Businesses are leaving downtown Baltimore, and it’s a troubling trend.
The Sheraton Hotel, a key fixture of the Inner Harbor, just closed its doors, leaving 69 people jobless.
Morton’s Steakhouse, located in the same building, has also shut its doors.
Economist Anirban Basu attributes the closures to a lingering perception of downtown as unsafe, deterring visitors.
The crime rate dropped last year, apparently to a historic low after fifty years. However, they had seven homicides in the first 16 days of this year. The drop in crime doesn’t seem to be sustainable.
Once-thriving businesses like H&M, PF Chang’s, and The Fudgery have also closed.
Economist Anirban Basu explained that the city’s focus on developing areas outside the downtown district has contributed to the decline. At the same time, the city’s economy isn’t growing.
Residents say everything is very expensive.
Next week, The Cheesecake Factory, a staple of the Inner Harbor for 30 years, will also be shutting its doors.
Basu emphasized the importance of revitalizing the area.
“We just cannot give up on the central district. We need to find a way to grow the city’s economy and bring the historic central business district into it,” he said.
Downtown Baltimore is witnessing a troubling trend as businesses continue to close, leaving employees without jobs and residents without essential services.
The latest casualty is the Sheraton Hotel, a key fixture of the Inner Harbor, which has left 69 employees jobless.… pic.twitter.com/PagIL8uW9J
— FOX Baltimore (@FOXBaltimore) January 17, 2026
It Gets Worse for Baltimore
The schools are failing.
Recent analyses reveal that 23 schools in Baltimore City reported zero students proficient in math, according to the Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP) results.
This shocking statistic highlights a broader trend of educational failure within the district, where only 7% of third through eighth graders tested proficient in math.
In some high schools, nearly 75% of students scored at the lowest possible level on state exams, raising serious concerns about the quality of education being provided.
How can this go on without people voting in some decent leadership who are willing and able to change the trajectory? This is criminal in a country like this. What a disaster for the children. If they can’t succeed in basic skills, they will end up in trouble. It can’t be blamed on white people. Democrats, and mostly minorities, run the city.
Crime is down because nothing is a crime anymore.
Downtown Baltimore is dangerous and people know it.