Thames Street at Broadway - Fell's Point

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=60 BGCOLOR="#006699" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>THAMES STREET AT BROADWAY</U></B></div> <div> <B><U>FELL'S POINT</U></B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#336666" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cape May Docking Dar Pormoza at Fells Po"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tarpon Springs Sponge Docks"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> <A HREF="id6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE=" 16 x 20 Pen Ink"><U><B>Return to 16" x 20" pen and ink page</B></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=420 BGCOLOR="#DDDDDD" TEXT="#080000"> <div>   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>           </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>In 1730 William Fell, a carpenter by trade, set sail for Baltimore to join his brother Edward who had prospered in land purchases on the east side of Jones Falls adjacent to Baltimore town to the west.  Soon after his arrival in Jones Town William purchased a 100 acre tract of land nearby which he named Fell's Prospect and started a small shipyard in the area of what is now Lancaster Street .  Within a decade the area, now generally known as Fell's Point, began to prosper as a growing shipbuilding center developed along Thames Street.  Early shipbuilders such as Mark Alexander and George Wells thrived along Thames Street in the vicinity of Caroline and Bond Streets.  The importance of Fell's Point was to come to the forefront with the Revolutionary War and within four months Fell' Point shipbuilders had produced two ships for the Continental Navy and over 40 fast schooners for local merchants to serve as privateers, a very profitable, but risky, business.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>By the end of the war Fell's Point was permanently established a major shipbuilding community.  On March 27, 1794, Congress authorized the construction of six frigates; three 44 gun ships (one of which was the </B><B>Constitution</B><B> now at the Boston Naval yard), and three 36 gun frigates.  The 36 gun frigates to be built were the </B><B>Constellation</B><B> to be build at Baltimore, the </B><B>Congress</B><B> to be built at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and the </B><B>United States</B><B> to be built at Philadelphia.  The </B><B>U.S.F. Constellation</B><B> was built at the Stodder shipyard at Fell's Point, Maryland between 1794 and 1797.  She was launched September 7, 1797, and was Commissioner on June 26, 1798.  Today, with the shipyards gone, the maritime tradition of Fell's Point still continues with tugboats and visiting ships a common site along the waterfront at the foot of Broadway and Ann Streets at the Broadway Pier.</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>The </B><B>Gazela</B><B>, built in 1883 in Portugal as the </B><B>Gazela Primeiro</B><B>, made her living Cod fishing off the grand Banks of Newfoundland until 1969.  A three masted barkentine, the 177 foot </B><B>Gazela</B><B>, renamed just the </B><B>Gazela</B><B>, now serves as a sail training ship and maritime ambassador for Philadelphia.  The </B><B>Gazela</B><B> has been a regular visitor to Baltimore and Fell's Point since the Bicentennial OPSAIL celebration in July of 1976.</B></div> <div> <B> </B></div> </td> </tr></table></body>