The phrase "burnt district" refers to the 140 acres or 80 city blocks of the business district of Baltimore that were reduced to so many piles of rubble by the great fire of February 7-8, 1904. It only took half an hour for a burning, six-story building to turn into a raging, out of control fire that would wreak devastation with flames that reached temperatures of 2200 to 2400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Baltimore City officials and the State of Maryland were quick to respond in the aftermath of the fire. The Citizens' Relief Committee (CRC) and the Burnt District Commission (BDC) were each established by an act of the Maryland General Assembly and put at the disposal of then Mayor Robert M. McLane. The CRC was given a fund of $250,000 to disburse for the immediate relief of those individual citizens who had lost property in the fire. Financial aid came in from around the country as well. It is a testament to the resilience of Baltimoreans that only a mere $23,000 was spent. The BDC set to work creating and implementing plans to clear away debris and rubble and to clear and widen streets and rebuild and open public spaces. It took three years to do it but they played a significant role in helping Baltimore get back on its feet to thrive and flourish as a bustling metropolis once more.
Not all of Baltimore's buildings were lost in the fire. Fireproofing technologies had been incorporated into a number of historic buildings that still stand today including the Equitable building located at the southwest corner of North Calvert and East Fayette Streets. Though effective at fire resistance these technologies were not fool proof and lessons were learned that played a role in shaping some of the standards for the fireproofing of buildings today.
The documents in this collection tell the story how Baltimore survived the devastation of and rebuilt after the fire of 1904.
Collection overview prepared by Nadia Nasr, Digitization Supervisor / MDCH Coordinator.
© Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, Maryland.
