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81-559: From North Howard Street in the west and southwest, the flames spread north through the retail shopping area as far as Fayette Street and began moving eastward, pushed along by the prevailing winds. Narrowly missing the new 1900 Circuit Courthouse , now the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse, fire passed the historic Battle Monument Square from 1815 to 1827 at North Calvert Street, and the quarter-century-old Baltimore City Hall , built in 1875 on Holliday Street; and finally spread further east to

162-433: A 20% cartridge strength would mean the stick was equal to an equivalent weight strength of 20% ANFO. "Military dynamite" (or M1 dynamite) is a dynamite substitute made with more stable ingredients than nitroglycerin. It contains 75% RDX , 15% TNT and 10 percent desensitizers and plasticizers. It has only 60 percent equivalent strength as commercial dynamite, but is much safer to store and handle. Various countries around

243-515: A Baltimore native and letter carrier with the U.S. Post Office , rescued tons of mail from the burning Central Post Office on the east side of Battle Monument Square, on North Calvert Street, between East Lexington and Fayette Streets. Lurz gathered a group of men who loaded bags of mail onto horse–drawn wagons, took them to North and Pennsylvania Avenues, and stood guard until the Maryland National Guard arrived (for which he later received

324-523: A commendation). Meanwhile, back at the General Post Office, employees kept spraying water on the building's sides and roof and were able to minimize damage and save the 1889 Italian Renaissance edifice with its nine towers and central tall clock tower (later razed and replaced by the current 1932 building, later converted to city use as Courthouse East). In the aftermath, 35,000 people were left unemployed. Over $ 150 million (in 1904 USD) worth of damage

405-494: A controlled explosion set off from a distance using a fuse . In 1863 Nobel performed his first successful detonation of pure nitroglycerin, using a blasting cap made of a copper percussion cap and mercury fulminate . In 1864, Alfred Nobel filed patents for both the blasting cap and his method of synthesizing nitroglycerin, using sulfuric acid , nitric acid and glycerin. On 3 September 1864, while experimenting with nitroglycerin, Emil and several others were killed in an explosion at

486-602: A couple named Mr. and Mrs. Chambre who lost their twin daughters in the Baltimore fire. There are also reports of a merchant suffering a heart attack while evacuating goods from his store. It may be that deaths were not recorded accurately. In 1907 a bronze historical marker commemorating "The Great Fire" was placed next to the main western entrance of the "Wholesale Fish Market" (now the Port Discovery children's museum ), one of three new adjoining Centre Market structures replacing

567-416: A form of explosive that used ammonium nitrate as a substitute for the more costly nitroglycerin. Ammonium nitrate has only 85% of the chemical energy of nitroglycerin. It is rated by either "weight strength" (the amount of ammonium nitrate in the medium) or "cartridge strength" (the potential explosive strength generated by an amount of explosive of a certain density and grain size used in comparison to

648-508: A full city block. Eight Ionic columns , each weighing 35 tons and measuring 31 feet in height, support the base of the roof facing Calvert Street. These columns are seven feet taller than those surrounding the United States Capitol . Granite, quarried from Woodstock, Maryland , wraps the basement level and provides a solid base for the white marble-six story courthouse facade. U.S. Post Office and Courthouse or "Courthouse East" ,

729-426: A joint evaluation study of the structure was completed in 1946 by architect Otto Eugene Adams and Henry Adams, Inc., under the administration of Mayor Thomas D'Alesandro Jr. The courthouse was expanded and renovated by 1950 to serve modern judicial needs (but the interior light courtyards were filled in to supply offices; there were other alterations characterized as ill-conceived). In 1985, this federal courthouse

810-671: A national standard for fire hydrant and hose connections. However, inertia remained. Conversion was slow and still remains incomplete. One hundred years after the Baltimore Fire, only 18 of the 48 most populous American cities were reported to have national standard fire hydrants. Hose incompatibility contributed to the Oakland firestorm of 1991 : although the standard hose coupling has 2.5 inches (64 mm) diameter, Oakland 's hydrants had 3-inch (76 mm) couplings. H. L. Mencken , future famed columnist/commentator/author and linguist, survived

891-408: A result of the fire, Baltimore finally adopted a city building code after seventeen nights of hearings and multiple City Council reviews. The city's downtown "Burnt District" was rebuilt using more fireproof materials, such as granite pavers. Public pressure, coupled with demands of companies insuring the newly re-built buildings, spurred the effort. The National Fire Protection Association adopted

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972-509: A safe alternative to black powder and nitroglycerin. Nobel tightly controlled the patents, and unlicensed duplicating companies were quickly shut down. A few American businessmen got around the patent by using absorbents other than diatomaceous earth, such as resin. Nobel originally sold dynamite as "Nobel's Blasting Powder" and later changed the name to dynamite, from the Ancient Greek word dýnamis ( δύναμις ), meaning "power". Dynamite

1053-472: A train accident; they arrived the next day – Monday, February 8). The crews brought their own equipment. Most could only watch helplessly after discovering that their hoses could not connect to Baltimore's gauge size of water hydrants, although a machine shop in the Locust Point area of the city did start making coupling rings to overcome this problem. High winds and freezing temperatures further contributed to

1134-430: A widespread dearth of firefighting services were all contributing factors to the frequency and extent of urban fires. The rapid expansion of American cities during the nineteenth century also contributed to the danger. In addition, firefighting practices and equipment were largely unstandardized, with each city having its own system. As time passed, these cities invested more in the systems that they already had, increasing

1215-504: Is a historic combined post office and Federal courthouse located in Baltimore , Maryland , United States . It occupies an entire city block and measures 238 feet, 2 inches east-west by 279 feet, 10 inches north-south. It is of steel frame construction with concrete floors and tile roof, basement of granite, and outer walls of white Indiana limestone. The structure is six stories in height and provided with basement and two sub-basements. It

1296-539: Is a second generation castable explosive adopted by the military, while dynamite, in contrast, has never been popular in warfare because it degenerates quickly under severe conditions and can be detonated by either fire or a wayward bullet. The German armed forces adopted TNT as a filling for artillery shells in 1902, some 40 years after the invention of dynamite, which is a first generation phlegmatized explosive primarily intended for civilian earthmoving. TNT has never been popular or widespread in civilian earthmoving, as it

1377-587: Is an explosive made of nitroglycerin , sorbents (such as powdered shells or clay), and stabilizers . It was invented by the Swedish chemist and engineer Alfred Nobel in Geesthacht , Northern Germany, and was patented in 1867. It rapidly gained wide-scale use as a more robust alternative to the traditional black powder explosives. It allows the use of nitroglycerine's favorable explosive properties while greatly reducing its risk of accidental detonation. Dynamite

1458-509: Is considerably more expensive and less powerful by weight than dynamite, as well as being slower to mix and pack into boreholes. TNT's primary asset is its remarkable insensitivity and stability: it is waterproof and incapable of detonating without the extreme shock and heat provided by a blasting cap (or a sympathetic detonation ); this stability also allows it to be melted at 81 °C (178 °F), poured into high explosive shells and allowed to re-solidify, with no extra danger or change in

1539-692: Is considered historically the third worst conflagration in an American city, surpassed only by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, and the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906. Other major urban disasters that were comparable (but not fires) were the Galveston Hurricane of 1900 and most recently, Hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico coast in August 2005. One reason for

1620-456: Is dropped from different heights until detonation is achieved. With a hammer of 2 kg, mercury fulminate detonates with a drop distance of 1 to 2 cm, nitroglycerin with 4 to 5 cm, dynamite with 15 to 30 cm, and ammoniacal explosives with 40 to 50 cm. For several decades beginning in the 1940s, the largest producer of dynamite in the world was the Union of South Africa . There

1701-514: Is now known as Baltimore City "Courthouse East" was completed by 1990. Hord Coplan Macht Inc. was the architect and interior designer for the adaptive reuse of the old Baltimore Post Office; the restoration contractor was Lake Falls Construction Inc. Some notable federal district court cases held in this building, which include in 1973, when Vice President Spiro T. Agnew pleaded nolo contendere to tax evasion and resigned as vice president under Richard M. Nixon . Dynamite Dynamite

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1782-431: Is usually rated by "weight strength" (the amount of nitroglycerin it contains), usually from 20% to 60%. For example, 40% dynamite is composed of 40% nitroglycerin and 60% "dope" (the absorbent storage medium mixed with the stabilizer and any additives). The maximum shelf life of nitroglycerin-based dynamite is recommended as one year from the date of manufacture under good storage conditions. Over time, regardless of

1863-404: Is usually sold in the form of cardboard cylinders about 200 mm (8 in) long and about 32 mm ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 4  in) in diameter, with a mass of about 190 grams ( 1 ⁄ 2 troy pound). A stick of dynamite thus produced contains roughly 1 MJ ( megajoule ) of energy. Other sizes also exist, rated by either portion (Quarter-Stick or Half-Stick) or by weight. Dynamite

1944-664: The Baltimore Evening News . For the next five weeks The Herald was printed nightly on the press of the Philadelphia Evening Telegraph and transported 100 miles (160 km) to Baltimore on a special train, provided free of charge by the B&;O Railroad . The fire also devastated the city's other major newspapers, including The Sun with its famous "Iron Building", considered the forerunner of modern steel skyscrapers, built 1851 at East Baltimore Street . Across

2025-736: The Burning of the Peggy Stewart by Charles Yardley Turner , of 1904. In 1903, muralist Edwin Blashfield 's depiction of General George Washington's resignation as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at Annapolis, Maryland on December 23, 1783 was unveiled in Courtroom 451. A bronze statue of Cecilius Calvert (1605–1675), the second Lord Baltimore and First Proprietor of the Province of Maryland

2106-488: The Baltimore City Fire Department for many years, acts like a local American Red Cross , or military United Service Organization (USO), sending refreshments and break-time trucks to the sites of major alarms and fires to provide exhausted firefighters some comfort and snacks. It is named after the first alarm box pulled on the morning of Sunday, February 7, 1904. The BCFD memorializes the fire annually at

2187-559: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at Camden Street Station . To halt the fire, officials decided to use a firebreak , and dynamited buildings around the existing fire. This tactic, however, proved unsuccessful. Not until 5:00 p.m. the next day was the fire brought under control, after burning for thirty hours. One reason for the fire's duration was the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment. Fire crews and fire engines came from as far away as Philadelphia and Washington that day (units from New York City were blocked by

2268-564: The De Beers company established a factory in 1902 at Somerset West . The explosives factory was later operated by AECI (African Explosives and Chemical Industries). The demand for the product came mainly from the country's vast gold mines, centered on the Witwatersrand . The factory at Somerset West was in operation in 1903 and by 1907 it was already producing 340,000 cases, 23 kilograms (50 lb) each, annually. A rival factory at Modderfontein

2349-621: The Jones Falls stream which divided the downtown business district from the old East Baltimore tightly-packed residential neighborhoods of Jonestown (also known as Old Town) and newly named "Little Italy" . The fire's wide swath burned as far south as the wharves and piers lining the north side of the old "Basin" (today's " Inner Harbor ") of the Northwest Branch of the Baltimore Harbor and Patapsco River facing along Pratt Street . It

2430-649: The Maryland National Guard and the Naval Brigade, were utilized during the fire to maintain order and protect the city. Police and soldiers not only kept looters away, but also prevented civilians from inadvertently interfering with firefighting efforts. The Naval Brigade secured the waterfront and waterways to keep spectators away. Officers from Philadelphia and New York also assisted the City Police Department . Thomas Albert Lurz (b. January 9, 1874),

2511-640: The Second Continental Congress on behalf of the Thirteen Colonies , now United States of America , meeting at the old Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) three weeks earlier in Philadelphia and read out loud to a gathering of Baltimore Town citizens. It was undercut in 1784 by local builder/contractor Leonard Harbaugh with a pair of arched stone/brick arched piers and raised stone foundation to permit extension of Calvert Street to

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2592-423: The next four decades until replaced by the current Edward A. Garmatz U.S. Courthouse at West Lombard and South Hanover / Liberty Street/Hopkins Place structure adjacent to the 1960s era Charles Center downtown redevelopment project. The old Hoover era federal courts and post office was then transferred to the city by the federal government in 1977 for its use and renovated with being renamed Courthouse East. Today

2673-533: The 100 block of North Calvert Street , between East Lexington Street on the north and East Fayette Street on the south across from the Battle Monument Square (1815-1822), which held the original site of the first colonial era courthouse for Baltimore County (third county courthouse after previous locations / county seats in old Baltimore village on the Bush River and later Joppa ) and Town, after moving

2754-428: The 20th century. This incorrect connection between TNT and dynamite was enhanced by cartoons such as Bugs Bunny , where animators labeled any kind of bomb (ranging from sticks of dynamite to kegs of black powder ) as TNT, because the acronym was shorter and more memorable and did not require literacy to recognize that TNT meant "bomb". Aside from both being high explosives, TNT and dynamite have little in common. TNT

2835-684: The Baltimore County seat in 1767 to the burgeoning port town on the Patapsco River established in 1729-1730. The first courthouse in Baltimore Town was built in 1767 and also later housed briefly for a decade the new United States federal courts in the city, after the ratification and operation of the new Constitution in 1789. On July 28, 1776, it was the site for the public reading of the Declaration of Independence , just previously approved by

2916-575: The Great Fire. Martin Mullin, the proprietor of Mullin's Hotel (on the northwest corner of West Baltimore and North Liberty Streets, above Hopkins Place), a block to the north of the John E. Hurst Building, where the fire started, also later died. Mayor McLane's mysterious and sudden death later that year, ruled a suicide, was also attributed by some of his contemporaries to the stress of post-fire reconstruction. As

2997-569: The TNT's characteristics. Accordingly, more than 90% of the TNT produced in America was always for the military market, with most TNT used for filling shells, hand grenades and aerial bombs , and the remainder being packaged in brown "bricks" (not red cylinders) for use as demolition charges by combat engineers . In the United States, in 1885, the chemist Russell S. Penniman invented "ammonium dynamite",

3078-500: The US. The only facility producing it is located in Carthage, Missouri , but the material is purchased from Dyno Nobel by other manufacturers who put their labels on the dynamite and boxes. Other explosives are often referred to or confused with dynamite: Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is often assumed to be the same as (or confused for) dynamite largely because of the ubiquity of both explosives during

3159-468: The age of 17, Alfred Nobel was sent abroad for two years ; in the United States he met Swedish engineer John Ericsson and in France studied under famed chemist Théophile-Jules Pelouze and his pupil Ascanio Sobrero , who had first synthesized nitroglycerin in 1847. Pelouze cautioned Nobel against using nitroglycerine as a commercial explosive because of its great sensitivity to shock. In 1857, Nobel filed

3240-530: The bronze statue of a firefighter at the Department's old headquarters, facing City Hall, the War Memorial Building and the broad ceremonial plaza in between at East Lexington and North Gay Streets. Observances are also held at the closest street corner to the Great Fire's beginnings at South Howard and West Lombard Streets alongside the old Civic Center/Arena . The Maryland Historical Society commemorated

3321-902: The city's public radio network (NPR) station, WYPR-FM, also commemorated the event. The folk song "Baltimore Fire" by Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers , recorded on Columbia Records (15509-D, May 6, 1929) also commemorates the event. More recently, the Baltimore-based rock band J. Roddy Walston and the Business memorialized the fire in "Nineteen Ought Four", on their album Hail Mega Boys . 39°17′19.3″N 76°37′9″W  /  39.288694°N 76.61917°W  / 39.288694; -76.61917 Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses The Baltimore City Circuit Courthouses are state judicial facilities located in downtown Baltimore , Maryland . They face each other in

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3402-418: The costs of any conversion. In addition, early equipment was often patented by its manufacturer. By 1903, over 600 sizes and variations of fire hose couplings existed in the United States. Despite efforts to establish standards being made since the 1870s, they had little effect: no city wanted to abandon its system, few saw any reason to adopt standards, and equipment manufacturers did not want competition. Fire

3483-974: The criminal, civil and family (formerly orphans court) courts, these two courthouses also contain the Office of the State's Attorney for Baltimore City, the Clerk of the Circuit Court, the historic Baltimore City Bar Law Library, the City Sheriff's Office , the recently established Baltimore Courthouse and Law Museum (in the former Orphans Court chambers), the Pretrial Release Division of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services , several pretrial detention lockups, jury assembly rooms, land records, court medical offices and Masters hearing rooms. What

3564-461: The crisis. In addition, many newspapers published accounts by travelers who, in actuality, had only seen the fire as their trains passed through Baltimore. Nonetheless, the responding agencies and their equipment did prove useful, since the uncouplable hoses only represented a small part of the transported equipment. Ultimately, the tragedy led to the standardization of hydrants nationwide. In addition to firefighters, outside police officers, as well as

3645-520: The entries, a Beaux Arts –styled architecture of Roman and Greek Revival Courthouse was chosen that was proposed by the Baltimore firm of Wyatt and Nolting . The cornerstone for the Baltimore City Courthouse on the northeast corner facing Calvert and East Lexington Streets was laid in 1896; the building was dedicated at completion at a public ceremony on January 8, 1900. A number of murals were commissioned from notable artists, including

3726-504: The explosive strength generated by an equivalent density and grain size of a standard explosive). For example, high-explosive 65% Extra dynamite has a weight strength of 65% ammonium nitrate and 35% "dope" (the absorbent medium mixed with the stabilizers and additives). Its "cartridge strength" would be its weight in pounds times its strength in relation to an equal amount of ANFO (the civilian baseline standard) or TNT (the military baseline standard). For example, 65% ammonium dynamite with

3807-741: The factory at Immanuel Nobel's estate at Heleneborg . After this, Alfred founded the company Nitroglycerin Aktiebolaget in Vinterviken to continue work in a more isolated area and the following year moved to Germany, where he founded another company, Dynamit Nobel . Despite the invention of the blasting cap, the instability of nitroglycerin rendered it useless as a commercial explosive. To solve this problem, Nobel sought to combine it with another substance that would make it safe for transport and handling but would not reduce its effectiveness as an explosive. He tried combinations of cement, coal, and sawdust, but

3888-504: The fire at the beginning of his blossoming journalism and literary career, but the offices of his newspaper, the Baltimore Herald (at the northwest corner of St. Paul and East Fayette Streets), were destroyed on the northern edge of the "Burnt District". Mencken related the fire and its aftermath near the end of the second volume of his autobiographical trilogy, Newspaper Days: 1899–1906 , published 1941, "When I came out of it at last I

3969-666: The fire's centennial in 2004 with a website, two books and various events, lectures, and tours through the auspices of the Fire Museum of Maryland on York Road in Lutherville-Timonium-Cockeysville in Baltimore County . Several commemorative stories and special sections were published during the month in Baltimore's only remaining daily newspaper, The Baltimore Sun , and the four local television stations' and several documentaries and interviews/discussion programs on

4050-542: The fire's extent and firefighters' difficulties. As a result, the fire burned over 30 hours, destroying 1,545 buildings spanning 70 city blocks—amounting to over 140 acres (57 ha). While Baltimore was criticized for its hydrants, this problem was not uniquely its own. During that era, American cities had more than six hundred different sizes and variations of fire hose couplings. As outside firefighters returned to their home cities, newspapers published interviews that condemned Baltimore and exaggerated locals' response during

4131-434: The fire's long duration involved the lack of national standards in firefighting equipment. Despite fire engines from nearby cities (such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. as well as units from New York City , Virginia , Wilmington , and Atlantic City ) responding with horse-drawn pumpers, wagons and other related equipment (primitive by modern-day standards, but only steam engines were motorized in that era) carried by

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4212-406: The first of several hundred patents , mostly concerning air pressure, gas and fluid gauges, but remained fascinated with nitroglycerin's potential as an explosive. Nobel, along with his father and brother Emil , experimented with various combinations of nitroglycerin and black powder. Nobel came up with a way to safely detonate nitroglycerin by inventing the detonator , or blasting cap, that allowed

4293-442: The first renovation, the architects recognized that the 1950 reconfiguration of the courthouse "probably prevented it from being demolished altogether." in the 1950s. Studies continued into 2002, when architects Richter Cornbrooks Gribble Inc. of Baltimore and Ricci Associates of New York suggested a remodeling that would return the interior formal spaces to a configuration closer to the pre-1940s arrangement. The courthouse occupies

4374-539: The harbor basin, near the modern Inner Harbor area USS  Constellation Dock (old Pier 2). Five lost lives were indirectly attributed to the fire. Two members of the 4th Regiment of the Maryland National Guard , Private John Undutch of Company 'F', and Second Lieutenant John V. Richardson of Company 'E', both fell ill and died of pneumonia . Fireman Mark Kelly and Fire Lieutenant John A. McKnew also died of pneumonia and tuberculosis due to exposure during

4455-461: The huge massive H-shaped Merchants Exchange building capped with a low dome at South Gay and East Lombard Streets, designed and completed that year by famous British-American architect Benjamin Latrobe ) was partially burned on 13 February 1835 during a spate of mysterious arson fires in the city during the bank riots that year, but it was soon repaired. An adjacent Egyptian style masonry building to

4536-527: The intersecting South Street-Guilford Avenue was the publishing headquarters of the Baltimore Evening News , founded 1871 and built in 1873 with its mansard roof and corner clock tower. Baltimore's oldest news publication, The Baltimore American (dating back to 1773 or 1796 by various accounts and owned and published by local civic titan, General Felix Agnus ), was also burnt out of its offices and forced to have papers printed out-of-town and shipped back by train. The "Box 414 Association", which has assisted

4617-646: The monument raised for remembering local casualties from the British attack in September 1814 during the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812 ). It was sited on the southwest corner of North Calvert and facing north towards East Lexington Street, completed in 1805. This second City/County Courthouse (which also served the small federal district court and judges chambers for 15 years until 1820, when they were relocated into one wing of

4698-461: The new U.S. Courthouse (later named for local U.S. Rep. Edward Garmatz ) at West Lombard and North Hanover streets, just south of the new Charles Center downtown redevelopment of the late 1950s-early 60's. In 1972, the main U.S. Post Office for the City was moved to large several-block sized structure at East Fayette, North Front Streets, east of the Jones Falls . The state renovation/restoration of what

4779-401: The north by passing traffic underneath at a lower level. This town/county courts structure was torn down around 1800, leaving an empty small square for fifteen years. A second city/county courthouse of Georgian and Federal style architecture in red brick and limestone trim with a cupola was constructed to the west of old Courthouse Square (later renamed Battle Monument Square in honor of

4860-399: The old burned second "Centre Market" building and Maryland Institute of 1851. Since the late 1980s, the structure has been renamed the Port Discovery children's museum . This major commemorative tablet reads "Lives Lost: None." However, a recently rediscovered newspaper story from The Sun tells of the charred remains of a " colored man " being pulled, almost two weeks after the fire, from

4941-533: The production of dynamite. The factory then went on to produce ammonium nitrate emulsion-based explosives that are safer to manufacture and handle. Dynamite was first manufactured in the US by the Giant Powder Company of San Francisco , California, whose founder had obtained the exclusive rights from Nobel in 1867. Giant was eventually acquired by DuPont , which produced dynamite under the Giant name until Giant

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5022-615: The railroads on flat cars and in box cars, many were unable to help since their hose couplings could not fit Baltimore's fire hydrants . Much of the destroyed area was rebuilt in relatively short order, and the city adopted a building code , stressing fireproof materials. Perhaps the greatest legacy of the fire was the impetus it gave to efforts to standardize firefighting equipment in the United States, especially hose couplings. In centuries past, fires regularly ravaged cities, frequently destroying large areas within. Close living quarters; lax, unenforced, or non-existent building codes; and

5103-411: The sorbent used, sticks of dynamite will "weep" or "sweat" nitroglycerin, which can then pool in the bottom of the box or storage area. For that reason, explosive manuals recommend the regular up-ending of boxes of dynamite in storage. Crystals will form on the outside of the sticks, causing them to be even more sensitive to shock, friction, and temperature. Therefore, while the risk of an explosion without

5184-438: The south and St. Paul Street on the west. A small federal district courthouse and United States Post Office of white marble and limestone was constructed on the northwest corner of East Fayette and North Street (later renamed Guilford Avenue) in 1860 for the federal offices relocated from the one wing of the 1820 Merchants Exchange and was dedicated by 15th President James Buchanan and served only 29 years until 1889. Then it

5265-484: The sympathy and the offers of practical assistance which have been tendered to us. To them I have in general terms replied, 'Baltimore will take care of its own, thank you.'" Two years later, on September 10, 1906, The Sun reported that the city had risen from the ashes and that "One of the great disasters of modern time had been converted into a blessing." Most agreed that the Great Fire directly caused no deaths. An autobiography written by Alice Mae Cawthorne tells of

5346-623: The town as "The Monumental City".) In 1894, 79 local and national architectural firms responded to a nationwide design competition under the Tarsney Act for the new federal district courthouse to be located at Baltimore City. This act required competition in the design of Federal buildings and was administered by the Office of the Supervising Architect of the U.S. Department of the Treasury . Of

5427-512: The two historic main structures of the Maryland state judicial system in the City of Baltimore are the Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. Courthouse of 1896-1900 and Elijah E. Cummings Courthouse (the former Baltimore Post Office and U.S. Courthouse of 1932). Together they house the 30 judges of the 8th Judicial Circuit for the State of Maryland ( Circuit Court of Maryland for Baltimore City ). In addition to

5508-440: The use of a blasting cap is minimal for fresh dynamite, old dynamite is dangerous. Modern packaging helps eliminate this by placing the dynamite into sealed plastic bags and using wax-coated cardboard. Dynamite is moderately sensitive to shock. Shock resistance tests are usually carried out with a drop-hammer: about 100 mg of explosive is placed on an anvil, upon which a weight of between 0.5 and 10 kg (1 and 22 lb)

5589-399: The west along Saint Paul Street was constructed for a Records Office. It was razed around 1896 along with the other structures on the block to its south and west. A third and current courthouse, was built 1896–1900, on the entire city block west of the 1815-1822 Battle Monument . It is bounded by North Calvert Street on the east, East Lexington Street on the north, East Fayette Street on

5670-719: Was invented by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel in 1866 and was the first safely manageable explosive stronger than black powder . Alfred Nobel's father, Immanuel Nobel , was an industrialist, engineer, and inventor. He built bridges and buildings in Stockholm and founded Sweden's first rubber factory. His construction work inspired him to research new methods of blasting rock that were more effective than black powder. After some bad business deals in Sweden, in 1838 Immanuel moved his family to Saint Petersburg , where Alfred and his brothers were educated privately under Swedish and Russian tutors. At

5751-452: Was a settled and indeed almost a middle-aged man, spavined by responsibility and aching in every sinew, but I went into it a boy, and it was the hot gas of youth that kept me going." The Herald printed an edition the first night of the fire on the press of The Washington Post , in exchange for providing photographs to The Post , but could not continue this arrangement because of a long-standing arrangement between The Washington Post and

5832-473: Was completed in 1932 at the beginning of the Great Depression , during the term of 30th President Herbert Hoover and provided thousands of jobs for the City. The Old Post Office/Federal Courthouse features some classical ornamentation on a fairly simplified stone exterior. The Courthouse was transferred to the state in 1975 for its use in Baltimore following the relocation of the federal court functions to

5913-559: Was dissolved by DuPont in 1905. Thereafter, DuPont produced dynamite under its own name until 1911–12, when its explosives monopoly was broken up by the U.S. Circuit Court in the "Powder Case". Two new companies were formed upon the breakup, the Hercules Powder Company and the Atlas Powder Company , which took up the manufacture of dynamite (in different formulations). Currently, only Dyno Nobel manufactures dynamite in

5994-449: Was done, which is approximately $ 3.84 billion in 2014 dollars. Immediately after the fire, The Baltimore News quoted Mayor Robert McLane : "To suppose that the spirit of our people will not rise to the occasion is to suppose that our people are not genuine Americans. We shall make the fire of 1904 a landmark not of decline but of progress." McLane then refused assistance, "As head of this municipality, I cannot help but feel gratified by

6075-476: Was erected in 1908 on the steps outside the west entrance, facing Saint Paul Street; it was sponsored by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Maryland. It is the site of annual " Maryland Day " (March 25) ceremonies which continue inside in the ceremonial chambers. John La Farge was also contracted to produce six murals on the theme of eminent lawgivers, beginning with Moses. Because of changing court needs,

6156-536: Was producing another 200,000 cases per year. There were two large explosions at the Somerset West plant during the 1960s. Some workers died, but the loss of life was limited by the modular design of the factory and its earth works, and the planting of trees that directed the blasts upward. There were several other explosions at the Modderfontein factory. After 1985, pressure from trade unions forced AECI to phase out

6237-594: Was rededicated in honor of Baltimore's noted national civil rights leader, Clarence M. Mitchell Jr. (1911–1984). An assessment and renovation study of the Baltimore Courthouse was presented in 1989. It took until 2000 for funding and plans to accomplish substantial exterior improvements. The study by architectural firm Richter Cornbrooks Gribble concluded that the building should be re-used, rather than abandoned in favor of new facilities; renovation proceeded under architect Kann & Associates. Despite criticism of

6318-512: Was replaced by a much larger structure with a clock tower and eight massive chimneys facing to the west on Calvert Street and the Battle Monument, occupying the rest of the entire block between Calvert, Lexington, North (Guilford) and Fayette Streets. That Federal courts and central city Post Office on Calvert Street was replaced after only forty years of use in 1932, during the administration of 31st President Herbert C. Hoover which served for

6399-717: Was reported first at the John Hurst and Company building on West German Street at Hopkins Place (modern site at the southwest corner of the Baltimore Civic Center of 1962, currently the CFG Bank Arena) in the western part of downtown Baltimore at 10:48 a.m. on Sunday, February 7, and quickly spread. Soon, it became apparent that the fire was outstripping the ability of the city's firefighting resources to fight it, and calls for help were telegraphed to other cities. By 1:30 p.m., units from Washington, D.C. were arriving on

6480-467: Was the first federal courthouse in the city was constructed at what later became known as Battle Monument Square . Federal judges served on a circuit court basis, also holding court in other cities. The Battle Monument was designed by Maximilian Godefroy , (1765 – c. 1838), and built starting in 1815, on the first anniversary of the British attack on the city during the War of 1812 . (It was completed in 1827, when sixth President John Quincy Adams , saluted

6561-550: Was unsuccessful. Finally, he tried diatomaceous earth , which is fossilized algae, that he brought from the Elbe River near his factory in Hamburg , which successfully stabilized the nitroglycerin into a portable explosive. Nobel obtained patents for his inventions in England on 7 May 1867 and in Sweden on 19 October 1867. After its introduction, dynamite rapidly gained wide-scale use as

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