Inner Harbor Market
Throughout the 20th century, Arabbers woke up before dawn, mounted their horses and wagons, and rode down to Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. There, they purchased produce in bulk to resell it to their customers around the city.[1] Although downtown Baltimore was an active business district, it was under-utilized and rundown.[2] To ramp up commercialization and tourism, Baltimore’s mayor, William Schaefer approved Harborplace, a $260 million, 30-year development plan to revitalize downtown around the harbor.[3] First the area was cleared. The harbor market relocated to Jessup, Maryland, thirty minutes by car from the city.
This move benefitted large suburban grocery stores. The new Jessup market could accommodate large trucks moving large orders. But this shift was devastating to the Arabbers. No longer able to arrive at the market in a horse drawn wagon, Arabbers had to acquire trucks and other vehicles large enough to carry boxes of produce. They had to make a 30-minute commute to pick up the produce, and return with it to the stables early enough to meet customers’ expectations. Smaller stables typically designated one driver to make the trip for all the Arabbers associated with that stable.[4] The move of the wholesale market changed the Arabbers labor practices, impacted distribution, and lengthened their work day. Unsurprisingly, the relocation of the harbor market caused a severe decline in the number and reach of Arabbers.
[1] The Film Foundry, Inc. We Are Arabbers, DVD, (2005).
[2] Thrift and Childs, “Baltimore Markets,” 119.
[3] Nugent and Cooper, “The Symbol of a City’s Dream?” T1.
[4] Camp, “The Arabber’s World,” 7.