Pride of Baltimore Monument

In 1975, in an effort to revive the Inner Harbor, the City of Baltimore was seeking a symbol to reinvigorate the image of the new Pormenade. Then Housing Commissioner Bob Embry had an idea, "Let's build a ship in the Inner Harbor to draw folks downtown."

With the renewal of the Inner Harbor, the construction of the Pride of Baltimore began. This ship was to represent the maritime heritage of the City by being "an authentic example of an historic Baltimore Clipper..." The ship was a fully operational clipper, made by hand, in essence, a true replica.

After nine years of sailing and 150,000 miles, the Pride of Baltimore met her untimely and tragic demise. On May 14, 1986, the Pride was sunk by a violent squall (what the US Coast Guard later called a microburst squall). 80 mile per hour winds arose so quickly that there was little time to radio for help. Eight crew members climbed into a tiny rubber life raft and floated aimlessly for over four days, 250 miles north of Puerto Rico. Unfortunately, the captain and three crew members never emerged from the sunken vessel. The survivors were rescued in the early hours of May 19, by the Norwegian tanker TORO.

In Rash Field, just below Federal Hill Park, a permanent memorial to the Pride of Baltimore is erected. A raked mast of a Baltimore Clipper towers in the air along with the names of the seamen who perished.