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.

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)

Mid-Atlantic States Show Average Population Growth in 2013

According to the 2013 state population estimates released on Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau, the states of the Mid-Atlantic Region and Washington D.C. individually showed growth rates ranging from strong to weak, with the region's overall growth rate being decidedly below average. The estimates were taken on July 1, 2013. Here are some quick observations:

- All five Mid-Atlantic state with the exception of Delaware were in the top 20 most populous states, including New York and Pennsylvania, which were in the top 10

- The District of Columbia had a far higher growth rate than any of the states in the region, which is not surprising since urban areas have recently started to outpace many suburbs and rural areas in terms of growth.

- Pennsylvania easily had the most disappointing growth in the region and was the third slowest growing state in the entire nation between 2012 and 2013 (after Maine and West Virginia which both saw population declines)

- Florida, which added ~270,000 residents as the 8th fastest growing state in the nation is only ~100,000 residents away from displacing New York as the 3rd most populous state, which will likely happen some point next year

- Delaware was the fastest growing state in the region in 2013, ranking 16th with a nearly .1% rate of growth

- After Delaware, Maryland was the next fastest growing state in the region, ranking 23rd with a relatively average .7% growth rate

- New York and New Jersey both had below average growth, ranking 31st and 32nd respectively in terms of growth

Soaring to New Heights: The Growing Airports of the Mid-Atlantic

John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, NY
Image courtesy allairports.net

According to the FAA's report on the busiest airports in the US (by total passenger boardings) for 2012, eight of the 50 busiest airports in the nation are located in the Mid-Atlantic. Of these eight airports, three are in the New York metropolitan area, three are in the Baltimore-Washington metro area, one is in the Philadelphia metro area, and one is in the Pittsburgh metro area. The busiest American airport in 2012 was once again Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport with 45,798,809 enplanements. The busiest airport in the Mid-Atlantic (and 6th busiest nationally) was New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport.