Hello Friends~ I was born and raised in Baltimore and I love our city! One of my favorite pastimes is seeking out its “ghosts”~ things from the past. Here’s what I’ve spotted lately: Baltimore’s old Civil Defense sirens. I used to love to listen to them go off every Monday at 1 pm for their weekly testing. As a child, my brother Mike was terrified by the sound…
…and would run into the house in tears exclaiming “I cry the whistle, Mommy!” Years later, he would confess that he believed that the sounds came from a giant vacuum cleaner descending from the heavens that would surely suck him up. Approximately 112 of these Cold War relics were strategically placed around the city and you can still spot them today. Fran~
Tags: Air Raid Siren, Baltimore Civil Defense, Baltimore History, Civil Defense Sirens, One O'Clock Whistle, Sirens
Tomcat56's Blog 
March 15, 2011 at 5:29 pm |
tom, there is still an active whistle as of March of 2011. I heard it yesterday in downtown Baltimore (3/14/11). Growing up, it seemed they went off everyday at 1pm. I was told we would here them if our city was bombed. I never knew who controlled them, what their exact purpose was, and why the test at 1pm. If you have detailed information, please share. I’m not sure of the location of the active one, but I’m sure I hear it at from the corner of Lombard and Charles streets. Please email me back if you know where I can get more info about their history.
March 15, 2011 at 6:32 pm |
Hi Bill,
Thanks for checking out The Old Line Blog. Here are two links that will give you more information on Baltimore’s Civil Defense system.
http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1995-06-20/news/1995171176_1_sirens-civil-defense-civil-defense-system and http://www2.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=3493
We’ll look into the siren at Charles and Lombard. Hope this helps you out. Tom and Fran
September 12, 2012 at 12:25 am |
The one you hear at Charles and Lombard is located at the top of the Baltimore county sheriff’s office on Saint Paul street.
April 23, 2012 at 9:07 pm |
When I was growing up in Baltimore, all of the fire stations both in and outside of the city tested their sirens at one oclock every day. The Monday 1 PM siren which I think started in the early or mid ’60s had a distinctive wavering wail. It usually went off twice in succession as I recall.
October 21, 2013 at 3:34 pm |
[…] the subject leads me to believe that this is in fact one of the many strange things about our city. Also, there are supposedly 112 of them. (Not a primary source, there, but there’s a picture of it.) I don’t remember hearing […]