Defunct festival marketplace in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
This article is about the shopping center in Baltimore, MD. For the Irish shopping center, see Harbour Place Shopping Centre. For the housing estate in China, see Harbour Place.
Having endured serious damage along with the entire Baltimore Inner Harbor from Hurricane Isabel (2003), decade-long mismanagement (1990–2016), and massive pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), Harborplace's viability as a retail center suffered irrevocably. The facility is scheduled for demolition and redevelopment, to begin in the fall of 2026.
Description
The property consists of two, green-roofed shopping mall pavilions, each two stories in height; one along Pratt Street, the other on Light Street, and a five-story mall adjacent to the Pratt Street Pavilion called The Gallery at Harborplace that has been closed and vacant since 2022. Where the defunct Gallery mall is includes a 28-story office tower known as Harborplace Tower, and a 12-story Renaissance hotel. The pavilions housed a range of stores and restaurants, some of which once sold merchandise specific to Baltimore or the state of Maryland, such as blue crab food products, Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens merchandise, Edgar Allan Poe products, and University of Maryland Terrapins clothing.
History (1964–1985)
Harborplace at night in May 2008
Pre-construction and development
In 1964, then Baltimore mayor Theodore Roosevelt McKeldin initiated the first Inner Harbor Master Plan to clear out derelict piers and industrial warehouses. Those warehouses have since been razed and replaced with mixed-use buildings, including the Baltimore Convention Center. The Maryland Science Center was completed in 1976. In 1977, then Baltimore mayor William Donald Schaefer hired James W. Rouse, who also developed West Baltimore's Mondawmin Mall and known for Faneuil Hall Marketplace in Boston, Massachusetts, to create a similar vibrant commercial hub. The concept chosen for the project was a festival marketplace, the same one used for Faneuil Hall Marketplace, which was a lively, European-style public space with locally owned restaurants, diverse small vendors and entertainment, including nightlife.
In 1978, because the land was owned by the city and was in an area designated as a park in the city charter, a citywide referendum was required to proceed with the project, championed by William Donald Schaefer.[3] The amendment "limited the size of any project there to the top of the U.S.S. Constellation docked in front of the Pratt Street Pavilion."[4] Voters approved the use of 3.2 acres of public parkland for the development, provided the surrounding 26 acres remained public open space. The Inner Harbor promenade where Harborplace now sits was completed in 1974.
The Rouse Company announced Harborplace in November 1978, and the project was estimated to cost around $20 million.[5] To proceed with the project, The Rouse Company founded the Maryland-based subsidiary Harborplace Festival Marketplace, Inc., or just Harborplace, Inc.[6] Rouse also founded four more subsidiaries; Harborplace Management Corporation (or Harborplace Management Company, LLC) which would manage the pavilions, and formed the Harborplace Associates Limited Partnership. Harbor Funding, Inc. and Harbor Overlook Investments, Inc. were also founded for the funding of the project.[7]
The Rouse Company hired architect Benjamin C. Thompson, who also designed Faneuil Hall Marketplace, to design the Harborplace pavilions, and Harborplace officially began construction in January 1979 on the former site of the Baltimore Steam Packet Company docks.[8]
Grand opening
Following James Rouse's retirement from The Rouse Company in 1979, Mathias J. DeVito was at Harborplace's grand opening as ribbon-cutter. Harborplace had its grand opening celebration on July 2, 1980, as a centerpiece of the revival of downtown Baltimore. The event was a week-long celebration that lasted until July 6, 1980, but most of the events and festivals happened on July 2, 1980.[9] The event involved a ribbon-cutting ceremony, speeches by Mathias DeVito and William Schaefer, a releasing of balloons into the sky, and was filled with music from various groups, including multiple bagpipe bands that paraded through the area. The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed a live concert at the water's edge. The event concluded at sunset with Tchaikovsky's1812 Overture, accompanied by firing cannons and a major fireworks display.[10]
Harborplace was so successful that it attracted nearly 18 million visitors–more visitors than Walt Disney World in its first few years, and also led to a Time magazine published on August 24, 1981, titled "Living: He Digs Downtown" with James Rouse on the cover with the phrase "Cities Are Fun!"[11]
Both pavilions were filled with multiple local specialty shops and restaurants. The Pratt Street Pavilion was a retail and dining-based mall, while the Light Street Pavilion included a second-floor food court known as The Galley and a ground-floor marketplace known as The Sam Smith Market. Some original tenants included City Lights, Phillips Seafood, Lee's Ice Cream, Hats in the Belfry, and Athenian Plaka. Phillips Seafood also included the Phillips Harborplace Express, a carry-out restaurant and the Phillips Seafood Buffet, an "all you can eat" restaurant.[12]
Harborplace was successful enough that James Rouse founded the Enterprise Foundation in 1982, which in turn created the subsidiary Enterprise Development Company, specifically to bring the festival marketplace concept to smaller cities.
The Fudgery, a singing fudge shop, opened in 1985 in the Light Street Pavilion.[14]
The Rouse Company built The Gallery at Harborplace connected to the Pratt Street Pavilion and opened in September 1987. This led with the Harborplace complex having three malls. The Renaissance Harborplace Hotel was built adjacent to The Gallery and the Harborplace Tower and opened in 1988. The development of The Gallery at Harborplace, the Harborplace Tower and the Renaissance Hotel also led to similar projects, such as Pioneer Place in Portland, Oregon, Westlake Center in Seattle, Washington, Owings Mills Corporate Center in Owings Mills, Maryland, and Arizona Center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The success of The Gallery led to The Rouse Company to refer to the entire complex as "Harborplace & The Gallery".[2]
Decline (1990–2026)
The Pratt Street Pavilion in 2015The Light Street Pavilion in 2014
The shift from local tenants to national tenants
Starting in the 1990s, The Rouse Company began shifting from local vendors to chain stores for Harborplace for financial reasons. The first national tenant to open in Harborplace was Hooters, which opened in October 1990, and shortly received accusations of gender discrimination.[15]Pizzeria Uno (later Uno Chicago Grill and now Uno Pizzeria & Grill) opened in the Pratt Street Pavilion sometime in June 1991. The restaurant was renovated in 2014.[16]The Cheesecake Factory announced in 1995 that it was going to open in the Pratt Street Pavilion. The tenant had its grand opening in 1996.[17]
In January 1998, The Rouse Company allowed Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith to break ground for a Planet Hollywood restaurant in the Pratt Street Pavilion. It closed permanently in September 2001.[18] It was replaced with M&S Grill, a restaurant operated by McCormick & Schmick's, in October 2003.[19]
2004 General Growth Properties acquisition of Harborplace and The Gallery
Chicago-based General Growth Properties (GGP) acquired The Rouse Company's portfolio, including both Harborplace and The Gallery, in November 2004 as part its $12.6 billion acquisition of the company.[20]
Starbucks closed its doors in the Light Street Pavilion on December 31, 2008, because of financial problems and store "cannibalization" (too many stores in one area), which forced the company to undergo a nationwide restructuring beginning in July 2008 during the Great Recession. The restructuring involved closing 600 underperforming stores that were not making a profit, and part of those 600 stores included 12 Maryland stores,[22] which included the Harborplace location.[23] Starbucks relocated to The Gallery at Harborplace. Its Gallery location closed on December 26, 2018.[24]
Harborplace celebrated its 30th anniversary in July 2010.[25]
In the 2000s and early 2010s, the original local tenants that occupied the pavilions since their grand opening in 1980 began to close. In this period, many of them were replaced with national tenants. On September 30, 2011, Phillips Seafood, the last original tenant in the pavilions, permanently closed their location in the Light Street Pavilion because the restaurant announced that it was relocating to the former ESPN Zone space in the nearby Pratt Street Power Plant.[26]
H&M opened at Harborplace on May 19, 2011, taking over two floors of what used to be small, localized mom-and-pop stores.[27]
A Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant, based on the movie Forrest Gump, opened in the former Phillips Seafood space in the Light Street Pavilion in 2012, while its Gump on the Run carry-out restaurant moved into the former Phillips Harborplace Express space.[26] The Phillips Seafood Buffet space remained vacant.
McCormick World of Flavors opened on the first floor of the Light Street Pavilion in August 2012.[28]
Many tourists and locals described the new tenants as General Growth Properties turning Harborplace into a "tourist trap"—expensive chain stores that discouraged repeat visits—that did not align with James Rouse's original vision for Harborplace.
Similarly, GGP through Howard Hughes Corporation turned Riverwalk Marketplace in New Orleans, Louisiana, also developed by Rouse, from a festival marketplace into an outlet mall in 2014 with national chains like Nordstrom Rack, highlighting a pattern of GGP making festival marketplaces more appealing for luxury shoppers rather than community gatherings.[29] Anyone could find a Hooters, a Cheesecake Factory, or a Ripley's anywhere else in the country. Additionally, many tourists and locals complained about the new national tenants because they had higher prices than the original local tenants. They could no longer find a good meal in the pavilions that is under $25.[30]
A Ripley's Believe It or Not! Odditorium museum opened in the Light Street Pavilion on June 26, 2012, which also took over two floors of what used to be small, localized mom-and-pop stores.[31]
2012 Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation acquisition of the Harborplace pavilions
In November 2012, the pavilions were sold to Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation for $100 million. Since Ashkenazy only owned the pavilions but GGP kept ownership of The Gallery, the area was no longer referred to by either developer as "Harborplace & The Gallery".[32]
Store closures and management problems
In the 2010s, numerous tenants began to close at Harborplace again, leading up to the area's planned redevelopment.
McCormick World of Flavors shuttered on August 14, 2016.[28]
Five Guys and Noodles & Co. left the Light Street Pavilion in the summer of 2018. While Five Guys is planning to return to the Inner Harbor in 2026, its new location is at the nearby Lockwood Place shopping center, not Harborplace.[34]
The Fudgery closed on September 9, 2018, due to profitability problems.[14]
The former Urban Outfitters space was replaced with local merchandise store Neighborhoods Urban Goods.[35]
In 2019, Banana Republic closed its store in the Pratt Street Pavilion, just one year after relocating from The Gallery.[36]
By 2019, the pavilions faced strong competition with other festival marketplaces or similar markets nearby, particularly the Broadway Market in Fells Point which had a massive renovation in 2019. The Inner Harbor itself was already declining in the 2020s, drawing shoppers to better–performing areas like Harbor East and Canton.
Following the Bubba Gump lawsuit in 2016, the tenant, along with many others, complained of many maintenance issues that Ashkenazy largely ignored, which included worn-out floors, dirty bathrooms with ineffective stall locks, broken escalators, failed HVAC systems, rusted metal stairs and broken concrete, a non-functional fire sprinkler system following a fire at Ripley's in April 2017, chipped or worn-out painting, defective and damaged doors and broken windows, poor or malfunctioning lighting, fire hazards from faulty electrical outlets, hanging wires and overloaded electrical systems, rodent infestations and leaking roofs. In 2018, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. won a $1.13 million to $1.2 million judgment against Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. for allowing the property to deteriorate, though a portion of it was returned following an appeal.[37]
It was also noted that water seepage would frequently occur in the pavilions' basement levels, likely from the fire sprinkler system. Some of the Super Cube light fixtures on the promenade also suffered maintenance issues from failed sodium bulbs that were never replaced.[38]
Tenants also complained that Ashkenazy did not provide adequate security for the pavilions, leading to frequent crime that deterred shoppers and even certain stores to pay for their own security, like Hooters.
2019 court-ordered receivership of Harborplace
In March 2019, Deutsche Bank informed that Ashkenazy defaulted on a $76 million loan after failing to satisfy Bubba Gump's 2018 judgment.
On May 30, 2019, for failing to maintain the property and leaving vendors unpaid, Ashkenazy was evicted from ownership and management of Harborplace, and the property was put on court-ordered receivership.[39] The Baltimore City Circuit Court had appointed IVL Group, LLC of Montclair, New Jersey to manage, maintain, lease, provide security for Harborplace, and the receivership order also authorized IVL Group to seek a new buyer.[40]
COVID-19 pandemic
By the 2020s, Harborplace's decline exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent increased e-commerce competition.
Ripley's Believe It or Not! closed permanently in May 2020. Since the museum occupied two floors of the Light Street Pavilion, it formed a large empty space.[41]
Shortly after Ripley's closed and no tenants remained, the Light Street Pavilion's second floor was completely closed. The pandemic was considered the "final blow" for Harborplace and The Gallery.
2022 MCB Real Estate Acquisition of the Harborplace pavilions
In April 2022, the Baltimore development firm MCB Real Estate entered into an agreement to purchase Harborplace.[42] The deal was finalized by the Baltimore City Circuit Court in December 2022.[43]
The interior of the former Phillips Seafood/Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant space in April 2023Former H&M store at Harborplace in April 2023
On February 10, 2022, Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. closed their location in the Light Street Pavilion following closure by the Baltimore City Health Department for major maintenance issues, and its failure to renew their food permit for the restaurant, which had both indoor and outdoor seating on the Harborplace promenade. Luke Kosters, an attorney and executive for Kelly Companies, which operated the Harborplace Bubba Gump, confirmed that the restaurant was closed permanently. He also cited that the major maintenance issues that caused their restaurant to shut down in the pavilion was a direct consequence of previous owner Ashkenazy Acquisition Corp. A representative for Landry's, Inc., the company that owns Bubba Gump, said the previous owners had done "essentially nothing" to maintain the property.[45]
H&M closed their location in the Light Street Pavilion on March 9, 2022, leaving a largely vacant space. As a result, the Light Street Pavilion only had two remaining tenants in March 2022 and was almost totally vacant. In April 2022, Harborplace was reported to be 70% vacant.[46]
In September 2022, Uno Pizzeria & Grill "temporarily" closed its location in the Pratt Street Pavilion, citing repairs, then never reopened. MCB Real Estate confirmed that the closure was permanent shortly thereafter. The restaurant moved its operations in Baltimore to The Shops at Canton Crossing, but that location also closed in August 2024 and was replaced with Wonder Food Hall. Additionally, the restaurant's signage was removed.[47] After Uno Pizzeria & Grill closed, the Pratt Street Pavilion's last major sit-down restaurant tenant was The Cheesecake Factory. The Pratt Street Pavilion had just three tenants in September 2022 and was also almost completely vacant.
In April 2023, the Baltimore Brew reported that Harborplace was over 90% vacant, and founder Fern Shen noted the pavilions as having "empty shops, locked doors, and a fabulous view". She found a cracked window at one of the Pratt Street Pavilion's entrances, along with bedding and a pair of jeans on the second floor balcony of the Light Street Pavilion.[48] The pavilions had become "dead malls", with only a handful of tenants still open. The Light Street Pavilion's interior was completely closed and locked up on April 19, 2023, and even the restrooms in the pavilion were blocked off. Hand-drawn signs by management were placed on the doors and windows, redirecting people to enter Hooters through the anchor tenant's main exterior entrance. The Pratt Street Pavilion was still open to the public, but its only major sit-down restaurant still open was The Cheesecake Factory. Other tenants included IT'SUGAR, and some small souvenir and jewelry stores. Everything else—ranging from small restaurants to national retailers—was closed.[49]
Redevelopment, mall closure and demolition (2023–present)
Harborplace Redevelopment
Interactive map of the Harborplace Redevelopment area
On October 30, 2023, MCB Real Estate announced a proposal to demolish both pavilions and replace them with a 32-story apartment building known as the South Tower and a 25-story apartment building known as the North Tower on 303 Light St, and two commercial and retail buildings, and another retail building with an amphitheater on Pratt St. The Gallery at Harborplace, however, has remained closed and vacant since January 2022 with no plans for redevelopment, even though Brookfield Properties did state they are "re-evaluating many options for The Gallery."[4] To proceed, the project would require a charter amendment to allow residential development, rezoning changes, and an amendment to the city's urban renewal plan governing the Inner Harbor,[51] which was approved by Baltimore voters in November 2024. MCB began soil testing on the pavilions for demolition in December 2024.[52]
The new 201 East Pratt Street building is planned to offer both retail and commercial space. It will house a marketplace on the first two floors, and its design was inspired by the water. It is colloquially called The Sail due to its shape. The 203 East Pratt Street building between The Sail and the World Trade Center will offer waterfront commercial space, and public space underneath a cantilevered second floor. The amphitheater and surrounding green space will be known as The Park at Freedom's Port and will have ~2,000 seats, including an elevated space for dining and recreation. Underneath the dining space and amphitheater will be artistic and retail lining an eastward extension of Camden Street towards the water. The 303 South Light Street apartment towers will offer multifamily residential on the upper floors, while the first two floors will involve retail, dining, and community space. 301 South Light Street will involve a marketplace nicknamed The Wildset, which is planned to house retail and dining options. The design is inspired by Maryland's shipbuilding heritage and local seafood. The Harborplace promenade will also be updated to become two-tiered, giving people an interactive experience with the water, with the nickname The Crescent.[53] MCB Real Estate plans to make Harborplace a 24/7 environment, extending the complex beyond its original focus solely as retail and dining.
The redevelopment plan consolidates with MCB's plan for a 300 East Pratt Street mixed-use building.[54]
Criticism
The redevelopment plans have been criticized, with complaints that the new 303 Light St apartment towers block views, and fears that the apartment towers, along with the 203 Pratt St building, will privatize the waterfront, limiting public access.[55] Former Baltimore mayor Martin O'Malley famously stated that the redevelopment plans were a "terrible developer grab of public waterfront parkland", voting "No" during Question F in November 2024. Some people have also argued for alternatives to demolition, such as renovation of the pavilions into an entertainment district with local restaurants and music activity, similar to the nearby Power Plant Live! and Norfolk's Waterside District both owned and managed by The Cordish Companies, along with suggestions for a shopping mall with a rooftop venue, similar to the redeveloped Pier 17 at New York's South Street Seaport, which replaced the Pier 17 Pavilion, also developed by Rouse. Others have proposed to replace the pavilions with a full "parks-only" space which involved turning the area into an exclusive green space, similar to Jacksonville's Riverfront Plaza, which was built on the former site of the Jacksonville Landing.[56]
James Rouse's sons, Jimmy Rouse (nicknamed James Rouse Jr.) and Ted Rouse have also criticized the redevelopment plans, with Jimmy Rouse arguing for an alternative for demolition by renovating the pavilions for markets, such as seafood, produce, and crafts, echoing James Rouse's vision. The Rouse family has also criticized the apartment towers, seeing them as intrusive, and that the plans lack what James Rouse intended, calling it a "blank check giveaway" for a developer.[57]
Ted Rouse pushed for mandatory design review and underground parking for aesthetics. He also pushed for funding commitments before demolition to prevent the risk of the Harborplace site from becoming an empty, undeveloped plot, similar to the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre. Rouse joined the Inner Harbor Coalition, which involved concerns about the redevelopment plans.[58]
MCB Real Estate's response to the criticism
P. David Bramble, co-founder and a managing partner of MCB Real Estate responded to the criticism by rejecting parks-only replacements, arguing that an exclusive green space is not in the best interest of Baltimore, as the current pavilions, albeit largely vacant, are a critical commercial component to the Inner Harbor.
He has also argued that the apartment towers are necessary because the retail-only format of Harborplace is outdated, and also stating that blending retail and residential is standard in contemporary development, and that it is essential for "financial, economic sustainability." He also stated that a modern waterfront requires a mix of uses to be successful. During a T.J. Smith Show interview, Bramble cited backlash for the Light St towers as "silly", stating that "everywhere you go, it's apartment and retail."[59][60]
Bramble has also rejected alternatives to demolition that involved converting the Harborplace pavilions into an entertainment district or keeping it as a festival marketplace, arguing that a retail-only or market-only alternative, such as keeping the pavilions as a festival marketplace or redeveloping it into an entertainment district, is not sustainable.
Additionally, an entertainment district alternative would be redundant because Baltimore already has two entertainment districts in the Inner Harbor area, being Power Plant Live! and Walk at Warner Street. He also added that renovation is no longer viable for an alternative as the pavilions have numerous maintenance issues as a result of Ashkenazy, such as broken HVAC, mold build-up, and rodent infestations. Because of these maintenance problems, a renovation would've been prohibitively expensive, potentially even more expensive than demolition, and since the pavilions are over 40 years old, it would potentially lead to hidden elements not being removed such as asbestos. These maintenance issues are a prime example of Harborplace as "demolition by neglect".
He doesn't want alternatives, or what he refers to them as "Plan Bs", and he warned that if his redevelopment plan is rejected, the city will be "stuck with exactly what you have there", which means MCB, or any out-of-town owner might acquire the pavilions and "fill them up with... some junk" (short-term fixes such as filling in vacant spaces with national stores to generate cash flow) that might cause another insolvency like the court-ordered receivership in 2019, or neglect them even further, or prioritize "last-ditch efforts" to redevelop the property to maintain profitability that will eventually cease operations, such as the now-defunct eat at National Place in Washington, D.C.[61]
Hooters lawsuit and closure
In January 2024, Hooters sued both Ashkenazy and MCB Real Estate for breach of lease; specifically, failing to provide adequate security for the Light Street Pavilion following a break-in in September 2023. They also described the pavilion as "unkempt, dirty, and poorly maintained", which completely harmed their business. When the tenant closed in June 2024, the Light Street Pavilion had no restaurants and only two retail stores left being Made In Baltimore and Neighborhoods Urban Goods.[62] However, in November 2024, MCB Real Estate countersued Hooters, citing that the tenant violated its lease by reducing hours before leaving.[63]
Temporary revitalization
The Light Street Pavilion's Made In Baltimore store during the Holiday Makers Market event on December 6, 2025.
Beginning in 2023, the pavilions were filled with temporary local tenants as part of MCB Real Estate's BOOST (Black Owned and Operated Storefront Tenancy) Program, which was to activate the waterfront area and prevent the area from becoming a "ghost town" while redevelopment plans are being finalized.
A Made In Baltimore holiday store opened on the first floor of the former H&M space in November 2023 as a pop-up,[64] and as a permanent location in February 2024.[65]
Angeli's Pizzeria opened as a pop-up restaurant in the Light Street Pavilion on March 27, 2024, and as a permanent location in August 2025.[66]
The former Johnny Rockets space was taken over by Nostalgia Diner as a pop-up restaurant that opened in January 2025, but Nostalgia Diner has not had its official grand opening yet as of January 2026.[67]
In July 2025, Caribbean brick-and-mortar restaurant Waiting to Oxtail opened in the former Oleum restaurant space.[68]
The former Hooters space was replaced with a Supano's Sports Bar & Grill Steakhouse (formerly Supano's Prime Steakhouse), which had its grand opening celebration on Friday, October 17, 2025.[69]
MCB Real Estate has confirmed that the temporary local tenants are fully aware that the pavilions will be demolished, and have short leases. The BOOST tenants will be relocated during construction and will be offered to reopen in Harborplace once redevelopment is finished. The last remaining national tenant not part of the BOOST program being IT'SUGAR will likely also be relocated, but its future in Harborplace is uncertain as of January 2026. The pavilions are expected to be permanently closed and begin demolition in the fall of 2026. Redevelopment is expected to be completed by the 2030s. The adjacent structures will remain open during this period except for the defunct Gallery mall, and the entrance to the skywalk connecting that mall to the Pratt Street Pavilion will be completely blocked off for construction.
Events
Holiday Makers Market (December 6-7, 2025)
From December 6-7, 2025, Harborplace held a Holiday Makers Market event that was Christmas themed, and it included 60+ local vendors and Christmas music, particularly in the Light Street Pavilion. The Light Street Pavilion was also updated to include purple neon lights on its second floor exterior arches. The event consolidated with the nearby German Christmas Village, which is a few walks away from the Light Street Pavilion. The German Christmas Village included rides, including a Ferris wheel.[70][71]
December 2025 was Harborplace's last Christmas under the original twin pavilions, and since the German Christmas Village is right next to the Light Street Pavilion, it will be relocated for the 2026 year as it starts just a few months after the pavilions begin demolition.
Sail250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore (or simply Sail250) is an upcoming event to celebrate America's 250th birthday. The event will take place on the Harborplace promenade as a farewell party for the pavilions (similar to Collin Creek Mall), including maritime ships and jet planes (U.S. Navy Blue Angels), and live music. The event will not just be in Harborplace; the celebration will span the Inner Harbor, Baltimore Peninsula, and Fells Point. P. David Bramble considers Sail250 to be a "grand send-off" for the pavilions, as this will be the final event to be held at Harborplace before "shovels hit the ground."[72]
A three-day educational and family-oriented festival (June 26-28) will take place along the promenade featuring a dedicated STEM Tent and Living History demonstrations focused on maritime heritage and technology, a Seafood for Thought interactive cooking demo stage and a food program showcasing Baltimore cuisine. Entertainment will include live music and various historical exhibits.[73]
As one of five major U.S. port cities celebrating the 250th, massive crowds are expected throughout the weekend.
Final store closures before redevelopment begins
On December 4, 2025, The Cheesecake Factory, which has been a tenant in Harborplace for nearly 30 years, announced that it was closing its Harborplace location on January 24, 2026, citing that after an "extensive review and analysis", The Cheesecake Factory made the "difficult decision to discontinue operation." This leaves the Pratt Street Pavilion with no more restaurant tenants because The Cheesecake Factory was the last major sit-down restaurant tenant available at Harborplace after Hooters closed. Additionally, its closure makes IT'SUGAR the last remaining national tenant in Harborplace.
The restaurant has officially ceased operations at 11:00p.m. on January 24, 2026, and its 115 employees have been redirected to other Cheesecake Factory locations in Maryland still in operation.[74]
Notable incidents
Harborplace and the surrounding area has had many crime, lawsuits, and inclement weather problems occur, which played a role in the area's decline. Notable examples of this include:
1990s Hooters controversy
Shortly after Hooters opened in the Light Street Pavilion, the company faced massive criticism for being accused of "discriminatory and sexist"/"slyly sinister" behavior. Specifically, the restaurant was known for hiring only women as servants (referred to by the brand as "Hooters Girls"). Critics and legal challenges from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) argued this was a violation of anti-discrimination laws. Backlash was exacerbated by the tank-tops the female servants would wear, which were largely seen as "suggestive and inappropriate" by families.[75]
The backlash was so intense that city officials forced the Harborplace Hooters to modify its conduct shortly after opening, such as banning more suggestive slogans like "More than a mouthful" and certain provocative activities common at other locations. Specifically, Baltimore City Council President Mary Pat Clarke and The Rouse Company led a charge against the restaurant, requesting that it change its "sexist" signs, menus, and employee uniforms.[75]
While Hooters accepted the requests to change its inappropriate business practices, the restaurant still denied men as servants, and therefore, backlash persisted. The restaurant eventually responded by defensively stating that being female was a "bona fide occupational qualification" (BFOQ) that is essential to their brand.
The restaurant was sued in 1997 for $3.75 million with men who were denied server jobs,[76] with people even calling for the city to ban, or legally evict Hooters from the area, as its business practices violated the Inner Harbor's original purpose as a family-friendly environment.
The situation was settled in 1997. Hooters lost the lawsuit and was forced to pay $3.75 million in response to its business practices, with the City of Baltimore and The Rouse Company permitting Hooters to continue employing only female servers, but forcing the company to create "gender-neutral" positions—such as hosts, bartenders, and kitchen staff—that men could apply for.[75]
1997 Phillips Seafood homicide
In October 1997, a 20-year-old Phillips Harborplace Express cook known as Darryl Luttrell was fatally stabbed by a kitchen supervisor known as William Leroy Berkley.
After the incident, police charged Berkley with first-degree murder, assault, and using a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony. The incident was the first to highlight security concerns with the area.[77]
Two hours after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the entire waterfront where both the Baltimore World Trade Center and Harborplace is was restricted from pedestrian, vehicle and boat access due to a "credible" threat that it would be attacked. Both the pavilions and The Gallery were evacuated and closed temporarily. Bomb threats received on September 12 and September 14 further contributed to security measures.[78]
2000s freedom of speech problems
A street performer on the Harborplace promenade in 2009
The Rouse Company had long experienced tensions with street performers, regulating performances and accused of suppressing free speech.[79] Disputes came to a head in 2002–2003, when two events triggered a lawsuit against the city.
ACLU lawsuit
On October 21, 2002, street performer Jerry Rowan was banned from the area for making an "insensitive" joke. Discussing the then-current D.C. sniper case, Rowan said: "I was driving downtown this morning, and on the radio I heard that they've finally come out with a composite of the sniper, so there should be an arrest forthcoming. Apparently, he's a white guy that speaks Spanish and looks like he's Arab."[79] Police officers overheard the joke and reported it to Rouse. The company had previously sent a letter to Rowan admonishing him for "off-color humor", as well as "lack of respect for program administrators". After this report, the company banned him from the area.[79]
On April 4, 2003, a police officer asked Baltimore's Women in Black to disband.[80] The group had (and has) gathered in McKeldin Square every Friday since September 11, 2002.
Rowan and the Women in Black filed suit against the city of Baltimore on October 7, 2003, arguing their right of free speech. They were assisted by attorney Rajeev Goyle on behalf of the American Civil Liberties Union.[80]
The lawsuit was resolved in 2013 in a settlement that resulted in a consent decree with the city, creating "instant permits" for spontaneous demonstrations and waived permit requirements for groups of 30 people or less. The negotiations with the ACLU, the city, The Rouse Company, and The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore in the settlement yielded other specific results in favor of free speech activities. McKeldin Square, Rash Field, Kaufman Pavilion, the area West of the Visitor Center, and Area 10 were all designated as official free-speech zones. Additionally, the settlement required the City of Baltimore to pay the attorney's fees for the ACLU.[81]
In September 2003, the entire Inner Harbor area, including Harborplace and the adjacent World Trade Center, was critically damaged as a result of Hurricane Isabel, ultimately considered the area's worst flooding since 1933.
A record storm surge reached 8.2 feet at Fort McHenry and the Inner Harbor, flooding Pratt and Light Streets, which resulted in a massive surge of water at the Harborplace and Inner Harbor promenades and the ground floors of both pavilions to be flooded.
The Pratt Street Pavilion's outdoor walkway and multiple stores in both pavilions suffered extensive water damage and power outages. The adjacent World Trade Center's basement was destroyed by 3 million gallons of water, closing the tower and leading to a loss of 60 tenants. As a result, the city and The Rouse Company closed the pavilions and The Gallery temporarily for repairs and upgrades. For safety reasons, Rouse also turned off the electricity and HVAC systems for the entire complex to prevent further mechanical damage and electrical fires from saltwater exposure.[82]
Ripley's Believe It or Not! 2017 fire
On the night of April 5, 2017, the Ripley's Believe It or Not! museum in the Light Street Pavilion suffered a fire, causing minimal damage and a temporary closure for cleanup and repairs. The cause of the fire is unknown, but it was also reported that the pavilions' fire sprinkler system failed to activate. This was seen as a major issue from Ashkenazy's lack of maintenance for Harborplace.[83]
2023 Hooters break-in
In the night of September 2023, a break-in occurred at Hooters in the Light Street Pavilion. At the time of the event, there were not a lot of security guards as a result of Ashkenazy's neglect, which also led to Hooters' January 2024 lawsuit.[84]
2025 shooting
On September 14, 2025, police responded to gunfire that occurred in the area and found an 18-year-old male with a gunshot wound in his right arm and shoulder area.[85]
A few hours after the incident, a 17-year-old male was assaulted inside of the Pratt Street Pavilion. This incident involved a group of individuals according to the police, one of whom was armed. The Baltimore Police classified the incident as an unarmed robbery.[85]
Renovations
2015 renovation
Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation, after acquiring Harborplace, announced renovation plans. The new design plans were revealed in 2015, and was for to revitalize the struggling complex.[86]
The design for the Pratt Street Pavilion aimed to "turn the building inside out" to allow ground-floor tenants like IT'SUGAR to have their stores facing both the street and waterfront sides, and to become only accessible from the exterior entrances of the pavilion. Another plan for the new design was to replace the awnings and "greenhouse"-like glass with blackened steel, timbered wood, and terra cotta panels. Much of the second floor was planned to be an updated food court called The Market at Harborplace, and Ashkenazy also planned on an updated, more modern tenant mix for both pavilions, such as Build-A-Bear Workshop and Neighborhoods Urban Goods, which occupied the former Urban Outfitters space.[87]
The renovation required the demolition and closure of the Pratt Street Pavilion's concourse near the elevators. The escalators for the Light Street Pavilion were replaced with regular stairs.[88]
During this renovation period, IT'SUGAR temporarily relocated to the Light Street Pavilion. The space was closed permanently in April 2018 when they moved back to the Pratt Street Pavilion, and has been vacant ever since.[89]
Super Cube light fixture replacement
A Super Cube street lamp on the Harborplace promenade (on the left)
The renovation consolidated with the Inner Harbor 2.0 plan, the BMore Bright initiative, and the Lights Out Baltimore project which involved replacing all of the iconic Super Cube light fixtures, colloquially known as "the Sugar Cubes", designed by George Kostritsky, the "K" in RTKL Associates in the 1960s for Charles Center and the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre and installed by The Rouse Company and The Cordish Companies on the Inner Harbor waterfronts in the 1980s and 1990s, including the Harborplace waterfront and the nearby Pratt Street Power Plant, with 143 new wooden LED light poles designed by Structura, which was completed in 2018. The replacement was made because the original sodium light fixtures were burning out, became difficult to maintain and repair leading to dark areas on the waterfronts, and also caused migrating bird problems due to their upward-facing position. The new light fixtures point downward and are shielded, reducing this issue. The Super Cube light fixtures remained on the street side of the Pratt and Light Street Pavilions, but all of the Super Cube light fixtures nearby The Gallery at Harborplace have been replaced. Additionally, the nearby Baltimore Convention Center is replacing the Super Cube light fixtures with LED street lamp fixtures. Some Super Cube street lamps have already been removed entirely before 2018, like the ones surrounding the Morris A. Mechanic Theatre during its demolition in 2014.[90][91]
Hooters relocation
The renovation also consolidated with Hooters' plan in July 2015 to relocate from its original space on the second floor of the Light Street Pavilion to the Light Street Pavilion's 6,300-square-foot The Galley food court space on the first floor, which was largely delayed due to landlord construction issues and storefront updates. The relocation required the closure of several food vendors, including Subway.[92]
Renovations end
However, the plans were largely stalled. The pavilions began renovations in 2017, two years after the plans were announced, and renovations ending in April 2018 with the updated IT'SUGAR, and in late 2018 where renovations for both pavilions was only partially completed.[93] The majority of the renovations were only completed for the Pratt Street Pavilion, and only a few tenants from the renovation plans such as Mason's Lobster Rolls (opened 2019) had spots in the updated space.[94]
In 2018, Banana Republic relocated from The Gallery to the newly renovated Pratt Street Pavilion. It closed a year later.[95]
The Gallery at Harborplace
The Gallery at Harborplace
The Gallery Mall in April 2020 as viewed from both Pratt and Calvert Streets
The Gallery at Harborplace, also referred to simply as The Gallery Mall or The Gallery, was a five-story, glass-enclosed shopping mall that was also built by The Rouse Company and opened in September 1987. While it is permanently closed, it is still currently owned and managed by GGP, a subsidiary of Brookfield Properties since 2018.[98][96] However, there are no plans for redevelopment.
Description
The Gallery at Harborplace was a five-story mall and is adjacent the Harborplace Office Tower and the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. It is situated at both the Pratt and Calvert streets. Because of its large size, The Gallery is the largest of the three malls in the complex. It included tenants common in other malls, along with luxury tenants, such as Forever 21, Starbucks, Gap & Gap Kids, and Bath & Body Works. Due to its vertical exterior design, the mall is without traditional senior anchor tenants many malls had at the time such as Sears, Macy's, and JCPenney. The mall's only junior anchor was Brooks Brothers. The mall is connected to the Pratt Street Pavilion via a skywalk that has been closed since the 2000s, which later became a permanent closure in 2022 after the mall itself was closed. The Pratt Street Pavilion remained open, but the door that leads to the skywalk is blocked off.
History
Pre-construction and development
The mall's entrance on April 3, 2015, from the interior
In 1981, one year after Harborplace had its grand opening, The Rouse Company purchased a large city block that was once a parking lot in downtown Baltimore, and they were looking to activate this area by opening a regional mall that would be an expansion of the Harborplace complex. This mall would be James Rouse's final project before retiring from The Rouse Company entirely. The Rouse Company announced the mall would also feature a 28-story office tower and a 12-story hotel which the city wanted to support the new convention circuits at the Baltimore Convention Center.[99] The project was expected to be known as Baltimore Center.
For the project, The Rouse Company founded five Maryland-based subsidiaries; Baltimore Center, Inc. (or Baltimore Center, LLC) which then formed Baltimore Center Associates Limited Partnership to develop The Gallery Mall, along with Baltimore Center Garage Limited Partnership for The Gallery's parking garage.[100]Gallery Maintenance, Inc. was formed for managing the mall, while Gallery Hotel Limited Partnership was formed for the development of the Renaissance Hotel.[101]
Rouse hired architect Eberhard H. Zeidler, who also designed parts of Sherway Gardens (another mall developed by Rouse) and Toronto Eaton Centre in Canada, to design the mall and the adjacent structures. Zeidler was already in discussions about the Inner Harbor in the mid-1970s, citing the Inner Harbor as a "desolate wasteland."[102]
Zeidler and the Rouse team had the plans drawn up and submitted them for approval. The new Gallery mall was announced to have five floors, with three floors of retail stores, with the third floor having a walkway that turned 180 degrees that gave access to a food court overlooking the Inner Harbor, and there would also be a pair of escalators giving access to the fourth floor, which would be part of the hotel and entertainment area, and all throughout the mall would be plants and suburbs taking in sunlight from the massive glass ceiling above the atrium. The fifth floor would offer a view of The Gallery from the bottom. The Gallery was designed to have a diagonal cut right through the building, a center water display, and a spiral staircase.[103]
Rouse hoped the new development would be enough to attract New York-based Bloomingdale's to open in The Gallery. Bloomingdale's signed a letter of intent, but the deal "fell apart in the corporate capital allocation" of its then-parent, Federated Department Stores (now Macy's Inc.). As a result, The Rouse Company announced that Brooks Brothers would be The Gallery's only anchor.[104] The Gallery began construction in 1985 and had its grand opening on September 3, 1987. Rouse hired the newly founded McNamara • Salvia for the structural engineer of the Harborplace Office Tower.[105]
After opening
Starbucks opened at The Gallery on December 31, 2008, after relocating from the pavilions.[106]
Fifth floor
From the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel on the fifth floor, the Gallery was visible through the windows, but the fifth floor was integrated into the mall itself and has been restricted from access from the mall itself when the fourth floor closed from the public in 2016 because GGP removed the escalators. After that, the fifth floor could only be accessed through elevators.[107]
Renovations (The Gallery)
2001 renovation
In the early 2000s, The Rouse Company announced a renovation for The Gallery to modernize it, with an intent to make it more competitive with newer shopping malls in Maryland like Arundel Mills and the recent 1990s renovation and expansion of Towson Town Center. This included replacing the grand central staircases with escalators, and adding exterior entrances to ground-floor stores. The renovation included the permanent closure of the skywalk connecting the mall to the Pratt Street Pavilion, encouraging ground level traffic. The renovation was completed in 2001. The mall has not been updated since then.[108]
Decline and closure
The mall's entrance from the exterior in June 2021
Like the pavilions, The Gallery at Harborplace has also faced significant decline for many of the same reasons as the pavilions, but it faced its own issues. The mall was not owned or managed by Ashkenazy Acquisitions in the 2010s. Instead, the mall remained in ownership of General Growth Properties for six more years. While it was not managed by Ashkenazy, which neglected the pavilions, this mall had its own issues and even a permanent closure in 2022. Firstly, the mall has not been updated since a renovation in 2001. Without any up-to-date renovations, the mall was unable to compete with many other modern malls in Maryland, like Towson Town Center, White Marsh Mall, The Mall in Columbia, and Arundel Mills. By the 2010s, just like the pavilions, tenants began to close.
Store closures
In January 2015, Wet Seal closed its Gallery at Harborplace location because the company was in the process of liquidating all its stores after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Its closure was not related to the problems with Harborplace, but it was another tenant that closed its doors in the area, leading to an empty spot.[109] In March 2016, Brooks Brothers closed its Gallery at Harborplace location because the company announced that it was relocating to Harbor East.[110]
The mall's food court on the fourth floor was converted into an office area called Spaces in 2016, which led to an exodus of multiple food tenants, which included McDonald's, Burger King, and various other restaurants. Once the conversion was finished, the fourth floor was closed from the public.[111]
Following New York-based Brookfield Property Partners' acquisition of GGP Inc., all of its properties, including The Gallery and the Harborplace Tower, were transitioned to Brookfield Properties in August 2018.[112]
In 2018, Banana Republic closed its Gallery location and relocated to the newly renovated Pratt Street Pavilion, which closed as well in 2019.[113]
Bunzzz Sports Bar & Grill opened in the former Brooks Brothers space on January 10, 2019.[114]
The Gallery at Harborplace on its final days of operation, January 18, 2022
The mall's decline was significantly exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which also increased the rise of e-commerce. The pandemic also caused financial problems, putting The Gallery on a national mortgage watchlist in June 2021.[116] In September 2021, Brookfield Properties began ceasing operations of the mall by telling the remaining tenants that they have to vacate the mall by the end of the year. Before 2021, the mall was already losing tenants. This included Forever 21, GNC, Gap & Gap Kids, Starbucks, The Children's Place, and Bath & Body Works.
By January 2022, the mall had no tenants, and was later permanently closed. While the adjacent structures being Harborplace Tower and the Renaissance Hotel remain open, their entrances to The Gallery are blocked off.
Future redevelopment
The "Our Baltimore" mural on the defunct Gallery mall
In 2023, Brookfield Properties painted a mural titled "Our Baltimore" over the windows and entrance to the former Gallery to cover up the interior of the defunct mall from public view, and to revitalize the surrounding area.[117] Brookfield Properties has stated that they will reevaluate options for The Gallery, but unlike the pavilions, which will be demolished and replaced with mixed-use buildings, The Gallery has remained vacant and shuttered from the public with no plans for redevelopment or any form of revitalization as of January 2026.
Demolition of The Gallery would be challenging due to its connection to the Harborplace Office Tower and the Renaissance Hotel.
Brookfield Properties reverted its retail division back to the GGP name in January 2026. However, the adjacent Harborplace Tower remains in ownership and management of the main Brookfield Properties company, as the rebranding was specifically for the retail division.[118]
Harborplace Tower
For the subsequent office Legg Mason moved in after leaving this tower also located in Baltimore, see 100 Light Street.
For the current Legg Mason tower in Baltimore, see Legg Mason Tower.
Harborplace Office Tower
Harborplace Tower in August 2024, also contains the Renaissance Hotel and the defunct Gallery mall
Interactive map of the Harborplace Office Tower area
111 S. Calvert Street, also referred to as the Harborplace Tower or The Gallery at Harborplace office building, is an office tower adjacent to both The Gallery and the Renaissance Hotel. Its current tenants include Lupin Pharmaceuticals, whose name was on the building,[119] but was removed in 2025. More current tenants include Brookfield Renewables, Wells Fargo Bank, Cigna Health, Northwestern Mutual, SIA Solutions, and Ballard Spahr LLP. Its former tenants include BB&T and Legg Mason. Legg Mason was an original tenant for the building, but it relocated its headquarters to the nearby 100 Light Street office tower.[120]
The tower undergone a $12 million renovation in 2022, which involved upgrades to the lobby, a new fitness center, and "Move-in ready" suites, which was planned by Brookfield Properties and completed in 2022 by Rand Construction Corporation.[121]
The entire Baltimore Center mixed-use complex, which includes the Harborplace Tower, The Gallery and the Renaissance Hotel, had become the 21st tallest building in Baltimore.[105]
The Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel is adjacent to The Gallery at Harborplace and Harborplace Tower. Unlike both structures, which are managed and owned by Brookfield Properties, the hotel, while adjacent, has separate ownership and is currently owned and managed by The Buccini/Pollin Group (BPG) and PM Hotel Group, respectively.
The hotel has undergone several renovations. One of which include a $4.5 million renovation in 2016 which updated meeting, dining, and event spaces.[123] Another includes a multi-million dollar renovation on the hotel's guest rooms, which occurred in 2019.[124]
The hotel includes an indoor pool, a gym, and dining (Watertable and Starbucks). Some rooms even have harbor views and coffee makers.[125]
The Gallery at Harborplace's interior, as viewed from the third floor, on April 3, 2015, shows Starbucks on the second floor. Fifth floor seen on the top, with the windows covered in curtains.
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