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The first to answer the call..

Whitman, Requardt & Smith is awarded the nation’s first defense contract, establishing a long-lasting legacy of serving the military.

Optimism and tumult collide..

The year 1940 ushers in an era of dramatic innovation, deep-rooted patriotism and a world-changing conflict.

WRA rides Rockefeller's rails to notoriety..

In 1915, the fledgling firm designed the Western Maryland Rail Bridge to tame the region's treacherous, rocky terrain.

Millionaire John D. Rockefeller buys a Maryland railroad..

Railways emerges as the fastest, most efficient means to move people and goods. For some, they were also quite profitable.

Ezra Whitman spearheads the design of the Montebello Water Filtration Plant. .

Called one of the "most important undertakings in the history of the city" by Mayor Preston, the plant supplies clean water to thousands—helping to eliminate Typhoid.

Typhoid, the urban scourge..

Like many booming American cities in the early 1900s, Baltimore faces the threat of crippling outbreaks due to poor sanitation and pest infestations.

This isn’t our legacy. It’s our blueprint..

While we’re proud of the last 100 years, we’re ready to embark on a new century of challenges, innovation, and human triumphs.

Let’s get building.

Surveyor Gustav Requardt helps with the rebuilding of the underground sewer system after the fire. .

Upon completion, Requardt and others who worked on the project are served lunch in a diversion tunnel—with the mayor.

In 1904, Baltimore burns to the ground..

The Great Baltimore Fire rages for two days, destroying more than 1,500 buildings and causing the present-day equivalent of $4 billion in damages.