Baltimore

Baltimore, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maryland. It is located in the central area of the state along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. The independent city is often referred to as Baltimore City to distinguish it from surrounding Baltimore County.
Founded in 1729, Baltimore is the largest seaport in the Mid-Atlantic United States and is situated closer to Midwestern markets than any other major seaport on the East Coast. Baltimore's Inner Harbor was once the second leading port of entry for immigrants to the United States and a major manufacturing center After a decline in manufacturing, Baltimore shifted to a service-oriented economy.
At 620,961 residents in 2010, Baltimore's population has decreased by one-third since its peak in 1950. The Baltimore Metropolitan Area has grown steadily to approximately 2.7 million residents in 2010; the 20th largest in the country. Baltimore is also a principal city in the larger Baltimore–Washington combined statistical area of approximately 8.4 million residents.
The city is named after Lord Baltimore, a member of the Irish House of Lords and the founding proprietor of the Maryland Colony. Baltimore is an anglicization of the Irish Gaelic name Baile an Tí Mhóir, meaning "town of the big house", from whence Baltimore, County Cork derives its name.


Climate
Baltimore lies within the humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa), according to the Köppen classification.
July is typically the hottest month of the year, with an average temperature of 81.7 °F (27.6 °C). Summer is also a season of high (generally, not consistently) humidity in the Baltimore area. The record high for Baltimore is 107 °F (42 °C), set in 1936. January is the coldest month, with an average temperature of 36.8 °F (2.7 °C). However, subtropical air masses can bring periods of springlike weather, and Arctic fronts push nighttime low temperatures into the teens (< −7 °C) and more rarely, single digits (< −12 °C). The record low temperature for Baltimore is −7 °F (−22 °C) in 1934 and 1984.[36] Due to an urban heat island effect in the city proper and a moderating effect of the Chesapeake Bay, the outlying and inland parts of the Baltimore metro area are usually cooler than the city proper and the coastal towns.
As is typical in most East Coast cities, precipitation is generous and very evenly spread throughout the year. Every month typically brings 3–4 inches of precipitation, averaging around 42 inches (1,100 mm) annually. Spring, summer and fall bring frequent showers and thunderstorms, with an average of 105 sunny days a year. Winter often brings lighter rain showers of longer duration, and generally less sunshine and more clouds. Snowfall occurs occasionally in the winter, with an annual average of 20.8 inches (53 cm). In the northern and western suburbs, temperatures tend to be cooler, and winter snowfall is more significant, where some areas average more than 30 inches (76 cm) of snow per year. Freezing rain and sleet occurs a few times each winter in Baltimore, as warm air overrides cold air at the low-mid levels of the atmosphere. When the wind blows from the east, the cold air gets dammed against the mountains to the west and the result is freezing rain or sleet.
The average date of first frost in Baltimore is October 29, and the average last frost is April 11, allowing a growing season of 200 days.
NOTE: The temperature data presented below was recorded at Inner Harbor; all other data recorded at BWI Airport.


 Culture of Baltimore


Historically a working-class port town, Baltimore has sometimes been dubbed a "city of neighborhoods," with 72 designated historic districts traditionally occupied by distinct ethnic groups. Most notable today are three downtown areas along the port: the Inner Harbor, frequented by tourists due to its hotels, shops, and museums; Fells Point, once a favorite entertainment spot for sailors but now refurbished and gentrified (and featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle); and Little Italy, located between the other two, where Baltimore's Italian-American community is based – and where former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi grew up. Further inland, Mt. Vernon is the traditional center of cultural and artistic life of the city; it is home to a distinctive Washington Monument, set atop a hill in a 19th century urban square, that predates the more well-known monument in Washington, D.C. by several decades.


Each year the Artscape takes place in the city in the Bolton Hill neighborhood, due to its proximity to Maryland Institute College of Art. Artscape styles itself as the 'largest free arts festival in America'.
Each May, the Maryland Film Festival takes place in Baltimore, using all 5 screens of the historic Charles Theatre as its anchor venue.


Economy


Once a predominately industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation, the city suffered a deindustrialization which cost residents tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs. While it remains a major industrial powerhouse, Baltimore now has a modern service economy providing a growing financial, business, and health service base for the southern Mid-Atlantic region.
Greater Baltimore (the city and surrounding suburbs in Baltimore County) is home to five Fortune 1000 companies: Constellation Energy, Grace Chemicals (in Columbia), Legg Mason, T. Rowe Price, and McCormick & Company (in Hunt Valley). Other companies that call Greater Baltimore home include AAI Corporation (in Hunt Valley), Adams Express Company, Brown Advisory, Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown (the oldest continuously running investment bank in the United States), FTI Consulting, Petroleum & Resources Corporation, Vertis, Prometric, Sylvan Learning, Laureate Education, Under Armour, DAP, 180s, DeBaufre Bakeries, Wm. T. Burnett & Co, Old Mutual Financial Network, Firaxis Games (in Sparks), Sinclair Broadcast Group (in Hunt Valley), Fila USA (in Sparks) and JoS. A. Bank Clothiers (in Hampstead).
The city is also home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital.
A sugar refinery owned by American Sugar Refining is also located in Baltimore, and serves as one of Baltimore's cultural icons.