Jay Brodie: How eminent domain, Charles Center and the Inner Harbor sparked Baltimore’s comeback
“Nevertheless, by 1958, the plan for Charles Center, with the mayor’s approval, was converted into a City Council urban renewal ordinance. To the amazement of most Baltimoreans, it authorized the city’s acquisition of private property by negotiation or condemnation (the power of eminent domain) from more than 200 owners.
Some observers compared the likely effects to the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 that had destroyed much of the business district.
Initially, there was no federal or state program to finance such city activities. So the voters were asked to approve a city bond issue with funds to start acquisition, relocation and new infrastructure work.
At the same time, the first of several quasi-public organizations — Charles Center Management — was formed by the city to assist in implementing the plan. Its first general manager, a retired downtown retailer, was hired for $1 per year.
Then, and very soon, an even bolder step was taken. Now, it was 1963 and only one major Charles Center building had been completed. But Mayor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin, a rare winning Republican in predominantly Democratic Baltimore, announced in his inaugural speech that renewal must “turn to the Inner Harbor,” the city’s birthplace”
Brodie, Jay. Baltimore Business Journal 11 November 2013.