Charles Center

Charles Center

City Center
Charles Center City Center
State
City	Baltimore
District	Central

Charles Center is a large-scale urban redevelopment project in central

Theodore R. McKeldin, (1943−1947 and 1963−1967) and many in their administrations, which formed the basis of a $25 million bond issue voted on by the citizens of Baltimore City during the municipal elections in November 1958. The architects' view of the overall Charles Center Redevelopment Plan with the conceptions of possible buildings, lay-out and plan that was publicized to the voters that spring and summer before, only slightly resembles the actual buildings and designs that later were really constructed by the mid-1970s.^[1]

The plan was unusual for its time in not pursuing a "clean-slate" site, but rather incorporating existing structures. The 33 acres (13 ha) site includes three public plazas, (Charles, Center, and Hopkins) designed by

Baltimore Harbor and the northern shore of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and was even later in the late 1980s to include the Pratt Street Power Plant on Pier 4 along East Pratt Street and moving north up into Market Place (site of former "Centre Market" with its three adjacent wholesale produce, fish and retail/dry goods market buildings) along the west bank of the Jones Falls stream, with a development with two different phases/developers as "The Brokerage" and later renamed "Power Plant Live!" .^[1]

By the late 1990s, development, new skyscrapers and attractions had moved further east and southeast along the Patapsco River/Baltimore Harbor waterfront into an industrial/warehousing/manufacturing area originally termed "Inner Harbor East", later shortened to "

Camden Yards stadiums with near-by "Oriole Park" for the baseball team Baltimore Orioles

.

The Charles Center public areas underwent extensive renovations in the early 2010s to improve its competitiveness with newer developments, including those at the Inner Harbor (from the late 1960s to the early 1980s). A tree-lined plaza, water fountain feature, gardens, outdoor seating and green space was improved and/or added within the Charles Center Plaza, providing nearby office workers, tourists and nearby residents with an outdoor space.

Buildings constructed

One Charles Center, North Charles and West Fayette Streets, 1962, a 24-story office tower designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Two Charles Center, West Saratoga, North Charles and North Liberty Streets, 1969, a pair of residential towers, 27 and 30 stories
George Fallon Federal Building, north side facing Hopkins Plaza, (rear/south side on West Lombard Street), 1964?
Mercantile Safe Deposit and Trust Company Building
, West Baltimore Street and Hopkins Place/South Liberty Street, (rear/south side facing Hopkins Plaza), 1969
The Statler Hilton Baltimore, North Hanover and West Fayette Streets, a hotel covering an entire city block, designed by William B. Tabler, with two towers, one opened in 1967, the second in 1974. In 2023, the property was converted to and re-opened as apartments by the residential development corp Vivo Living.
Morris A. Mechanic Theatre, North Charles and West Baltimore Streets, 1967 | Demolished 2014, pending redevelopment
Sun Life Building (Baltimore), North Charles Street, 1966
Charles Center South, South Charles and West Lombard Streets, 1975
Edward A. Garmatz United States Courthouse, West Lombard Street and South Hanover Street, 1976

Buildings retained or preserved

Maryland National Bank Building, (originally the Baltimore Trust Building when built, later the Mathieson Building, Maryland National Bank Building, briefly NCNB-NationsBank Tower), 10 Light Street, between East Baltimore and East Redwood Streets and Wine Alley, 1929, (later in 2012, acquired by Bank of America
Fidelity and Deposit Trust Company Building, North Charles and West Lexington Streets, 1894
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company Building, North Charles and West Baltimore Streets, 1906?
Lord Baltimore Hotel (now in Radisson Plaza Suites hotel chain), West Baltimore Street, at North Hanover Street, 1928,
Constellation Energy Group, acquired by Exelon
Corporation of Chicago, 2013

References

^
ISBN 0-87033-272-4
.

[baltarch-1] 
ISBN 0-87033-272-4
.

[1]

v t e Neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland
Northwest	Arlington Ashburton Auchentoroly Terrace Callaway-Garrison Cheswolde Dorchester Fallstaff Forest Park Garwyn Oaks Glen Greenspring Hanlon Longwood Howard Park Langston Hughes Levindale Liberty Square Mount Holly Park Heights Pimlico Reisterstown Station Television Hill
North	Abell Barclay Bellona-Gittings Better Waverly Cameron Village Charles Village Cedarcroft Chinquapin Park-Belvedere Cold Spring Cylburn Edgecomb Evergreen Glen Oaks Govans Guilford Hampden Harwood Hoes Heights Homeland Homewood Keswick Koreatown Lake Evesham Lake Walker Loyola-Notre Dame Medfield Mount Washington Oakenshawe The Orchards Pen Lucy Poplar Hill Radnor-Winston Remington Roland Park Sabina Mattefeldt Stone Hill Tuscany-Canterbury Village of Cross Keys Waverly Woodberry Wyman Park Wyndhurst
Northeast	Belair-Edison Beverly Hills Cedonia Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello Ednor Gardens-Lakeside Frankford Gardenville Govans Hamilton Hills Hillen Lauraville Loch Raven Mayfield Mid-Govans Morgan Park Northwood Overlea Ramblewood Stonewood-Pentwood-Winston Taylor Heights Waltherson Wilson Park Woodbourne Heights
West	Bridgeview/Greenlawn Coppin Heights Edmondson Franklin Square Harlem Park Lexington Little Lithuania Midtown-Edmondson Mondawmin Mosher Penn-North Poppleton Rosemont Sandtown - Winchester Upton Walbrook West Baltimore Innovation District West Hills Westgate Windsor Hills
Downtown	Barre Circle Bolton Hill Bromo Arts District Business and Government District Cathedral Hill Charles Center Chinatown Inner Harbor Koreatown Madison Park Market Center Mount Vernon Otterbein Reservoir Hill Ridgely's Delight Seton Hill Station North Westside
East	Barclay Berea Broadway East Coldstream-Homestead-Montebello East Baltimore Midway East Monument Ellwood Park Four By Four Greenmount West Johnston Square Latrobe Homes Madison-Eastend McElderry Park Middle East Milton-Montford Old Town Oliver Orangeville Patterson Park South Clifton Park
Southwest	Beechfield Carrollton Ridge Dickeyville Franklintown Gwynn's Falls Hollins Market Irvington Morrell Park Oaklee Pigtown Saint Agnes Sowebo Ten Hills Union Square Violetville Wakefield Washington Village Yale Heights
South	Brooklyn Cherry Hill Curtis Bay Fairfield Federal Hill Harborview Hawkins Point Lakeland Locust Point Mount Winans Port Covington Pratt Monroe South Baltimore Wagner's Point Westport
Southeast	Baltimore Highlands Bayview Brewers Hill Butchers Hill Canton Dunbar-Broadway Fell's Point Graceland Park Greektown Harbor East Highlandtown Jonestown Joseph Lee Kresson Linwood Little Italy Patterson Park St. Helena Upper Fells Point Washington Hill
Public housing	Allendale Armistead Gardens Bel Park Towers Claremont Douglass Homes Ellerslie Homes Flaghouse Homes Govans Manor Homes Heritage Crossing Lafayette Court Latrobe Homes Mason Homes Lakeview Towers McCulloh Homes O'Donnell Heights Perkins Homes Pleasent View Gardens Poe Homes Primrose Place Somerset Courts
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