National Register of Historic Places

Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower

Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland
Listed
June 3, 1973
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
73002184

About this property

The Emerson Tower (often called the Bromo-Seltzer Tower or the Bromo Tower) is a 15-story, 88 m (289 ft) clock tower in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. Erected in 1907–1911 at 21 South Eutaw Street, at the northeast corner of Eutaw and West Lombard Streets, it was the tallest building in the city from 1911 to 1923, when it was supplanted by the Citizens National Bank building. It was designed by local architect Joseph Evans Sperry (1854–1930) for Isaac Edward Emerson (1859–1931), who invented the Bromo-Seltzer headache remedy. For years, the landmark tower was surrounded by and part of the Emerson Drug Company with its office headquarters and manufacturing plant for the carbonated headache pain relief tablets or powder Bromo-Seltzer. Later, the Emerson building around it was razed and replaced by the Baltimore City Fire Department's John Steadman Fire Station, which serves the west side of downtown Baltimore. The Steadman Station combined several earlier engine and truck companies in firehouses on the west side. Built in the Brutalist architecture style of poured concrete, the station has lines echoing the surviving tower to its south and west.

Location

312-318 Lombard St.
Baltimore (Independent City), Baltimore County, Maryland
39.28792, -76.62043

Categories

COMMERCEINDUSTRYARCHITECTUREHEALTH/MEDICINE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

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Questions about this property

When was Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower listed on the National Register?

Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 3, 1973.

What type of historic resource is Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower?

Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower?

The period of significance for Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower is recorded as the industrial era.

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