Greene Street Greenspring Avenue Guilford Avenue Greenmount Avenue Hanover Street Harford Road Hillen Road Hilton Street/Hilton Parkway Highland Avenue Howard Street Key Highway Liberty Heights Avenue Loch Raven Boulevard Madison Street Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard Maryland Avenue McCulloh Street Paca Street Park Heights Avenue Paca Street Park Avenue Pennsylvania Avenue Perring Parkway Reisterstown Road Old Harford Road Roland Avenue Russell Street St. Paul Street South Street The Alameda University Parkway Wabash Avenue Washington Boulevard York Road

East-West 25th Street 28th Street 33rd Street 36th Street 41st Street Aliceanna Street Baltimore Street Biddle Street Boston Street Broening Highway Centre Street Chase Street Coldspring Lane-Moravia Road Conway Street Cross Country Boulevard Eager Street Eastern Avenue Fayette Street Fleet Street Forest Park Avenue Fort Avenue Franklin Street Frederick Avenue Gwynns Falls Parkway Lexington Street Lombard Street Monument Street Mt. Royal Avenue Mulberry Street North Avenue Northern Parkway Orleans Street Patapsco Avenue Pratt Street Preston Street Saratoga Street Sinclair Lane Smith Avenue Swann Drive Waterview Avenue Wilkens Avenue

Circles & Squares Battle Monument Square Franklin Square Johnston Square Lafayette Square McKeldin Square Mount Vernon Place National Katyń Memorial Circle Park Circle Saint Paul Place Union Square Walbrook Junction Washington Monument Circle War Memorial Plaza Wilkens Avenue Circle

Coordinates: 39°17′44″N 76°37′11.35″W / 39.29556°N 76.6198194°W / 39.29556; -76.6198194

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