City Halls of the Mid-Atlantic

The region boasts a vast collection of architecturally impressive municipal headquarters 

The city hall is the principal administrative building of a city. As symbols of local government, city halls often have distinctive architecture, and many of these buildings have great historical significance, being among the oldest buildings in their cities. 

The Mid-Atlantic region, which is one of the oldest and most heavily populated regions in the nation, is home to a relatively large number of city halls. As you'll see further down this page, certain city halls in the Mid-Atlantic hold records for being largest, tallest, or oldest in the nation. 

Most city halls in the region were built in the late 1800's when urban areas began to see heavy population growth, and municipal government services were in high demand. City halls in this era were usually built in central locations and designed in some form of Revival Architecture which gave these buildings with a grand presence. In addition to their elaborate architectural, many city halls were the among the largest buildings in their respective cities, and some still are today.  

Below you can view photos and information of the most exquisite city halls located in the Mid-Atlantic's largest (incorporated) cities.

WASHINGTON D.C.

John A. Wilson Building
Photo Credit: Wally Gobetz via flickr

Year Constructed: 1904
Architectural Style: Beaux Arts
City Population (2013): 646,449
Notes: Originally named the "District Building," the John A. Wilson Building is the city's second city hall. The original city hall was constructed in 1820 in the Neoclassical Style and is currently home to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals


DELAWARE
Wilmington

Daniel L. Hermann Courthouse

Year Constructed: 1916
Architectural Style: Neoclassical Revival-Greek Revival
City Population (2013): 71,525
Notes: This building originally held a number of courts and municipal offices and was at one point informally named the "Public Building," receiving it's current name only a couple of decades ago. The city and county government offices eventually moved to the Louis L. Redding City-County Building (built 1977) and in 2002 the courts moved to the newly built Justice Center, leaving the building vacant. The building was eventually purchased by developers and converted to office space, which has been occupied by a prestigious law firm since 2009.

MARYLAND
Baltimore

Baltimore City Hall

Year Constructed: 1875

Architectural Style: Second Empire
City Population (2013): 622,104
Notes: Designed by George Aloysius Frederick, a 22-year old architect. The building cost $2,271,136 and took eight years to complete.

Annapolis

Annapolis City Hall

Year Constructed: 1764 (original structure), 1867 (current structure)
Architectural Style: Neoclassical-Georgian
City Population (2013): 38,722
Notes: The original structure on this site was known as the "Ball Room" and used as different points in history as a meeting place of the Maryland Assembly, local headquarters
of Union troops during the Civil War, a guard house, and a prison camp. While being used as a prison camp it burned down and a new city hall was built on the ruins using three of the exterior walls of the original building.

Downtown Silver Spring's Upcoming Wave of Development

Development boom poised to be biggest since the 1960's

Skyline of Downtown Silver Spring in 2012
Photo Credit: Dan Reed via flickr

UPDATED 09/16

With the completion of Fenwick Station this past July and the upcoming delivery of the Residences at Thayer this fall, the current wave of building construction in downtown Silver Spring is now tapering to an end (the publicly-funded library and transit center projects are exceptions). The lull in development will be short-lived however, as downtown Silver Spring is on the verge of seeing yet another development boom in the coming years. This next wave of construction is poised to be even bigger than the last wave, which was already the urban hub's largest in nearly half a century.

A History of Development in Downtown Silver Spring
Silver Spring was originally 'founded' in 1840 when Francis Preston Blair and his daughter discovered a spring flowing with chips of mica on land just north of the Washington D.C. border. Blair later purchased the land surrounding the spring to create a summer estate which he named "Silver Spring." 

By the early 1900's Silver Spring had begun to grow into a small suburban town on the B&O Railroad's Metropolitan Branch. During the 1960's, the growing commercial hub experienced it's first high-rise construction boom, along with other lower county communities. Between 1961 and 1971 an impressive 23 high-rise buildings were constructed in downtown Silver Spring. However, following the boom was a long dearth of building activity, and the downtown area entered into a period of economic decline from the mid-1970's onward. Even the arrival of Metro's Red Line in Downtown in 1978 did little to rejuvenate the area. 

Downtown Silver Spring didn't really see any significant construction activity again until the arrival of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) headquarters in the late 1980's and early 1990's. NOAA's massive complex along East-West Highway added four high-rise office buildings to the urban center's skyline, including two of its tallest buildings. Despite the economic boost brought by the NOAA headquarters, the development lull in downtown Silver Spring continued throughout the 1990's.

The center of Downtown Silver Spring

The Beginning of a Renaissance
At the beginning of the 21st century, signs of new life began to emerge in downtown Silver Spring. Several city blocks near the decades-old City Place Mall were completely demolished to accommodate a new 440,000 sq. ft. outdoor retail/entertainment center. In 2003, Discovery Communications completed construction of its new headquarters in the center of the business district, a move the really accelerated Silver Spring's resurgence. Between 2001 and 2010, nearly 15 new high-rise buildings were constructed in Silver Spring compared to the 6 built during the previous decade .

In addition to the surge of private investment, heavy public investment from Montgomery County, as well as the nationwide 'back to the city' movement, also played major roles in Silver Spring's rejuvenation. However, with the still depressed office market, nearly all of the new development in downtown Silver Spring has been residential (with retail components). Between May 2013 and July 2014 an unprecedented six residential apartment buildings (the same total number of buildings completed over the entire decade of the 1990's!) were completed in Silver Spring.

*Newly constructed buildings of 5 or more stories. Does not include conversions of existing buildings (e.g. office to residential)

The Next Wave
As huge as the recent development blitz has been, the upcoming wave could likely surpass it, and possibly the massive 1960's boom. There are over 20 planned or approved high-density projects currently in the pipeline for downtown Silver Spring, with 12 buildings projected to be completed by 2018. 

Below you can find detailed information on every development project currently in the works for downtown Silver Spring:

*Remember to check my comprehensive Urban Development Map for more details on these development projects as well as every project completed since 2005 in Downtown Silver Spring. 

Where We're From

Where people living in the Mid-Atlantic were born

The Mid-Atlantic is one of the most diverse geographic regions of the nation, with residents of many different backgrounds, races, and cultures. While a small majority of the region's residents are native to the region, a large proportion of residents are transplants from other regions of the country or immigrated here from other countries. Last month, the New York Time's The Upshot blog published interactive graphs detailing where the residents of all 50 states and D.C. originated from (and migrated to) using recent US Census data. (NOTE: Click "Switch to Migration" button above graph to see origination data).

Using the data from the graphs and the Census site, I decided to focus specifically on the Mid-Atlantic states and created my own graphs (above). As you can see, approximately 62% of people living in the Mid-Atlantic are native to their current state of residence, while approx. 20% where born in another state (including another Mid-Atlantic state), and a significant 18% were born overseas. Although, these numbers only focus on one aspect of diversity, place of origin, they really underscore the fact that the Mid-Atlantic is a very cosmopolitan region. Glancing at the detailed tables on the NY Times page also reveals that this diversity has been steadily increasing over time, and it won't be surprising if Mid-Atlantic residents native to their home state are in the minority at some point in the next few decades.

Of course, there's a large demographic variation between the Mid-Atlantic states. For instance, in Pennsylvania, a whopping 74% of the population was born in that state, while only 37% of Washington D.C. residents were born in the District. As for immigrants from overseas, a very sizable 25% of New York state residents were born in another country, while a paltry 2% of West Virginia residents were born outside of the U.S.

The Best Colleges and Universities in the Mid-Atlantic

How the region's higher education institutions stack up against the rest of the country and each other

Nassau Hall on the campus of Princeton University (Princeton, NJ) - the #1 ranked university in the country
Photo Credit: Flickr user schizoform

Last week, US News & World Report released the 2015 edition of its annual rankings of the nation's colleges and universities. The Mid-Atlantic had a pretty impressive showing. being home to 7 out of the top 25 'national universities' and 7 out of the top 25 'national liberal arts colleges.' The nation's top-ranked national university, Princeton University, is also located in the Mid-Atlantic. Below are excerpts of the more popular rankings to give a better idea of how the region's schools stacks up against others across the country.

2015 'National University' Rankings (Mid-Atlantic schools in bold)

Rank	School Name	Location
1.	Princeton University	Princeton, NJ
2.	Harvard University	Cambridge, MA
3.	Yale University	New Haven, CT
4. (tie)	Columbia University	New York, NY
4. (tie)	Stanford University	Stanford, CA
4. (tie)	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL
7.	Massachusetts Insitute of Technology	Cambridge, MA
8. (tie)	Duke University	Durham, NC
8. (tie)	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA
10.	California Institute of Technology	Pasadena, CA
11.	Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH
12.	Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD
13.	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL
14.	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, MO
15.	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY
16. (tie)	Brown University	Providence, RI
16. (tie)	University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN
16. (tie)	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN
19.	Rice University	Houston, TX
20.	University of California—​Berkeley	Berkeley, CA
21. (tie)	Emory University	Atlanta, GA
21. (tie)	Georgetown University	Washington, D.C.
23. (tie)	University of California—​Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA
23. (tie)	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA
25. (tie)	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, PA
25. (tie)	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA

Gilman Hall, Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore, MD) - 12th ranked national university
Photo Credit: Flickr user clio1789

The seven Mid-Atlantic schools in the top 25 'National Liberal Arts Colleges:'

Rank	School Name	Location
3.	Swarthmore College	Swarthmore, PA
8. (tie)	Haverford College	Haverford, PA
11.	Vassar College	Poughkeepsie, NY
13.	United States Naval Academy	Annapolis, MD
15. (tie)	Hamilton College	Clinton, NY
22.	Colgate University	Hamilton, NY
24.	United States Military Academy	West Point, NY

The Mid-Atlantic's Most Expensive Urban Condos

These extremely pricey, ultra-luxury, ultra-extravagant, ultra-exclusive properties cater to celebrities, CEO's, and power brokers

This past spring a 6,737 sq. ft. condominium unit in Friendship Heights, MD sold for $8.65 million to an undisclosed buyer, a new record for the Washington D.C. area. This happened barely a year after the same unit set the previous sale record at $7.95 million. The 18th-floor penthouse unit located at the exclusive Parc Somerset high-rise has five bedrooms, five bathrooms, 300-degree views, multiple balconies, and a solarium. 

In light of this record-breaking sale and the resurgence of the urban luxury condo market, this is a great time to look at the most expensive condominium units in the major urban areas of the Mid-Atlantic. As you'll see below, New York is clearly the champion (by a mile) of commanding stratospheric prices for condo units.

Washington D.C. Area

Parc Somerset

Parc Somerset

Highest price for unit: $8.65 million
Building height: 18 stories
Location: Friendship Heights, MD

Located just a half mile across the border from Washington D.C. in the urban Friendship Heights neighborhood of Chevy Chase, MD, Parc Somerset is part of a three building condo complex collectively called Somerset House which is composed of high-rises 18 to 21 stories tall. Despite being nestled in a gated 17-acre park-like oasis that includes tennis and racquetball courts, clubhouse, and gym, residents are within walking distance of plenty of shopping and transportation amenities. These include ultra-high end stores such as Saks 5th Avenue, Cartier, Bulgari, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Bloomingdale's, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany's which line a segment of Wisconsin Ave known as the "Rodeo Drive of DC," a plethora of upscale restaurants, Whole Foods and Giant grocery stores, and a Metro station on the Red Line. Residents include former National Football League Commissioner Paul Tagliabue and JLL CEO Colin Dyer.

Upcoming competition:
The Lauren Bethesda

The Lauren Bethesda

Under construction in the heart of downtown Bethesda, just 10 minutes up ritzy Wisconsin Ave from Parc Somerset, is a condo development likely to challenge the Somerset's reign as the most exclusive condo in the DC Area. This 7-story, 40-unit project named The Lauren will boast direct access elevators, private rooftop terraces for select units, home automation systems featuring iPad control, and private wine cellars. In addition, the building will also be within walking distance of a Red Line station and high-end shopping/restaurants. Sale prices for typical units will range between $2.5 and $5 million. The 5,700 sq. ft. penthouse (which comes with a "butler pantry" and maids quarters') "will be priced fairly dearly," according to the developer.

In addition to The Lauren, luxury home-builder Toll Brothers is preparing to construct their own 7-story condo building practically next door on the same block. There are three other condo projects on the near term horizon in Downtown Bethesda, the current hotspot for luxury condos in the Washington D.C. Area.

Philadelphia Metro Area

1706 Rittenhouse Square Street

1706 Rittenhouse

Highest price for unit: $12,459,000
Building height: 31 stories
Location: Center City, Philadelphia, PA

Located in one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Philadelphia, this 31-story luxury high-rise was completed in 2010 and is currently 100% sold. The building is currently home to surgeons, pediatricians, real estate magnates, CEOs, and two Phillies pitchers. Each 4,200 sq. ft. unit is comprised of a full floor (with the exception of the two-story penthouse) and has a floor-plan customized by the buyer. One special amenity of note is an automated, 64-space underground parking garage. Residents use their fob to call for their vehicle from the garage or from within one of the two elevator banks.



Upcoming competition:
500 Walnut

500 Walnut

A follow up on the successful 1706 Rittenhouse project, 500 Walnut will be located at the corner of Fifth and Walnut Streets across Independence National Historical Park from Independence Hall. The building will be 26 stories tall and will have 37 condo units. It will include "ultra-luxury" amenities such as a two-story fitness center fully equipped with yoga room, massage room and steam room, as well as a a large outdoor terrace overlooking National Historic Park. Two two-story, 8,400 sq. ft. penthouse units will be available, each featuring a private elevator, multiple balconies, and fireplaces. Like it's older sibling, 1706 Rittenhouse, 500 Walnut will also boast a fully automated underground parking system for over 80 vehicles. Groundbreaking is expected Spring 2015 with delivery in Spring 2017.

Atlantic City's Ongoing Gambling Woes Get Worse

The Collapse of the City's Casino Market Continues as the Revel Becomes the Fourth to Close this Year

Revel Casino, Atlantic City, NJ

Barely more than a month ago I published a detailed piece on the Mid-Atlantic's lucrative casino market, and how new properties in Pennsylvania and Maryland were putting some serious pressure on the long-established hub market in Atlantic City, NJ. Well, it turns out that my ominous assessment of the situation in Atlantic City was astonishingly accurate (or even understated). In the short time since I published my post, three more casinos in Atlantic City have announced that they will close permanently by the end of the year. This is in addition to the closure of the Atlantic Club earlier in the year.

The most recent closing announcement is almost certainly the most tragic, but not all that surprising. Yesterday, the owner of Revel announced that the casino would close no later than Sept. 10 of this year. The fact that the casino (which was in its 2nd bankruptcy at the time of my June post) has only been open for hardly two years and cost around $2.4 billion to construct just makes its closure all the more shocking. It's hard to imagine a more colossal waste of investment.

In addition to the Revel, Showboat Casino (opened 1987) and Trump Plaza (opened 1984) will also be closing within a month. The Atlantic Club (opened 1980) was shuttered in January. Currently, these are the only closings planned, but it wouldn't be surprising if they aren't the last. Of course, it's extremely unlikely that all of the city's casinos will close, but to cope with the increasing demand the market will need to "right size" by lowering gaming/hotel room supply to match the lower demand at a new equilibrium. There's no telling how long that will take, especially since there are still casinos in Maryland and Pennsylvania, (and now New York) that have yet to open.

The "Snobbiest" Small Cities in the Mid-Atlantic

Bethesda Row in Bethesda, MD - #2 Snobbiest Small CIty
Photo Credit: ehplen via Flickr

Last week, real estate website Movoto released its ranking of the "10 Snobbiest Small Cities in America." This ranking is in the same vein as Movoto's previous ranking of the "10 Most Exciting Suburbs." 

While I'm not sure I agree with the use of the word "snobby" to describe these admittedly affluent cities, since it could be viewed as derisive to their residents (personally I would use "preppy"), the ranking does seem to be somewhat accurate. (I tend to appreciate rankings that actually use statistical data as criteria, rather than anecdotal experiences or informal polls.) Out of the top 10, three of the cities are located in the Mid-Atlantic: Bethesda, MD (#2), Hoboken, NJ (#6), and Rockville, MD (#8). 

Washington St in Hoboken, NJ - #6 Snobbiest Small City 
Photo Credit: City of Hoboken

Bear in mind that to qualify as "small cities" according to Movoto (and similar to my definition) populated places (incorporated or not) had to have populations of between 45,000 and 65,000. This explains the absence of places such as Potomac (which just barely missed the 45K cutoff) and Chevy Chase, MD  and Scarsdale and Chappaqua, NY. I honestly think the ranking should have focused on smaller towns (pop. ~25,000-50,000) which have less income and cultural deviations. Some of these cities (such as Hoboken and Rockville) are rather large and multi-cultural to be considered "snobby" (preppy) as a whole.

The other issue with this ranking is that it doesn't take into account relative wealth. For instance, in Montgomery County, Rockville isn't really viewed as a "snobbish" or particularly exclusive city, especially compared to it's neighbors immediately to its south. Compared to other cities in other states it might seem very well-to-do, but in the 2nd wealthiest metro area, in the 2nd wealthiest county of the wealthiest state in the nation it is merely "upper middle-class."

Top 10 "Snobbiest" Small Cities in America
Rank	City
1.	Palo Alto, CA
2.	Bethesda, MD
3.	Brookline, MA
4.	San Rafael, CA
5.	Walnut Creek, CA
6.	Hoboken, NJ
7.	Oak Park, IL
8.	Encitas, CA (tie)
8.	Rockville, MD (tie)
10.	Laguna Niguel, CA

The Mid-Atlantic's Casinos

The Gold Rush to Build New Casinos in the Region Continues to Gain Momentum 

Future MGM National Harbor
National Harbor, MD
Photo Credit: MGM

Until about 20 years ago, the only casino gambling options available to residents of the Mid-Atlantic were located in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Today, while other regions still only have legalized casino gambling concentrated in select few jurisdictions (particularly in the South and West), every state in the Mid-Atlantic region has legalized at least some form of (strictly) regulated commercial gambling and has at minimum solicited bids for the construction of multiple casinos.

Casinos in the Mid-Atlantic: The Numbers
Number of: Delaware Maryland New Jersey New York Pennsylvania West Virginia Casinos 3 6* 11 9 13* 5    - Commercial 0 3 0 0 4 0    - Racinos 3 1 0 9 6 4    - Resort 0 2 11 0 3 1 Slot Machines/VLTs 7,000 12,893 24,368 15,779 27,250 8,020 Table Games 172 402 1,540 0 785 228 Hotel Rooms 500 500 17,638 573 1,378 1,520

*Includes one casino to be constructed in the near future

Resorts International Atlantic City: the East Coast's first casino
Atlantic City, NJ

History of Mid-Atlantic Casinos
Casino gambling first arrived in the Mid-Atlantic in 1978 in Atlantic City. ("Gambling halls" with slot machines did exist previously however in Charles County, MD from 1949 until they were outlawed in 1968). Between the end of World War II and the 1970's, the previously well-regarded resort city had entered into a steep decline, becoming plagued crime, poverty, and corruption. In an effort to revitalize the city, in 1976 New Jersey voters approved casino gambling for Atlantic City. Immediately after the legislation passed, the owners of the Chalfonte-Haddon Hall Hotel began converting it into the Resorts International. It was the first legal casino in the eastern United States when it opened on May 26, 1978 and still exists among 10 other casinos currently operating in the city.

While Atlantic City never reached the success of Las Vegas--the so-called "Entertainment Capital of the World"-- the city's casinos helped the city regain its status as a desirable resort destination, one of the most popular in the nation by the end of the 1980's. 
The success didn't last long though. WIth the advent of two Native American casinos in Connecticut and the era of "mega resorts" in Las Vegas in the 1990's, tourism in Atlantic City began a period of decline that continues to this day. The arrival of casino gambling in neighboring states has significantly compounded the problem and will likely continue to do so into the future.

Aerial view of Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races
Charles Town, WV

Casino Gambling Expands Beyond Atlantic City
Atlantic City's first wave of regional competition appeared in 1994 when both Delaware and West Virginia legalized gambling at "racinos"--combined horse (and dog) racetracks and casinos. Two years earlier, in New England, Rhode Island had also legalized racinos. Racinos proved to be very successful, particularly in West Virginia, and helped revitalize run-down racetracks as well as provide an overall boost to the horseracing industry. Legalization of racinos soon spread across the country, as far away as New Mexico, and are now legal in a total 12 states. New York, one of the most recent states to authorize racinos, legalized them in October 2001, and there are now 9 located throughout the state, including two located in or near New York City: Empire City Casino at Yonkers Raceway and Resorts World Casino New York at Aqueduct Racetrack. The opening of the New York  casinos further added to the misfortunes of the Atlantic City casinos.

SugarHouse Casino
Philadelphia, PA

Later in the decade, the legislatures of Maryland and Pennsylvania (the last two commercial gambling holdouts in the Mid-Atlantic) both passed measures to legalize casino gambling in 2008 and 2004 respectively. Unlike the other states of the region (except New Jersey), both states went a step further than racinos by legalizing a limited number of stand-alone casinos with strict restrictions attached. In addition to seven racino licenses, Pennsylvania made five licenses available stand-alone casinos (two in Philadelphia, one in Pittsburgh, and two at-large), and additional two to existing hotel resorts. Maryland passed similar legislation (ratified by voters in a 2008 referendum) which allowed the construction of five casinos in four counties and Baltimore city geographically dispersed throughout the state. Two of these casinos were built as racinos at existing horse tracks.

Horseshoe Casino Baltimore (opening fall 2014)
Baltimore, MD

Custom Google Map with location, pictures, and critical info of every casino in the Mid-Atlantic:

(Tip: Press the box above the map in the top right corner for a better view)

Baltimore's Skyscrapers (Part II)

New Skyscrapers to Elevate City Skyline

414 Light St

Two weeks ago, I wrote about recent skyscraper proposals in Baltimore that didn't survive the recession. Now that Baltimore is well on its way to recovery, and development demand in the city is again on the rise, there have been quite a few new high-rise proposals put forth by developers. Not surprisingly, the vast majority of these proposals are primarily residential in nature, particularly rental apartments, but there is at least one build-to-suit office project as well as a condominium project on the near-term horizon. 

According to 2014 release of the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore\s annual development report, there are 1,137 apartment units under construction and over 2,010 units in the planning (including office-to-residential conversions). The report also estimates that over the course of the next several years, an additional 3,300 housing units, 550 hotel rooms, 300,000 sq. ft. of retail space, 560,000 sq. ft. of office space, and 760,000 sq. ft. of institutional space will be added to the Downtown Baltimore market.

Despite the promising statistics, the Baltimore real estate market is still struggling in a number of areas. Not only is the office market continuing to be pretty weak (the tallest buildings in nearly all large American city are office buildings), the retail sector has also seen surprisingly sluggish growth (which will likely improve over the long run). In addition, the 'new generation' of Baltimore high-rises are modest in scale compared to the pre-recession proposals. Only one building proposed exceeds 400 ft in height (and even that was greatly reduced from 715 ft.). Developers (and their financial investors/partners) are clearly more cautious and risk-averse now, so this sudden "fear of heights" might unfortunately be a part of a new, post-'Great Recession' reality. 

Another cause for the smaller scale of new skyscrapers, specifically in the residential sector, is the stiff competition  from the ever increasing number of office-to-residential building conversions in the downtown area (thanks to the weak office demand). Some buildings, such as the Four Seasons hotel/condo skyscraper and Exelon headquarters tower, have seen their height reduced significantly. 

In any case, any additional skyscrapers will be an improvement on the Baltimore skyline which is becoming increasingly aged due to the lack of development. Listed below are the current proposals:

(Note: This list contains buildings proposed to be 200 ft or taller likely to be constructed over the next few years. For existing proposals that have been delayed indefinitely see Part I)