Baltimore Heritage

Housing the offices of the Mayor and other officials, Baltimore City Hall is the heart of local government. Designed in a French Second Empire style, local leaders dedicated the new City Hall in October 1875. Architect George Frederick was only 21 when he won the design competition organized for project. The Baltimore City Hall may be Frederick’s claim to fame but he also designed Maryland’s Pavilion for Philadelphia Exposition, Baltimore City College, Hutzler’s Palace Building, and many more landmarks across the city. In an appropriate move for a bustling industrial city, the structure employed a good deal of cast iron, including the 227-foot tall dome designed by Wendel Bollman and cast by Bartlett, Robbins, and Company. Our tour will cover architectural history, as well as Baltimore and city government history. In addition to the rotunda, we’ll venture into the building’s ceremonial room, the original mayor’s office, and the council chambers (as long as they are not in use). We’ll also witness close-up the prize-winning renovations that happened in the 1970s and saved City Hall from demolition. Peer behind the curtain and get an up close look at the architecture and renovations where our city’s leaders make some of their biggest decisions.