John William Schaefer
Panoramic View of Calvert Street North of Lombard Street, Baltimore
1903
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John William Schaefer
Panoramic View of Calvert Street North of Lombard Street, Baltimore
1903
Physical Qualities
Three gelatin silver prints mounted as one panorama, Image/Sheet: 166 × 837 mm. (6 9/16 × 32 15/16 in.)
Other (Mat (custom) approx.): 13 × 39 in. (33 × 99.1 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Rowena Paton Manuel, Shell, Wyoming, in Memory of Dr. Stewart Paton
Object Number
1990.193
John William Schaefer belonged to the second of three generations that ran the commercial photography firm J. H. Schaefer & Son in Baltimore. Today he is best known for his photographs that record the aftermath of the Great Baltimore Fire of February 1904. At center, amid the ruins, one can see the Battle Monument as well as the structural remains of the Maryland Trust Company (left) and the Continental Trust
Company (right, now One Calvert Plaza), the two tallest buildings in Baltimore at the time. Amazingly, the business district of downtown Baltimore and the area of the waterfront laid waste by the fire were rebuilt within two years.
Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900-1960
Baltimore Photography I
Inscribed: Recto: at lower left: "J.W. Schaefer / Photo Balto MD"; at lower center: "Calvert St. North of Lombard"; Verso: at lower right, in blue ink: "Baltimore fire"
