Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Former names | Bromo-Seltzer Tower (Emerson Drug Company) Baltimore Arts Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| Location | 21 South Eutaw Street at West Lombard Street, (northeast corner), Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°17′15″N 76°37′15″W / 39.2875°N 76.620833°W |
| Construction started | 1907 |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Owner | City of Baltimore |
| Management | Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts (formerly division in Office of the Mayor) |
| Height | |
| Roof | 88 m (289 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 15 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Joseph Evans Sperry (1854-1930) |
|
Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | Joseph Evans Sperry (1854-1930) |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP reference No. | 73002184 |
| Added to NRHP | June 4, 1973 |
The Emerson Tower, also known as the Bromo Tower, is a tall clock tower in Baltimore, Maryland. It has 15 floors and stands 88 meters (289 feet) high. This famous building was built between 1907 and 1911. You can find it in downtown Baltimore at 21 South Eutaw Street.
For a while, from 1911 to 1923, it was the tallest building in Baltimore! A local architect named Joseph Evans Sperry designed it. He created it for Isaac Edward Emerson, who invented a medicine called Bromo-Seltzer. This medicine helped with headaches.
The tower used to be part of the Emerson Drug Company. This company had its main offices and a factory there. They made the Bromo-Seltzer medicine in the factory. Later, the factory building was taken down. A new fire station, the John Steadman Fire Station, was built in its place. This fire station helps protect the west side of downtown Baltimore.
Contents
History of the Bromo Tower
The design of the Bromo Tower was inspired by a famous building in Florence, Italy, called the Palazzo Vecchio. Isaac Emerson saw this building during a trip to Europe in 1900. The tower was the tallest building in Baltimore from 1911 until 1923. The factory part of the building was removed in 1969. A fire station was built there in 1973.
The Giant Clocks
The tower has four large clock faces. You can see them on the 15th floor, facing North, South, East, and West. The Seth Thomas Clock Company made these clocks. They cost about $3,965 when they were new.
The clock faces are made of white glass that lets light through. Instead of regular numbers, they have the letters B-R-O-M-O S-E-L-T-Z-E-R. The Roman numerals are there, but they are harder to see. At night, LED lights make the clock faces glow.
Each clock face is 24 feet (7.3 meters) across. The minute hand is about 12 feet (3.7 meters) long, and the hour hand is about 10 feet (3.0 meters) long. When it was finished, the Bromo Seltzer Tower had the largest four-dial clock in the world that worked by gravity. It was changed to run on electricity in 1975. But in 2017, it was changed back to its original weight-driven system.
The word BROMO reads clockwise around the clock. The word SELTZER reads counterclockwise. This means the letters are in these spots:
- B-10
- R-11
- O-12
- M-1
- O-2
- S-9
- E-8
- L-7
- T-6
- Z-5
- E-4
- R-3
The Spinning Bottle
When it was first built, the tower had a huge Bromo-Seltzer bottle on top. It was 51 feet (15.5 meters) tall and glowed blue. This bottle weighed 20 tons (about 18,100 kilograms). It had 314 lights and a crown on top. On a clear night, you could see it from 20 miles away! The bottle was taken down in 1936 because engineers worried it was too heavy for the tower.
A Home for Artists
The tower was almost empty in 2002. But in 2007, the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, along with some generous people, helped change it. They turned the tower into studios for artists.
Today, the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower is a home for many creative people. You can find artists, writers, videographers, photographers, and poets working there. Often, artists welcome visitors into their studios. You can see their work and even buy original art.
The Baltimore City Fire Department's John F. Steadman Fire Station is located at the base of the tower. This station opened in 1973. It houses several fire department units, including Hazmat 1, Airflex 1, Medic 1, Medic 23, MAC23, Engine 23, and Rescue 1.
Museums in the Tower
In 2015, the Bromo Seltzer History Museum opened. It shows a collection of old Bromo Seltzer bottles. It also has items used to advertise the Emerson Drug Company. In 2017, the Maryland Glass Room was added. This room displays blue glass bottles made by The Maryland Glass Corporation. Isaac Emerson, the inventor of Bromo-Seltzer, owned this company.
The Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. This means it is a very important historical building. It is also part of the Baltimore National Heritage Area.
Visiting the Tower
You can take tours of the Clock Room on Saturdays. Tours are at 11:30 AM, 12:30 PM, 1:30 PM, and 2:30 PM. There is an $8 fee for these tours. You can find more information at Clock Room Tours.
If you want a private tour, you can set one up by making reservations.
The tower also hosts free art openings about every two months. These are great chances to see new art.
The "Sounds of the Tower" event happens every second and fourth Saturday. It starts at 1:00 PM. You can find details on the Sounds of the Tower page.
Images for kids
-
The Bromo-Seltzer Tower around 1920.
See also
In Spanish: Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower para niños
