A night view of Baltimore's City Hall, its dome and facade picked out with strings of lights while the surrounding blocks and street stay dark. The camera looks down from an elevated vantage point, so the lit tower rises alone above the shadowed rooftops.
The building, finished in the 1870s, was the seat of city government and a natural backdrop for public celebration. Flooding a civic landmark with electric bulbs was still a spectacle in the first decade of the 1900s, and night views like this one were sold as souvenirs of the event.
Postcard Details
Message · English, in pen
Hampstead Md
June 30/09
Well Dear I will
write real-real soon
ha ha 'oh,' That smell
factory, many thanks
for your pretty cards
hoping you are not
angry at this yours
old [illegible] friend
Heavy creases, scratches, and a reddish stain; no white border; real photo.
Postmark: HAMPSTEAD JUL 1 1909 MD. Divided-back National Art Company card; handwritten dateline 'Hampstead Md June 30/09'. Heavy brown stain down the center, creases and worn corners.
Cite this card
City Hall illuminated, Baltimore, MD, 1909, postcard, c. 1909. PostalPast Collection. https://postalpast.com/postcard/city-hall-illuminated-baltimore-md-1909. Accessed November 2, 2026.
