Baltimore City Paper celebrates its 30th anniversary this year. In 1977, Johns Hopkins University graduates Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch founded the publication, then named City Squeeze. Over the ensuing years, the paper evolved from monthly to bi-weekly to weekly, switched back and forth between free distribution and paid distribution before finally settling on free distribution as it is today. At the same time, its circulation has grown from 20,000 copies in the late ’70s to an ABC audited 86,500 copies, distributed at over 1,700 locations throughout the Baltimore metro. Over the past decade, Citypaper.com has extended the paper’s reach even further throughout the community and beyond.

Since its earliest days, City Paper has been an important voice in Baltimore — from the city’s most comprehensive calendar of events to complete coverage of the arts to featuring some of the best news and feature reporting Baltimore has to offer. The paper has also launched and featured dozens of the area’s brightest and most talented writers, artists, photographers, illustrators, cartoonists, and designers. Throughout its 30-year history, City Paper has won countless awards for writing, design, and advertising.

Since September 1987, City Paper has been owned by the Lynett/Haggerty families, aka Times/Shamrock Communications.

City Paper’s 30th anniversary edition will be available throughout Baltimore on Wednesday, August 1.