Power Plant Live! facts for kids
Power Plant Live! is a fun place in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, where you can find many restaurants, bars, and shops. It's located in the Inner Harbor area. This entertainment spot was created by The Cordish Companies and opened in stages between 2001 and 2003. It gets its name from the old "Power Plant" building nearby, which was also redeveloped by the same company.
You can find Power Plant Live! along Market Place. It's easy to get there using the Baltimore Metro SubwayLink at the Shot Tower/Market Place station.
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What is Power Plant Live! Today?
Power Plant Live! is a lively area with many things to do. You can find different kinds of restaurants, comedy clubs, dance clubs, and places with dueling pianos. It also has a popular concert hall called Rams Head Live!, which grew from a famous place in Annapolis. Since it opened, Power Plant Live! has been a popular spot for entertainment and visitors.
Nearby Attractions
Right next to Power Plant Live! is the Port Discovery children's museum. This museum is in the old Wholesale Fish Market building. South of the museum, there's a large building called "Harbor Park." It has a parking garage on its upper floors and shops and a movie theater on the ground floor. This movie theater was the first one to open in downtown Baltimore in many years.
History of the Area
The area where Power Plant Live! stands has a long and interesting history.
The Old Power Plant Building
The "Power Plant" building itself was originally a large station built between 1900 and 1905. It used to burn coal to create electricity for the city's streetcars and trolleys. Later, in the 1990s, this old power station was turned into a mixed-use project with different businesses.
Early Markets and Commerce
This area was once the site of the original Centre Market. It was known as the "Marsh Market" because it was built on an old marsh near the Jones Falls stream. In 1763, the first public market house for both Baltimore Town and the nearby village of Jones' Town was built here. This market became a very important center for trade. Over time, more markets were built across the city, like "Lexington Market" and "Broadway Market," but Centre Market remained the most important.
The Maryland Institute Building
In 1851, a second building for the famous Maryland Institute was built here. It stood on brick arches above a market house and had two large clock towers. This building was very impressive for its time. It even hosted important political meetings before the Civil War.
A famous moment happened here on April 18, 1864, when President Abraham Lincoln gave his "Liberty Speech." He spoke at an event called the "Sanitary Fair," which raised money to help wounded soldiers and their families during the Civil War. This was the only time President Lincoln spoke in Baltimore. Sadly, the Maryland Institute building and the market below it were destroyed in the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.
Rebuilding After the Fire
After the huge fire, the city rebuilt. By 1907, three new brick market buildings were constructed on the east side of the square. These included a "Produce Market" for fruits and vegetables, a "Fish Market" in the middle, and a "Retail/Wholesale Market" for other goods. A new plaza was also built with a beautiful fountain for horses, which were still very important for transportation at that time.
Changes in the 1980s
In the 1980s, the wholesale fish merchants and other businesses in the markets decided to move to a new, larger complex outside the city. Even though city leaders, like Mayor William Donald Schaefer, wanted to keep the historic market buildings and create something like San Francisco's "Fisherman's Wharf" here, the merchants moved.
The two northern and southern wholesale markets were eventually taken down. Only the central Fish Market building remained. This building was later used for the Port Discovery children's museum, which opened in 1998.
The Brokerage and Power Plant Live!
In the early 1980s, the company Six Flags tried to create an indoor theme park in the old Pratt Street Power Plant building. Later, Six Flags also built "The Brokerage" complex nearby. After Mayor Schaefer became Governor of Maryland in 1987, new plans for the Centre Market Place area were made. "The Brokerage" building was redeveloped with restaurants, bars, and a concert hall. This new development, along with the old commercial buildings, became what we know today as "Power Plant Live!"
