Bromo Seltzer Arts Clock Tower - Baltimore MD
Posted by: 
Don.Morfe
N 39° 17.259 W 076° 37.244
18S E 360224 N 4349950
Baltimore Arts Tower was once known as the Bromo Seltzer Tower. This building is a monument to Captain Isaac Emerson, the imaginative chemist who developed a famous headache remedy, and named it after Mt. Bromo - an active volcano in Java.
Waymark Code: WM15M8Q
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 01/20/2022
Views: 1
Bromo Seltzer Arts Clock Tower is located at 21 South Eutaw St., Baltimore MD 21201
The TEXT on the Historical Sign placed on the building by the Mayor, City of Baltimore:
Baltimore Arts Tower- Once known as the Bromo Seltzer Tower, this building is a monument to Captain Isaac Emerson, the imaginative chemist who developed a famous headache remedy, and named it after Mt. Bromo - an active volcano in Java.
Emerson came to Baltimore in 1881 and promoted his drug by offering free one share of stock in his company for each $60 worth of the remedy bought by a retail druggist. Exactly 34 years later, one of the original shares was worth $4,000. By 1911, the business had so expanded that an 8-story building to house the factory was erected, surmounted by this tower.
The tower, modeled on Italy's Palazzo Vecchio, was designed by Joseph Evans Sperry. When completed in 1911, the building was the tallest in Baltimore, and boasted the world's largest four-dial gravity clock, with faces 24 feet in diameter. Emerson crowned the clock with a flashy memorial to his entrepreneurial genius: a 51-foot, 17-ton replica of the Bromo-Seltzer bottle. Constructed of blue steel and illuminated with 596 lights, the bottle made two revolutions per minute, flashing its beam to seamen as far as 20 miles away. In 1936, when the revolutions caused structural damage, the bottle was removed - to the dismay of some and relief and of others. The bottle and it frame were pounded into 20 tons of scrap metal.
The City acquired the tower in 1967 - $13,000 and 200 volunteers transformed it into Baltimore's first publicly financed arts center.
Group that erected the marker: Erected by the City of Baltimore, William Donald Schaefer, mayor.
The "Official Tourism" URL link to the attraction: [Web Link]
The attraction’s own URL: [Web Link]
Approximate amount of time needed to fully experience the attraction: Up to 1 hour
Transportation options to the attraction: Personal Vehicle or Public Transportation
Hours of Operation: Not listed
Admission Prices: Not listed
|
Visit Instructions:As a suggestion for your visit log, please make every effort to supply a brief-to-detailed note about your experience at the Waymark. If possible also include an image that was taken when you visited the Waymark. Images can be of yourself, a personal Waymarking signature item or just one of general interest that would be of value to others. Sharing your experience helps promote Waymarking and provides a dynamic history of your adventures.