At right, people wait zn line to board a modern NATO frigate ofthe German Navy.
Chile's training ship Es meralda in 1986, being welcomed to Baltimore (left) and, in turn, welcoming visitors aboard. Visits such as these open horizons for the young people aboard the vessels, and for the many visitors from all walks of life who come to learn about the ships and the people who sail them.
1800s, mostly in steelm aking, man u facturing and iro n shipbuildin g. By the start of the 20th cenrury, the city's popul a tion had grow n to over 500,000. As wo rld tensions increased in 19404 1, Baltimore had a major part in th e US military buildup . The Martin Co mpany geared up for mass aircraft production , and in th e Fairfield section a huge shipyard was laid out to build the cargo ships of7,176 gt that wo uld be known as "Liberty ships." O ut ofa total of2,742 of th ese vessels built from 1941 to 1945, 385 we re built in Baltimore, as were 94 improved cargo ships call ed "Victo1y ships," and 30 LSTs. One Baltim ore-built Liberty ship, the john W Brown, survives today as a museum ship in the city of her birth. During the post-war years, th e city adapted to new trends and needs. In the earl y 1960s, new shops and office bu ildings replaced the old er ones in the city ce nter, and the port adjusted as well. T he M aryland Port Autho ri ty (later Admin istratio n, or MPA) was created in 1957 to plan and carry out the moderni zation of cargo handling fac ilities . Its "crown jewel" was the vast, open Dundalk Marin e Termin al opened in the early 1960s primarily
SEA HISTORY 88, SPRING 1999
as a place to unload impo rted motor vehicles. And modern general cargo piers and warehouses rep laced older ones at the other MPA termin als. By th e end of th e 1960s, cranes for handling the new ca rgo co ntainers were operational at the Dundalk T erminal. In these yea rs, mo re than 5,200 ships called annually w ith every imaginable cargo. T he port had 94 piers and could handle 17 1 ships at o nce. T he late 1960s/ea rl y 1970s brought pl ans to improve the Inner H arbo r. No longer a working po rt area, the Inner Harbor was ripe for redevelopment. A parkli ke place was created and new piers built for recreational use. T he 1970s, '80s, and '9 0s saw the Inner H arbor transfo rmed by the World Trade Ce nter, Natio nal Aquarium, Maryland Science Cenrer, two pavilions of H arbor Place, with their ships and resta urants, and two mod ern , profess ional sports stadiums. T he wo rking port experienced change as well. Container shi pping is now standard and in 1990 the new Seagirt Marine Terminal w ith its high speed cranes opened to ensure th at Baltimore kept up with shippers' needs. Every effort was made to ensure th e port stayed co m peti rive in an era
of intense economic rivalry. T ho ugh not as busy as the previous era, the port moved 28 million tons of cargo in 1997 and was used by about 2,200 large merchant ships. It is among the top ten US ports in containers handled and is number o ne in roll -o n, rolloff cargo. Major imports include automobiles, forest products, manufact ured goods, textiles, raw metals and o res. The biggest exports are motor vehicl es, agricultural and co nstructi on equ ipm ent, wines and spirits, manufactured goods, coal and grain .
The Heritage Today Baltimore's illustrio us mariti me heritage is kept vibrantly ali ve by the histo ric ships aro und th e harbor. T he Pride ofBaltimore II, a replica Baltimo re clipper topsa il schooner, completed in 1988 (a successo r to the original Pride ofBaltimore which was tragically lost at sea in 1986), serves as an international goodwill sailing ambassador for the city and th e state. She is complemented by th e USCGC Taney and submarine USS Torsk, both veterans of Wo rld War II; th e US Lightsh ip Chesapeake; the steam tug Baltimore; the john W Brown; and the 22-gun USS Constellation. Resea rch in the 1990s proved Constellation to be the ship of 1854, not the Baltimore31