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Fell's Point Historic District
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Storefronts along the cobblestoned Thames Street
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| Location: | Bounded on the N by Aliceanna St., on the E by Wolfe St., on the S by the Harbor, and on the W by Dallas St., Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Area: | 75 acres (30 ha) |
| Built: | 1763 |
| Architect: | Multiple |
| Architectural style: | Italianate, Greek Revival |
| Governing body: | Local |
| NRHP Reference#: | 69000319[1] |
| Added to NRHP: | March 28, 1969 |
Fell's Point is a neighborhood in Baltimore, Maryland, and home to a variety of shops, restaurants, coffee bars, music stores, and over 120 pubs. Located on the harbor and famous for its maritime past, it now boasts the greatest concentration of pubs/bars in the city. The pubs and bars in Fell's Point provide excellent entertainment and nightlife. This waterfront community is a much-visited location in Baltimore, accessible by water taxi, freeway, and several bus lines. The neighborhood has also been the home of large Polish, Irish, and Puerto Rican populations throughout its history. In recent years a steadily increasing numbers of middle to upper middle income residents have moved into the area, driving up property values. Upper Fells Point has a sizable Hispanic population made up primarily of recent waves of Mexican and Central American immigrants and is sometimes called "Spanish Town". Fell's Point is one of several areas in and around Baltimore that are listed on the National Register of Historic Districts, and the first from Maryland.[2] [3]
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Founded in 1730 by William Fell, who was attracted by its beautiful, deep water and proximity to agriculture and thick forests, Fell's Point became a shipbuilding and commercial center. About 1763, William's son Edward Fell laid out streets and began selling plots for homes. The town grew quickly, and eventually incorporated with Baltimore Town and Jones Town in 1797 to form the City of Baltimore. The area grew wealthy on the tobacco, flour, and coffee trades through the 18th and 19th centuries.[4]
Some of the first vessels commissioned for the US Navy were built in Fell's Point shipyards, including the USS Constellation in 1797. However, the area became best known for producing topsail schooners, sometimes erroneously called Baltimore clippers, renowned for their great speed and handling. They were excellent blockade runners, and were frequently used as armed privateers. The Pride of Baltimore II is based on the Chasseur, built by Thomas Kemp, which was one of the most successful privateers built in Fell's Point.[5]
During the War of 1812, Fell's Point built and supported dozens of privateers who preyed on British shipping vessels. Thus, Baltimore became a principal target of the British during the war, which eventually led to the bombardment of Fort McHenry.
Another growth industry in Fell's Point was immigration, and it became a major point of entry into the United States.[6] Since jobs were plentiful in shipbuilding and in the warehouses and factories, many of the immigrants stayed in Fell's Point. This added to the multicultural fabric of the area, but also caused the more affluent to move into other parts of the city.
Fell's Point remained a shipbuilding center until the Civil War, when it could no longer accommodate larger ship designs. Likewise, the shipping industry slowly moved away to larger facilities, and the area transitioned into a manufacturing center, with innovations in canning[7] and packing. The neighborhood escaped serious damage[8] during the Baltimore Fire of 1904, which destroyed the financial area downtown. Eventually, much of the manufacturing left the city, resulting in urban decay until preservationists organized to save the area's historic buildings. The cobblestone streets of Fell's Point lend to its unique historic character, which attracts many tourists and businesses to the area.
In 1965, transit planners proposed to link I-83 and I-95 by building an elevated highway along the north shore of the Baltimore harbor. This project would have entailed extensive demolition within Fell's Point, and the highway would have cut off the remainder of the neighborhood from the waterfront. A freeway revolt against the proposals was raised by local residents and derailed the project. Fell's Point's addition to the National Register of Historic Places prevented the use of federal funds for the road project, and contributed to the project's cancellation.[9] One of the leaders of the revolt was Barbara Mikulski, who would go on to become a U.S. Senator from Maryland.
Fell's Point achieved some fame as the central setting for the 1990s network police drama Homicide: Life on the Street, and has been the site of many films shot in Baltimore.
Fell's Point, located to the east of the Inner Harbor, suffered extensive flooding during Hurricane Isabel in September 2003,[10] with water as high as 10 feet.[11]
As of the census[12] of 2000, there were 3,050 people residing in the neighborhood. The racial makeup of Fell's Point was 71.3% White, 8.5% African American, 0.5% Native American, 3.0% Asian, 4.5% from other races, and 3.0% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 19.3% of the population. 37.0% of occupied housing units were owner-occupied. 17.4% of housing units were vacant.
68.8% of the population were employed, 3.0% were unemployed, and 27.1% were not in the labor force. The median household income was $46,167. About 7.5% of families and 12.6% of the population were below the poverty line.
Rukert, Norman G. (1976). The Fells Point Story. Bodine & Associates. ISBN 0910254117.
Greff, Jacqueline (2005). Images of America: Fell's Point. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-1845-X.
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