Begun in 1970, the Baltimore City Fair was held annually each September as an urban counterpart to county Fairs held throughout Maryland. Until 1984, the fair was held in various venues in the Charles Center-Inner Harbor area.

In 1985, it was moved to a site beneath the Jones Falls Expressway. After four years it returned to the Inner Harbor then into Festival Hall for its twentieth year. A last City Fair was held at Memorial Stadium in 1991, but the organization and the tradition ended when the next year’s fair was cancelled.