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Baltimore in the 1940s

What was 1940s Baltimore like? Great photos and stories from Baltimore in the 1940s.

Baltimore's downtown week in 1948

Baltimore’s Downtown Week in October 1948

Here’s a cool old advertisement that we dug up in the Sunday edition of The Baltimore Sun from October 17th, 1948. It’s a program spurred on by Mayor Thomas D’Alesandro — also known as the father of...
1943 Elevated streetcar of Baltimore

Elevated Streetcar of Baltimore in 1943

This cool old image of Baltimore shows an elevated streetcar. Source: Library of Congress From my Googling around, it looks like this is near the 200 block of Guilford Ave. What do you think? Take a...
An aerial view of what is now considered the Inner Harbor shot October 20, 1948. (Robert F. Kniesche/Baltimore Sun)

1948 View of Baltimore Harbor

Check out this great photo of Baltimore Harbor from the fall of 1948.
Harry S Truman addressing the crowd at a train stop in Baltimore in June of 1948. (Robert F. Kniesche/Baltimore Sun)

President Truman’s Whistle-Stop Campaign in 1948

We came across a great photo of President Truman on a train in Baltimore, so we did a little digging. Here’s the article that we dug up in The Baltimore Sun on June 19th, 1948. Remember that...
200 block of S. Caroline St. in 1940

What Did 1940s Baltimore Look Like?

Here’s a photo of Baltimore from June 8th, 1940. You’re looking at the 200 block of S. Caroline St., north of Gough and south of E. Pratt. Source: Digital Maryland Here’s what it looks like today...
"Row houses, Baltimore, June 1940." Medium format safety negative by Jack Delano for the Farm Security Administration

What Did Baltimore Look Like in 1940?

Here’s a beautiful photo of Baltimore row houses from 1940, before World War II. You’re looking at Washington Blvd. at Bayard St. Source: Shorpy Here’s the exact spot today using Google Street View.

Downtown Baltimore in the 1940s

  • May 12, 2015
This is what Baltimore looked like some time in the 1940s. The first one below is labeled Guilford and Fayette. Source: Flickr user Kevin Mueller This second one is Howard St. Source: Flickr user Kevin Mueller
April 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Third shift workers waiting on a street corner to be picked up by car pools around midnight." Last seen at the lunch counter. Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information.

1943 Baltimore Workers Flash Mob

Check out this great photo of workers on the street corner waiting to be picked up during World War II.
Continuous stream of trolleys carrying workers from the Bethlehem Fairfield shipyard to downtown Baltimore disgorges passengers who rush for other trolleys and buses. Trolleys from other parts of the city are sent to this route at hours of the shift change in order to take care of the traffic and follow each at one minute intervals

Trolleys from Bethlehem Fairfield Shipyard

Below is a photo from 1943, showing crowds of people getting off the trolleys from Bethlehem Fairfield shipyard.
Bullets v. Capitals box score

Baltimore Bullets Beat Washington Capitals; Take First Place

We came across this article from November 19th, 1944, when the Baltimore Bullets beat the Washington Capitals basketball team by the depressed score of 33 to 32. Washington, Nov. 18 (Special) — The Baltimore Bullets took...

Mayor D’Alesandro Protests Suburban Virginia Airport for D.C. (1949)

This is a great post that we’re sharing on our sister site, Ghosts of DC. Airline traffic was getting too heavy for National Airport to handle by the end of the 1940s. The region’s second airport...

1941 Map by the Roland Park Company

Check out this great old map of Roland Park in 1941. Source: University of Maryland Thanks to the awesome collection available at the University of Maryland.
Smithwood Avenue branches off to the right while Edmondson Avenue slopes uphill on the left heading east toward the city of Baltimore. In addition to automobile traffic, Edmondson Avenue at the time accommodated the Baltimore Traction Company No. 14 trolley line. A junction for three rail lines was located immediately behind the photographer's vantage point. These houses still exist, albeit with vinyl siding applied over the handsome cedar shingles. Oh, and the streets have since been paved. Photo taken about 1925

Story Behind a 1925 Catonsville Home

This is a beautiful old photograph from 1925 showing a home in Catonsville. And, it’s one that makes you wonder who the people are. What are their names, and what did they do? This is a...
Thursday night shoppers in a line outside a movie theatre

Lined Up Outside Movie Theater

Here’s a photo from the 1940s showing a crowd of people lined up outside a movie theater. Anyone recognize this theater? Source: Library of Congress
painters at the Bethlehem-Fairchild shipyard in May 1943

Painters at the Bethlehem-Fairchild Shipyard

This is a truckload of painters at the Bethlehem-Fairchild Shipyard taken at the height of World War II. Source: Library of Congress
April 1943. "Baltimore, Maryland. Trolleys inside the Park Terminal at night." Photo by Marjory Collins for the Office of War Information.

Park Terminal at Night in 1943

  • November 8, 2013
Check out this beautiful photo of trolleys at night. This was taken in April of 1943. Source: Shorpy
woman trolley driver - 1943

Woman Trolley Conductor

  • October 28, 2013
Who is this? I wish we could do some digging to figure out, but all we know is she was one of the women trolley conductors in Baltimore during World War II. This photo was taken...
Baltimore shoe shine boy - 1943

Nameless Baltimore Shoe Shine Boy

Wonder what happened to this young guy. Source: Library of Congress
Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards, Baltimore. 1941. "Between the ways of this large Eastern shipyard run tracks for flatcars carrying materials or sections to be hoisted onto the deck of Liberty ships under construction."

Great Photo of Bethlehem-Fairfield Shipyards in 1941

Source: Shorpy This is a terrific old photo from just before World War II.
Little Italy residents in 1943 react to Italian surrender

Little Italy Reacts to Home Country’s Surrender to Allies in 1943

It must have a been a time of great internal conflict for a number of Little Italy residents during World War II. Many of them were born and raised in Italy, and their home country was...
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