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Located on the
Inner Harbor The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and landmark of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. It was described by the Urban Land Institute in 2009 as "the model for post-industrial waterfront redevelopment around the world". Th ...
of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...
, the Baltimore World Trade Center is the world's tallest regular
pentagonal In geometry, a pentagon (from the Greek πέντε ''pente'' meaning ''five'' and γωνία ''gonia'' meaning ''angle'') is any five-sided polygon or 5-gon. The sum of the internal angles in a simple pentagon is 540°. A pentagon may be simpl ...
-based skyscraper (the pentagonal-based JPMorgan Chase Tower in
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 ...
is taller, but is not regular). It was designed by the architectural firm
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Pei Cobb Freed & Partners is an American architectural firm based in New York City, founded in 1955 by I. M. Pei and other associates.
, with the principal architects being
Henry N. Cobb Henry Nichols Cobb (April 8, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American architect and founding partner with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an international architectural firm based in New York City. Early life Henry N. ...
and Pershing Wong. Planning and design of the building began in April 1966. Construction started in October 1973. The building was completed in January 1977, and its construction cost was of $22 million. Rising above the one-acre plaza where it stands between Pratt Street and the harbor, the building is 30
stories Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (Briti ...
tall when its basement, lobby level and upper utility level are included in the count. Gross floor space covers . Major building components include of office floors, a lobby of , a basement of and of ground level plaza.


Significance of building's name

The building's name identifies its purpose of accommodating "activities and services devoted to the promotion of world trade" as required for licensing of this name by the
World Trade Centers Association The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) was founded in 1970 by Port Authority executive Guy F. Tozzoli. WTCA is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and operation of World Trade Centers (WTCs) as instrument ...
. Baltimore is one of 16 charter members of the World Trade Centers Association. The landmark tower houses the headquarters of the
Maryland Port Administration The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is an organization comprising five business units and one Authority: * Maryland Transportation Authority (Transportation Secretary serves as chairman of the Maryland Transportation Authority) * M ...
, the
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development The Maryland Department of Commerce is a government agency in the state of Maryland in the United States. Although it was originally founded in 1884, the department came to be recognized as the Department of Commerce in 2015. The mission of t ...
and the World Trade Center Institute. The World Trade Center Institute is a member of the
World Trade Centers Association The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) was founded in 1970 by Port Authority executive Guy F. Tozzoli. WTCA is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and operation of World Trade Centers (WTCs) as instrument ...
and operates as a private, non-profit international business membership organization.


Alignment and lighting

The building was positioned so that a corner points out toward the waters of the Inner Harbor, suggesting the prow of a ship. Perched at the Harbor's edge, the building appears to rise out of the water when viewed from certain vantage points. It presents a frontal plane toward the city, across a broad plaza between the building and Pratt Street. In the base at each of the building's five recessed corners, 4,500-watt xenon spotlights dramatically illuminate the building at night, from the ground up, with oversized parabolic mirrors at the top of the five corners then reflecting the light outward in brilliant V-shaped beams. The "beacon" effect was loosely inspired by lighthouses found along the Chesapeake Bay. This signature lighting scheme, designed by
Ray Grenald Ray Grenald (born 1928) is a architectural lighting designer in the United States in the second half of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Grenald founded his own lighting design firm, Grenald Associates, in Philadelphia in 1968. In 1994, it ...
, is visible in the Baltimore skyline from seven to 10 miles away under favorable weather conditions. Installed in 1994, the xenon lighting system replaced 1,000-watt incandescent lamps originally installed at the base of the building, which illuminated only the first three floors.


Top of the World

An enclosed observation level on the 27th floor, called "Top of the World", provides a 360-degree panoramic view of the city. The Top of the World is handicap accessible, offers Baltimore history, rotating art exhibits, occasional special events, a gift shop featuring local art, and is home of the 9/11 Memorial of Maryland. The observation level is open to the public during daytime hours, and may be rented for special events by government organizations and corporations."Top of the World"
Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts. Retrieved 2010-10-18.


Impact of September 11 attacks

Two hours after the
September 11, 2001 attack The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...
on the World Trade Center in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, Baltimore's World Trade Center was evacuated and closed. This was a response to a "credible" threat that the Baltimore building would also be attacked. A resident of southwest Baltimore was arrested that night and accused of giving the police a false warning. Unsubstantiated bomb threats received on September 12 and September 14 further contributed to security concerns at the building. A temporary barrier of concrete walls was erected around the brick plaza between the building and Pratt Street, closing the area to pedestrian and vehicle access. Four barges were moved to the building's harbor side to protect it from attack by boats. Due to the building's name and its prominent location on Baltimore's skyline, state officials presumed that a similar attack on other American cities would likely target the Baltimore World Trade Center. Their response was criticized, because "such drastic steps" were not taken at world trade center buildings in other cities. As security was relaxed later in the year, the concrete barriers and barges were removed. The exterior lighting system was turned off and remained dark until the end of 2007. The waterfront walkway beneath the building, an extension of the
Harborplace Harborplace is a shopping complex on the Inner Harbor in Baltimore, Maryland. Description The property is composed of 2 two-story pavilions: the Pratt Street Pavilion and the Light Street Pavilion. Each of these buildings contains many stores an ...
promenade, is now only open to the public during daylight hours.


9/11 Memorial of Maryland at Baltimore's World Trade Center

A memorial to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks, built on the pedestrian promenade of the Baltimore World Trade Center between the building and Pratt Street, was dedicated on September 11, 2011, the tenth anniversary of the attacks. The memorial structure includes three 22-foot long steel beams from the New York World Trade Center, which were part of the 94th to 96th floors of the north tower. Twisted and fused together, the steel beams and damaged limestone pieces from the Pentagon's west wall rest atop marble blocks bearing the names and birthdays of the 68 Marylanders who died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Windows on the top floor of the Baltimore World Trade Center are marked with all of the names of the September 11 attack victims. Inscriptions on the marble platform, describing the events of the September 11 attacks, are arranged so that the building's shadow moves across them like a sundial. On September 11 each year, the shadow touches each inscription at the time that event occurred. The second exhibit memorializes the passengers of
Flight 93 United Airlines Flight 93 was a domestic scheduled passenger flight that was hijacked by four al-Qaeda attackers aboard the plane on the morning of September 11, 2001, as part of the September 11 attacks. The plane eventually crashed in S ...
with a smooth, glossy granite block. The memorial was designed by the Baltimore architectural firm of Ziger/Snead and paid for by donations.


Hurricane Isabel flooding

Hurricane Isabel Hurricane Isabel was the strongest Atlantic hurricane since Mitch, and the deadliest, costliest, and most intense hurricane in the 2003 Atlantic hurricane season. Hurricane Isabel was also the strongest hurricane in the open waters of the Atlan ...
flooded the Baltimore World Trade Center's basement with of water in September 2003, destroying electrical, mechanical and telecommunications equipment serving the entire building, located there. The building remained closed for clean-up for more than a month after the hurricane struck, displacing 60 tenants.


State ownership of building

The building is owned by the Maryland Port Administration. As a result, there have been public discussions about whether it should be sold in debates over state budgets. In the "Maryland Transition" report to the incoming Governor Martin O'Malley in January 2007, the Transportation work group noted that former Governor
Robert Ehrlich Robert Leroy Ehrlich Jr. (born November 25, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 60th Governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007. A Republican, Ehrlich represented Maryland's 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House ...
favored selling the Baltimore World Trade Center. Governor O'Malley chose to maintain state ownership. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 2008, the Baltimore World Trade Center incurred an operating loss of $2.3 million. This was due to an occupancy rate that had declined to 43 percent by March 2008. A low occupancy level was expected "to make it easier to sell". The Maryland Board of Public Works took two important steps in 2007 and 2008 toward improving occupancy at the World Trade Center: streamlining lease approvals and hiring an agent. In December 2007, the Board delegated its lease approval authority to the Secretary of Transportation. Meridian Management Corp. was awarded a 5-year contract, beginning on June 10, 2008, to serve as the World Trade Center's leasing agent. Meridian's contract, approved by the Board of Public Works on May 21, 2008, also includes operation and maintenance of the building.BPW Agenda Archives, p. 26.
Maryland Board of Public Works (May 21, 2008).


Floating "wetlands"

Construction of an array of grassy floats, tethered to the waterfront bulkhead below the southern face of the World Trade Center, began in the summer of 2010. This project, scheduled for completion by April 20, 2012, uses floating frames to build a "wetlands" in Baltimore's inner harbor. The Waterfront Partnership, a nonprofit group serving the businesses located at the inner harbor, started the project with eight small wetland floats, funded in 2010 with a grant from Blue Water Baltimore. Although the original floats were destroyed by Hurricane Irene, students from the Living Classrooms Foundation and volunteers from
T. Rowe Price T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. is an American publicly owned global investment management firm that offers funds, subadvisory services, separate account management, and retirement plans and services for individuals, institutions, and financial inter ...
have built 50 new floating frames to restore the floating wetland system. The inner harbor wetlands system is expected to extract at least two pounds of nitrogen from the water for every 100 pounds of grass growing on the floats. Its underside will also provide a habitat for small marine life, such as worms, barnacles, eels, crabs and mussels. Plants selected for the floats include a variety of marsh grasses which feed on nutrients from sewage leaks and storm runoff. Plastic beverage bottles, retrieved from trash floating in the inner harbor, are embedded in the structure of the floats to provide buoyancy.


Notable tenants

*
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development The Maryland Department of Commerce is a government agency in the state of Maryland in the United States. Although it was originally founded in 1884, the department came to be recognized as the Department of Commerce in 2015. The mission of t ...
*
Maryland Port Administration The Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) is an organization comprising five business units and one Authority: * Maryland Transportation Authority (Transportation Secretary serves as chairman of the Maryland Transportation Authority) * M ...
* World Trade Center Institute * Ballenger & Roche, LLC


See also

*
The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
* World Trade Center (
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
) *
September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
*
List of world trade centers A World Trade Center (also World Trade Centre or WTC) is a building or complex of buildings used for the promotion and expansion of trade and licensed to use the "World Trade Center" name by the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA). As of May 2 ...
*
World Trade Centers Association The World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) was founded in 1970 by Port Authority executive Guy F. Tozzoli. WTCA is a not-for-profit, non-political association dedicated to the establishment and operation of World Trade Centers (WTCs) as instrument ...


References


External links


World Trade Center Institute


{{Baltimore skyscrapers Inner Harbor, Baltimore Skyscraper office buildings in Baltimore World Trade Centers Economy of Baltimore Office buildings completed in 1977 1977 establishments in Maryland