Page 46 - Port of Baltimore Magazine March/April 2011
Basic HTML Version
port view
T
his aerial photograph of the Masonville Cove area shows
the Maryland Drydock and Shipbuilding Company during
its heyday. It is a snapshot of a place that, like the rest of
the Port of Baltimore, has a vibrant and varied history.
This shipyard, on the southern border of the city on the south
shore of the Patapsco River, launched the first container ship in
the world in 1960. Later, after Maryland Drydock closed, the cove
became a location for shipbreaking. Both the building and break-
ing of ships took their toll on the site, leaving industrial pollutants
and abandoned vessels.
Today, through an award-winning collaboration of scientists,
engineers, community members and the Port of Baltimore, the next
story BY Kathy Bergren Smith
chapter in the history of Masonville Cove is being written. The area
has been cleared of the abandoned vessels, and dikes have been
built to contain material dredged from the Baltimore Harbor. The site,
now called the Masonville Dredged Material Containment Facility,
will be filled with dredged material over time, and then capped. The
new space will become a next-generation marine terminal for the
Port of Baltimore.
Meanwhile, the quiet cove adjacent to the site is being preserved
as an Urban Wilderness Conservation Area with an educational
center, giving the community access to the river and teaching
environmental stewardship.
•
the above photograph is provided courtesy of the baltimore museum of industry and is part of the museum’s bge collection.
visit the baltimore museum of industry at
1415
key highway on the south side of the inner harbor; check out their web site at
or call
410-727-4808
. the museum is open tuesday through saturday,
10
a.m.-
4
p.m. and sunday,
11
a.m.-
4
p.m.
[
46
]
The Port of Baltimore
■
March/April 2011
To subscribe or renew, visit
