Why you'd want to live in Baltimore County

Baltimore, situated in northern Maryland on the Patapsco River estuary above Chesapeake Bay, is the largest city in the state. Settled in the early 1600s and founded as a town in 1729, it was named after Lord Baltimore, the founder of Maryland. Baltimore's excellent harbor has made it one of the country's most important ports since colonial times. During the War of 1812, the flag at nearby Fort McHenry served as inspiration for Francis Scott Key's Star-Spangled Banner. More recently, Baltimore was an important shipbuilding and supply center during World Wars I and II. Although the city suffered a loss of prosperity and population in the 1960s and 1970s, urban redevelopment projects of the 1980s and 1990s (Harborplace shops and restaurants, the National Aquarium, a convention center, Oriole Park at Camden Yards) have revitalized the city. Today, Baltimore is a commercial and industrial hub. Its leading exports include coal, grain, iron, steel, an d copper. Shipbuilding remains a top industry, as are sugar and food processing, oil refining, biotechnology and chemicals. Baltimore is a center for scientific research, with facilities at Johns Hopkins Hospital and University of Maryland Hospital. Tourism is a rising industry. Directors John Waters and Barry Levinson have given a new glamour to the city in their films.