Hughes Co. Photo Collection

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Public Transit in Baltimore

Accession Number P75-54-0063g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore Country

Image Number Neg Z9.395.PP8, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society

Public transit in Baltimore went through a series of highs and lows ending with the eventual upheaval of streetcars for the more modern modes of transit. The initial forms of public transit were horse drawn cars used in the 1850s. By the 1880s, horse drawn cars were replaced by electric streetcars. In 1899, the streetcar companies were consolidated into United Railway and Electric. At this time, United  Railway streetcars serviced all of Baltimore. Automobiles were only used by the upper classes, so streetcars were the only option for moving around the city.

The Streetcar has Competition

Accession Number P75-54-0062g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The streetcar was used widely by the public until companies began developing new ways for passengers to ride around the city. The first invention to take riders from the streetcar was the “jitney,” a truck/car that began operation in 1915. This car was not very profitable, but was the first competitor to expose the vulnerability of the streetcar industry.

The Rise of the Automobile

Image Number Neg 79. 729 PP8, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photography Division, Maryland Historical Society

United was able to withstand competition from the jitney; however, their main competition was the automobile. Automobiles allowed people to move around the city independently, and were very popular in Maryland. From 1920-1940, automobiles in Maryland increased from 100,000 to 300,000. The automobile industry attracted customers around the country by creating less expensive and better quality vehicles. They used clever advertising to attract customers as shown within this Oldsmobile advertisement. Automobile companies capitalized on new technology to create a product that would last, insuring that they would remain in competition with mass transit. Automobiles were viewed by society as a permanent invention unlike the jitney, and people responded by altering aspects of society to accommodate the change.

Traffic Congestion

Accession Number P75-54-0090g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Streetcars were forced to share the road with automobiles changing traffic within the city. As more people purchased automobiles, the road became a battle between private and public transportation. As a result, traffic congestion was a serious problem downtown. It was estimated that 10,000 people would come in 5,000 cars and 50,000 people came in 1, 000 streetcars. While the traffic jam in the picture may be an outlying case, it reflects a time when the many options for getting around Baltimore were too much for the city roads to handle. Even today, we experience traffic jams on roads and think an increase in the number of roads is the best solution. As the number of automobiles on the road increased this was and still is a constant issue.

Public Transit at a Crossroads

Accession Number P75-54-0054g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland ,Baltimore County

Transit severely declined after the 1918 annexation. As major cities like Baltimore increased in size, it was expected that people would rely more on transit; yet, between 1920 and 1930, rider numbers in Baltimore and Cincinnati decreased thirty to forty percent. There were multiple reasons for the decline. Many people were dissatisfied with the service. The equipment used on streetcars was old, the cars were often crowded, and fares expensive. Residents who moved to the newly annexed areas had little access to streetcar lines. Because United could not afford to build lines in majority of those areas, many residents ended up buying automobiles. Lines that were built near the suburbs were many times unprofitable. As a result of the decline, some streetcar routes may have looked like this picture. The line is in an area with few riders perhaps because residents cannot or do not want to take the streetcar. Also note the automobile in the picture which is easily moving from the interior of that area, representing easy mobility.

The Response

Accession Number P75-54-N6169, Hughes Company Glass Negatives,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Image Number Neg Z9.1865.PP30, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society

United was forced to revamp their lines in order to stay in business. The automobile and the introduction of gas powered buses were a sign of the future, so the company had to modernize their cars to attract customers. United changed both the aesthetic and design of their cars. In the twenties, United converted their semi-convertible cars into articulated trains (bottom picture). United introduced the short Birney car (top picture) and had considerable success with the Peter Witt streetcars. United took a step further and created trackless trolleys which did not use tracks and ran on wires. As we can see in the pictures, Baltimore streets were becoming more updated to the times, and United made sure their cars could handle the changes.

Rock Bottom

Image Number Neg 79.531.PP8, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society

But the number streetcar riders continued to decline in the decade. When unemployment increased during the Depression, this further decreased their passengers and United went into bankruptcy in 1933. Despite making changes that Baltimore residents responded to, streetcars were not able to regain their success before the popularity of other forms of transportation.

The Rebound Period

Image Number Neg Z9.1857.PP30, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,

Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society

The streetcar industry was not held under permanently. Although United went into bankruptcy, thanks to new leadership, they were debt free by 1935 and became the Baltimore Transit Company. The importance of streetcars was evident during World War II as the company experienced a major increase in passengers and profits. The operating income for the BTC increased thirty-three percent between 1941 and 1942. By 1945, the income of the BTC was around 1.5 million. Wartime production in Baltimore caused many shortages in products like rubber, gas, and steel all needed to produce and run automobiles. As a result people turned to public transit to travel around the city. Public transit was important during the war because a mass of defense workers moved to Baltimore and needed a stable option for travel. During the war, upwards of 50,000 workers in defense plants used streetcars. Streetcars were the only form of transportation not severely affected by the war that could hold enough people.

Back to Normal

Accession Number P75-54-N1013g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection,

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Although streetcars were a major success during World War II, they could not maintain this popularity once the war ended. After World War II, it appeared the BTC would be able to sustain its renewed popularity, but this was not the case. The Baltimore Transit Company once again lost customers as their old equipment could not hold up and the cars were once again considered unreliable. The streetcar industry in addition, could not support the increasing number of families moving outside of the city’s interior into suburbs they could not reach, causing automobiles to become a necessity.

Baltimore Neighborhoods

Accession Number P75-54-0908g, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The neighborhoods of Baltimore between the Wars went through a change to more modern homes and were a precursor to the suburbs we see today. But these neighborhoods also reflect the history of racism and segregation in Baltimore. Prior to the annexation, Baltimore had a massive population increase in the nineteenth century. The new population arrived during Baltimore’s industrialization. Between 1880 and 1890 the population increased from 332,000 to 509,000, as the manufacturing centers increased forty percent. Many of these newcomers came from rural Maryland and states such as Virginia and Pennsylvania. The influx of people also changed neighborhoods as the number of housing units increased dramatically by seventy-six percent. As Baltimore began to modernize its industry, new residents settled as the parents of the Baltimore residents that changed the neighborhoods after 1918.

Baltimore Diversity

Accession Number P75-54-0905ag, Hughes Company Glass Negatives Collection

Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

Baltimore experienced a flow of immigrants to the city yet their experience was not as severe as for example New York. In New York, masses of immigrants from Europe moved into the city causing major overcrowding. The new immigrants were forced to live in deplorable conditions in tenement housing. There were neighborhoods in Baltimore in poor condition, but they did not experience the overcrowding of New York. Many immigrants such as the Polish, Irish, and Germans rented and bought homes in places such as Fells Point and Jones Falls.

Segregation in Baltimore Neighborhoods

Baltimore had an increase in another population, African Americans whose experience reflects the story of segregation in the city. After the Civil War, numerous Blacks moved from other cities to Baltimore creating the largest free black population. These generally poor, less skilled Blacks moved next to native free Black populations of educated homeowners. Black neighborhoods expanded rapidly around Pennsylvania and Druid Hill Avenues. The strong Black middle class moved into homes previously owned by Jewish immigrants and created a solid community.

View Barriers of Segregation Ordinance in a larger map

However, the change in Black neighborhoods was not welcomed by all. Many middle class Blacks moved to Druid Hill to get away from congested neighborhoods. But once Black lawyers, George W. McMechen and W. Ashbie Hawkins purchased homes on Druid Hill Avenue, Whites responded with uproar. Because Blacks were moving closer to Whites and eventually into their neighborhoods, the mayor passed the residential housing Segregation Ordinance in 1910 which stated Blacks were prohibited from moving into neighborhoods that were more than fifty percent white and vice versa. This meant they could not move into properties east of McCulloh Street, north of North Avenue or west of Gilmor Street. This law was eventually removed in 1917, right before the annexation which would open up the boundaries of the city and provide options for new homes. Yet who was actually able to move to the new homes, is an important part of the story.