It’s a Brockelmap!
The Great Baltimore Fire of 1904:
- Began at the John E. Hurst Building off Liberty Street
- Burned for 30 hours
- Destroyed 1,545 buildings
- Reached 2,500-degrees at the hot spot, Calvert and Baltimore Streets
- Tons of dynamite did not stop the fire
- Over 2,500 businesses lost
- Left 35,000 unemployed
- Burned over 70 city blocks covering 140 acres
- Baltimore smoldered for weeks
- Caused $150,000,000 damage in 1904 dollars
From the song, Baltimore Fire:
Fire fire I heard the cry
From every breeze that passes by
All the world was one sad cry of pity
Strong men in anguish prayed
Calling out to the heavens for aid
While the fire in ruins was laid
Fair Baltimore the beautiful city
Aftermath, Looking west from Pratt and Gay Streets
After the great fire, Baltimore underwent a transformation with two years of intense rebuilding. In 1906 publisher Jones & Groeninger published Groeninger’s New Baltimore to celebrate Baltimore’s rebirth. You may download a free copy here—it’s one I digitized some years ago.
