Fearing the poor population would not be contained much longer, White residents decided to fix the problem. This led to a “slum clearance” program created by Baltimore’s Public Works Administration (PWA). The plan was to replace the worst houses in Baltimore with better low cost housing for the poor. A PWA committee surveyed Baltimore and chose five of the worst areas and planned for their rebuilding. These areas had particularly high Black populations and disease rates. The map below diagrams the areas chosen to be cleared.
(Baltimore Housing Authority, "The Geography of Blight, Choosing Sites for Slum Clearance," in Mary Ellen Hayward, Baltimore's Alley Houses: Homes for Working People Since the 1780s (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 2008), 243)
The project began in 1940 and was funded by the federal government, yet, there were numerous issues. A reoccurring problem was the relocation of residents during construction. Some residents misunderstood the program and believed they would be able to move back into the homes once construction was complete. However, many were forced to move to areas just as bad because the housing authority did not provide them new housing in time. The ultimate defeat was during WWII when the federal government prohibited housing production unless the houses were for defense workers. The sudden focus of building for defense workers caused low-cost housing programs to be halted as well. Housing developments such as the Armistead and the Perkins which were meant for both black and white low income residents were instead used for workers who came to Baltimore.
Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The newly annexed territories of 1918 tripled the geography of the city, and the new municipal drinking water system quickly had to adapt to meet these demands. This photo shows row upon row of filter beds in the north and south galleries of the Filter Building at Lake Montebello.
Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Another view of a portable classroom at Warren and Williams Streets, 1923. This space clearly focuses on vocational training, which helped prepare children from the working classes for future factory work.
After several months of delays, the Baltimore Sun reported on August 6, 1915 that the Lake Montebello plant in Northeast Baltimore had begun filtering water for public consumption. The Hughes Company photos, taken July 12, 1915, show the brand new facilities just a few weeks before full-scale operations began. These images show the beauty of the plant's interior and exterior architectural features.
Image Number Neg Z9. 269. PP8, Hughes Studio Photograph Collection,
Courtesy of the Prints and Photographs Division, Maryland Historical Society
The annexation provided more opportunity for builders to change what was considered a “neighborhood” in Baltimore. Their creations led to “White flight” in Baltimore well before the widely known period after WWII. This period in Baltimore shows not only the shift toward contemporary housing but also a focus on housing reform. Organizations such as the Baltimore Housing Authority formed during this time, showed both a city and federal focus on state of housing. It is important to acknowledge that the slum clearance program was meant to fix housing but more important contain the poor, specifically Black residents. After WWII, the Housing Authority planned for the creation of high rise apartments to control the poor population. The expansion of Baltimore neighborhoods between the wars initiated issues still battled today, as many cities see middle class families move away to upscale secluded suburbs, leaving exposed poor conditioned neighborhoods within the city.
Courtesy of the Photography Collections, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
I am drawn to this photo, perhaps because it shows students in the context of their physical environment. Taken in May of 1923, this class photo shows students at the Curtis Bay School on a concrete retaining wall in front of a building that appears to be made of cinder block. To my eye, this building could as easily be a factory as a school house. The Strayer Report describes this school in the following terms: "Inadequate site--Playground 17 square feet--Inadequate fire protection--Impossible fire escape--Inadequate artificial light." (Strayer 368)
