Traces of San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square, Boston's Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, a visionary developer, a Harvard Dean as architect, near defeat in a referendum, those are the ingredients that made Baltimore's HarborPlace a model for urban waterfronts around the world nearly half a century ago. But then came decline, neglect and failure, vacancy and finally
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Baltimore's Inner Harbor as it is known around the world with its
low-flung festival marketplace pavilions flanking the 100% corner
named HarborPlace (photo: Philipsen) |
foreclosure. Today the private retail portion of
HarborPlace is slated for demolition.
This is a shocking trajectory for Baltimoreans and global admirers of Baltimore's chief attraction
How did it come to this? What does it tell us about private-public partnerships, water in the city, the role of race and power in urban planning?
In 1981 the developer Jim Rouse was on the title of Time Magazine with the slogan "Cities Are Fun". 43 years later, in trying to revive the ailing post pandemic downtowns, is needed more than ever.
With shifts to hybrid and remote work becoming more permanent, downtown office corridors, or so-called central business districts, can no longer survive primarily as places to work. Across the world, they are transforming into places where people live; go to enjoy restaurants and nightlife; take in culture, sports and entertainment; and where they socialize and connect with one another. (Richard Florida in CityLab 4/15/24)
There is much to unpack. (READ FULL STORY)
Archplan Inc. Philipsen Architects