In October 1984, when Ronald Reagan spoke in Baltimore at the dedication of Little Italy’s new Columbus statue, he extolled “the son of a Genoa weaver” as “a man of vision” who turned a “vast wilderness. . . into an economic dynamo.” Reagan complimented the city for developing its Inner Harbor in “that same spirit” and further likened the navigator’s vision to his own as he sailed towards his second term as president.

“America has quit listening to the gloom and doomers,” Reagan said to a crowd of 4,000 that included Mayor William Donald Schaefer, Archbishop William D. Borders and other VIPs. “We’ve left self-doubt and pessimism aside. We’ve reclaimed our heritage, personified by individuals like Christopher Columbus.”