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| A Kilduff's look at
buildings in Baltimore. ............................................................................................Version 1-1 This page is not intended to be a history of Baltimore architecture. It is simply a look at some of the buildings around town, some lost and some still standing. Buildings that are well known and popular are shown, but lesser known buildings and structures are shown as well. The page order is A to Z, and as I get details on the buildings, it will be updated. .......................................................................................................... As always, comments corrections, suggestions are welcome ! |
| AAA Building Mount
Royal Avenue and Cathedral Street Razed Built in 1917 : Torn down in 1972. Started out as a Peerless Auto showroom. Later it housed the offices of the Automobile Club of Maryland offices. We have much more on Mount Royal Avenue and the old car dealerships on the Cars Link. |
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| American News Baltimore and South Street ( Southwest corner )
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| B & O Building
Charles Street and Baltimore Street ( Northwest Corner ) Still in use - Converted into a hotel. ................... 
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| BBQ Building Dundalk Maryland ......... 
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| The BAR-B-Q Building
is still standing , on Dundalk Avenue, just south of Eastern
Avenue. The building has since been converted into a used car
dealership, and is currently being used. The "BAR-B-Q" lettering
was removed several years ago. |
| BG&E
Building Lexington Street @ Liberty Street Building is still standing and I think it was converted into apartments. There is a lot of development is planned for this area along Lexington Street . .......... 
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....................Baltimore Gas And Electric Building - Circa 1920's................................................................Drawing from BG&E - Late 1920's |
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| Boumi Temple North Charles Street Razed The Boumi Temple on Charles Street at Wyndhurst seemed to be one of those buildings you always saw and figured would be there forever. Situated on a nice parcel of land, away from downtown in a heavy residential area, the building, which spread over acres and had rooms, ballrooms and meeting rooms all over, looked like something out of the Wizard of Oz. The building was razed in the late 1990's as Loyola College built a sports complex on the site. |
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| Bromo
Tower The Giant bottle which had been perched on top was removed in 1936, as it had been developing cracks. The building is still in use, minus the giant bottle on top.The tower was built in 1911 and was the tallest building in Baltimore until the 1930's, towering at 357 feet. The bottle that had been on the top of the building was 51 feet tall, 20 1/2 feet in diameter, and weighed 17 tons. It was designed to revolve at 107 feet a minute, and could be seen for 20 miles, using 596 lights within the bottle and around it. .,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,... 
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Candler Building ( Coca Cola Building ) Also seen called the Chandler Building Still in use The Candler Building is one of the survivors in Downtown Baltimore. Also known as the Coca Cola Building for years ( They had their offices here ) , the building was intended to look like the drawing seen below, but for reasons unknown, as built like the postcard to theleft. The background on the postcard is off, as the Chandler Building, while a bit to the East of most of Downtown's builings, has never stood alone like this card would suggest. The building is still open and appears to be doing quite well today . It was also used for many years as the Social Security Offices, before they moved out to Woodlawn. |
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......................................................................Baltimore's Candler Building |
| Calvert Building Razed The Calvert Building, SE corner of St. Paul and Fayette Streets. Built, 1900, to a design of Sperry, York and Sawyer, it was restored after the 1904 fire and later razed in 1971. |
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| Clifton Hall Druid Hill Avenue A building with quite a history from what I understand, an old meeting hall. These days, it sits sadly neglected and boarded up, but it still stands ! |
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| Baltimore
City Circuit Court House Still in use Recently, there have been complaints about the Circuit Court Building in downtown Baltimore City. It was renovated on the inside a few years back, but the air quality inside has been said to be poor. For now though, there is no talk about replacing the structure, which to this day, along with the " old post office" across the street, continue to serve as Baltimore's Circuit Courthouses. |
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| Then known as the "
new post office " above
right , the main
post office later moved to Fayette Street near
I-83. Baltimore City converted this old building into
Courthouse East, which it is used as to this day. |
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| Baltimore's
City Hall Still in Use |
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| City Pier Fell's
Point Baltimore Still standing ! IfIf you remember the Television show " Homicide ", this was the building of which you were to believe was the Police Headquarters. There is still a Baltimore Police door decal on the front doors from the filming days. However, the building has never been used as a police building except perhaps for a police boat to dock at, and has always been listed as the Recreation Pier. At the foot of Broadway, parking in this area is tough, but the old building is still in nice condition ( on the outside ) , although I've heard rumors the foundation may have some issues. Currently appears to be used by the City. |
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| Civic
Center Liberty and Fayette Streets Opened in the early 1960's. In 1964, there were two performances at the Civic Center by the Beatles. There's more on the Civic Center on Kilduff's Sports Page. The building is actually built on the site of the " old Congress Hall", which held a place in history regarding the Country back in 1776. While it's not used for all of these events, when it opened, promoters were presenting all types of uses for the building, including : auto shows, basketball games, circuses, dances, motion pictures, xylophone recitals and zebra shows. ( I have no idea where they got the last two, but they are listed in the program for the opening of the Civic Center. ) The building is still used quite often, but every few years, talk comes up for replacing it . .................................. 
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Continental Trust Building The Mercantile Trust Building was at One South Calvert Street in Baltimore. It was build in 1901 as the Continental Trust Building. Daniel H. Burnham & Co. were the architects. The building was at the hottest point of the 1904 fire and totally consumed. However, the steel frame survived, allowing the existing structure to be rebuilt. By the year 2000 the building was known as One Calvert Plaza. Burham had been the major architect of the "White City" during the Columbian Exhibition in Chicago in 1892. He later designed the Union Station in Washington, DC. |
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| Fidelity & Deposit Co. If you look carefully at the facade of this building, you can see the outline of the older Fidelity & Deposit Building. The " newer " building was built around the old building. |
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| Fifth Regiment Armory
( and Convention Hall ) West Hoffman & Howard St. Still in use. This neat old building was used for years for the traveling Circus shows , car shows, etc. The roof caught fire years ago, and has since been replaced with a flat one, but the building stands to this day and looks to be in great condition. The Fifth Regiment Armory was built on the site of the old Bolton Estate. |
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| Flatiron Building Circa 1914 II believe this building was located around Key Highway, with this picture being circa 1919. Not quite sure the history of the building, or if it stands today, but found it in an old book but thought it was neat. ................................................................... 
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| Garrett Building |
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.......................................................................................Garrett Building, Baltimore Maryland Circa 1914 |
| Greyhound Bus Station Part of Maryland Historical Society Complex ... 
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Image courtesty of the 1967 Western High School Yearbook. |
| Hansa Haus Charles Street and Redwood Street Converted a bit over the years, this building is still standing to this day. ................................... 
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| Hazazer's
Hall 111 West Franklin Street Razed Had been one of the City's oldest dance halls. Known also as the Maryland Dancing Academy. Also had been used as a Cathlic orphanage. Razed in the mid 1920's, for the building of the new Pratt Library Central Branch. |
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| Industrial Building Greenmount Avenue and Preston Street Apartment Building ,,,,,,,,,,This building was built as a complax of various businesses being put into the same building, sharing resources and commonly being known back in the 1920's as the " beehive building " , for all the activity the various small businesses had within the building. Over the years, the building was converted into housing and still stands to this day. .............................. 
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IOOF Building Hall Druid Hill Avenue When I first saw this building, I thought it was a old bank. Later, I found out it was an old IOOF Meeting hall, but that's all I know about it so far. I have yet to find it mentioned in a book or directory. 
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| Keyser Building
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| Lake Clifton
2801 St Lo Drive , Clifton Park Still Standing !.................................................... |
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| Lake Montebello Pump
House Still in Use ! |
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| Malvern Gas Holder West Cold Spring Lane At I-83 This giant gray tank is actually the Malvern gas holder tank, constructed by BG&E to store gas at times of low usage. There was another tank next to Eastpoint Mall that was torn down a few years back. BG&E gave the tank the name Malvern , to identify it's location. Thanks to Joe for the Info! |
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| Maryland
Casualty 711 West 40th Street The old insurance building seen below was converted in the 1970's to a retail shopping mall. The Maryland Casualty building seen on the right was the Tower Building and a description can be found under the title Tower Building. |
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| Masonic
Temple |
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| Merchants Terminal Building This towering old cold storage warehouse was recently torn down and currently the lot is vacant. During the demolition, you could see the construction of the walls and how well the building was put together. |
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| Monumental
Life Building This builing still stands on the northeast corner of North Charles Street and Chase Street. Rumors are a nearby University is planning to purchase the building.... |
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| Motor
Vehicle Building Guilford and 22nd Street Baltimore's Motor Vehicle branch has just recently moved out of the Mondawmin Mall to the Hilltop Shopping Center on Reisterstown Road at Rogers Avenue. Before being located at Mondawmin Mall, the MVA was located on Guilford Avenue at 22nd Street. The building still stands and is still used by the State. .................. 
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| Mutual Benefit Society
of Baltimore Building 407 West Franklin Street A few years back, I spotted the postcard below on EBAY, and wondered if the building had survived after all these years. To my surprise, not only had it survived, but it had changed very little over all the years. |
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| Munsey Building A photo of Mead, McKim, and White's 1913 Munsey Building at the southeast corner of Calvert and Fayette streets. It was redeveloped into residential use in the late 1990's, and is still standing to this day .. |
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News American Building
( Razed ) The old News American Building survived into the 1980's on Pratt Street. The block was razed for the building of a new hotel. |
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| Oliver Street
Water Treatment Complex Corner of Oliver Street and Wolfe Street ........... 
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| There is much written
about Baltimore's water system, but for some reason I can't find a thing
about an interesting group of buildings located on the southwest corner of
Wolfe and Oliver Streets in East Baltimore. The complex appears to
still be used by the City, and was built in the late 1890's, but that's about
all I know of it so far. The buildings appear in poor condition, with
many of the roofs beginning to fall in. |
| Polish Hall Fairhaven and Filbert Streets South Baltimore Apparently a old meeting hall, the Polish Hall appears to have been getting little use these days. See Kilduff's page for old Firehouses for more information on this building. |
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| Post Offices The City's first post office was built in the 1750's, a very small wood frame building on Front Street ( Below ) , near the location of today's main post office, and was razed many many years ago ! .............................................................................. 
Above, Baltimore's first Post Office. Below, two images are the old post office, built 1890's - razed 1930's. Second row of images are the new old post office, built 1930's - closed 1970's ( Now used by City Circuit Courts ) . Third row of images are the old Post Office garage , on Preston Street , and the last is our current Main Post Office, located on Fayette Street , built in the early 1970's. ......................................................... 
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This stone tablet had been in the side of the old Baltimore Post Office for years, and when the building was torn down, it was moved to Druid Hill Park. |
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The old Post Office repair garage, a odd shaped building on East Preston Street. |
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| Riverside Power Generating Plant ........................... 
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| Roland
Park Water Tower Roland Avenue and University Parkway. The landmark for Roland Park, it has been vacant but in good condition for years. ............................................................................................... 
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Below, Baltimore's "other " water tower, just off of Garrison
Avenue in Northwest Baltimore City, which is not in such
good condition these days. .......................................... 
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................................................................................South Baltimore's water tower. |
| Scottish Rite
Memorial North Charles Street & 39th Street |
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| Shot Tower 801 East Fayette Street .............................................................................................. 
Opened in 1828 , as the Phoenix Shot Tower.There were actually three such shot towers in Baltimore, one which I believe had been on Gay Street, and the other still a mystery. It stands 234 feet high, is made of over a million bricks, was built from the inside, and was used until 1892.It sat abandoned for years and there was even talk about tearing it down, but it was saved. There are believed to be several other old shot towers somewhere around the Country still standing as well ( On one survey, I found shot towers still standing in Philadelphia , <the Sparks, perhaps the oldest>, Wythe County Virginia < Jackson Ferry Shot Tower >, Dubuque Iowa, Iowa County Wisconsin and King's Mill Ohio < Peter's Shot Tower > . There are also several around the world, in England, Germany and Australia) . Baltimore's Shot Tower has also gone under the name of the Merchants Shot Tower and Baltimore Shot Tower. |
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| Standard Oil Building St Paul Street, just south of Centre Street Nice old building, since converted into apartments. |
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| State Office Complex Howard Street near Preston Street Below are the plans of the State Office Complex, designed in the 1950's . The final buildings weren't far from what was planned, but additions over the years have made the complex a bit larger, and there are plans to make it bigger in the future as well. ............................ 
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| St Mary's Seminary |
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| Sun Building Charles and Baltimore Streets First building ( below ) burned down in the 1904 Baltimore Fire. Second building ( right and below right ) razed in the 1960's for Charles Center. Present building - Far below , currently standing ( on the site of the old Calvert Street train station on Calvert Street , just south of Centre Street . |
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| Tickner Building
Pennsylvania Avenue @ North Avenue ( Northwest Corner ) An old funeral home, the building is used by several small businesses and offices on the upper floors. |
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| Tower
Building Baltimore Street At Guilford Avenue ( Northwest Corner ) Below, the Tower Building going up on East Baltimore Street, around 1910. The grand old building would last until the 1980's, when it was torn down. In my mind, the Tower Building was perhaps the most attractive building in the Baltimore skyline. . |
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AA 1980's look at the
Tower Building , during "deconstruction" . There
was a lot of talk about the fate of the clock back then,
but I'm not quite sure what ever happened to it.
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....////////////////////////////////..... Looking out over the City skyline, one can clearly see the Tower Building. |
| Trailways
Bus Station West Fayette Street Getting ready to get razed. ( 2009 ) ............. 
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| Union
Bus Terminal Liberty and Redwood Streets It appears that the Civic Center was built right on top of the intersection. That sports arena, now known as the First Mariner Sports Arena appears to be getting ready for change, as talks are in the works of replacing or rebuilding the old Civic Center. No signs of the old Union Bus Terminal exist to this day. According to one older city guide, the terminal was the first of it's kind in the East, containing a large waiting room , ticket office, lunch and soda counter. Bus lines that you could find here included : Washington Motor Coach Company - to DC. Red Star Line - Philadelphia and Newark Delaware. People's Rapid Transit Company - Philadelphia, New York, Atlantic City , and Glasgow Delaware. Blue Ridge Transportation Company - Frederick, Hagerstown, Cumberland, Western Maryland, with points served in Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia as well. Conaway Motor Lines - Westminster, Taneytown, and Emmittsburg. McMahon Transportation Company - Hanover, Pa. Lake Shore Line - Glen Burnie, Gibson Island. Palace Coach Lines - New York, Valley Forge Pa. Gibson Island Club Coach - Gibson Island. Gray Line - Sightseeing and Tours. |
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| Union Trust Building Baltimore And St Paul Streets |
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| USF&G Building
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| W.B.&A . Terminal Liberty Street south of Lexington Street ............................... 
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| Walters Art Gallery |
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| Water Street Garage | ........................
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| Westerogle Building |
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| Westport Power Plant Recently razed, but we'll have more on this one soon ............................................... 
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