Baltimore Inner Harbor is home to many tasty restaurants, taverns and bars. It is is one of America's oldest seaports - and one of the world's newest travel destinations. Since the 1600's, the Baltimore Harbor has been welcoming people, ships and goods from all over the world. The Inner Harbor is a historic seaport, tourist attraction, and iconic landmark of the City of Baltimore, Maryland. The harbor itself is actually the end of the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and includes any water west of a line drawn between the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Rusty Scupper restaurant. The term "Inner Harbor" is used not just for the water but for the surrounding area of the city, with approximate street boundaries of President Street, Lombard Sreet, Light Sreet, and Key Highway. The harbor is within walking distance of Oriole Park at Camden Yards and M&T Bank Stadium and has a water taxi that connects the Inner Harbor to Fells Point, Canton, and Fort McHenry.

While Baltimore has been a major U.S. seaport since the 1700s, the historically shallow water of Baltimore's Inner Harbor (prior to manipulation through dredging) was not conducive to large ships or heavy industry, most of which was concentrated in Locust Point, Fell's Point, and Canton. The Inner Harbor was chiefly a light freight commercial port and passenger port until the 1950s, when economic shifts ended both the freight and passenger use of the Inner Harbor. Rotting warehouses and piers were eventually torn down and replaced by open, grass-covered parkland that was used for recreational purposes and occasional large events, such as city fairs and the significant 1976 bicentennial visit of tall ships. This initial renewal of the harbor area and its continued transformation into a major cultural and economic area of the city was spearheaded by Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer (1971-1987). Harborplace, the waterfront festival marketplace, officially opened on July 1, 1980. Since being reincarnated as a cultural hub, the Inner Harbor has become the home to many tourist attractions. The two anchor attractions, in addition to Harborplace, are the National Aquarium in Baltimore and the Maryland Science Center.

In recent years, the area along the waterfront to the east of the Inner Harbor (in the direction of Fells Point and Little Italy) has been developed with condominiums, retail space, restaurants, and hotels; this ongoing project is known as Inner Harbor East (or simply HarborEast).

While little development-appropriate land remains around the Inner Harbor, what land is available has attracted much interest and many plans, many of which have never been realized. In recent years, there has been a decided push by developers to construct projects on the remaining parcels. The ongoing, proposed, and recently completed projects include many mixed-use developments incorporating office space, street-level retail, and condominiums as well as some hotel projects.

Recent or proposed projects of note include Lockwood Place, a mixed-use project on Pratt St. between Market Pl. and Gay St. featuring Best Buy, Filene's Basement, and P.F. Chang's; the Ritz Carlton Residences, a condominium project on Key Hwy. at the southeast corner of the Inner Harbor; and 10 Inner Harbor, a proposed mixed-use project at southwest corner of Light and Conway Sts. that includes a 59-story tower, which would be the tallest building in Baltimore (a title currently held by the Legg Mason Building).

September 2003, the Inner Harbor area was flooded by Hurricane Isabel. The Baltimore World Trade Center remained closed for a month.

On March 6, 2004, a Seaport Taxi (now out of business and operated by the Living Classrooms Foundation) capsized in the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River near Fort McHenry during a storm; five passengers died in the accident. While occurring over a mile downstream of the Inner Harbor, it nonetheless was associated with the Inner Harbor by news reports and casual observers.

Attractions in and around the Inner Harbor:

Museums

• American Visionary Art Museum
• Baltimore Museum of Industry
• Geppi's Entertainment Museum (opened September 2006)
• Civil War Museum
• Port Discovery Children's Museum (on the site of the historic Baltimore Fishmarket and the 1988-1989 Fishmarket dance/music complex)

• SS John W. Brown
• Baltimore Maritime Museum-
  • USCGC Taney - last ship still floating from attack on Pearl Harbor
  • USS Torsk - last ship to sink enemy vessel in World War II
  • Lightship Chesapeake
  • Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse
• USS Constellation - last American Civil War ship still floating