Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower
| Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower | |
|---|---|
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| Former names | Bromo-Seltzer Tower Baltimore Arts Tower |
| General information | |
| Type | Commercial offices |
| Architectural style | Renaissance Revival |
| Location | 312 West Lombard Street Baltimore, Maryland |
| Coordinates | 39°17′15″N 76°37′15″W / 39.2875°N 76.620833°WCoordinates: 39°17′15″N 76°37′15″W / 39.2875°N 76.620833°W |
| Construction started | 1907 |
| Completed | 1911 |
| Management | Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts |
| Height | |
| Roof | 88 m (289 ft) |
| Technical details | |
| Floor count | 15 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect |
Joseph Evans Sperry |
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Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower
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| Area | 0.1 acres (0.040 ha) |
| Built | 1911 |
| Architect | Joseph Evans Sperry |
| Architectural style | Romanesque |
| NRHP Reference # | 73002184 |
| Added to NRHP | June 4, 1973 |
| References | |
Joseph Evans Sperry
Emerson Tower often referenced as Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower is a 15-story, 88 m (289 ft) skyscraper erected in 1911 at the corner of Eutaw and Lombard Streets in Baltimore, Maryland, designed by Joseph Evans Sperry for Bromo-Seltzer inventor "Captain" Isaac E. Emerson.
It was the tallest building in Baltimore from 1911 until 1923. The design of the tower along with the original factory building at its base was inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy, which was seen by Emerson during a tour of Europe in 1900. Systems engineering for the building's original design was completed by Henry Adams. The factory was demolished in 1969 and replaced with a firehouse.
The building features four clock faces adorning the tower's 15th floor on the North, South, East and West sides. Installed by the Seth Thomas Clock Company at an original cost of US$3,965, they are made of translucent white glass and feature the letters B-R-O-M-O S-E-L-T-Z-E-R, with the Roman numerals being less prominent. The dials, which are illuminated at night with mercury-vapor lamps, are 24 feet (7.3 meters) in diameter, and the minute and hour hands approximately 12 and 10 feet (3.7 and 3.0 meters) in length respectively. Upon its completion, the Bromo Seltzer Tower featured the largest four dial gravity driven clock in the world. Originally driven by weights, the moving parts are now electrically powered. The word BROMO reads clockwise, and SELTZER counterclockwise, which results in the letters being located in the following positions:
The tower originally had a 51 ft (16 m) Bromo-Seltzer bottle, glowing blue and rotating. Weighing 20 tons (18.1 tonnes), it was lined with 314 incandescent light bulbs and topped with a crown on a clear night it could be seen from 20 miles away. The bottle was removed in 1936 because of structural concerns.
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