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The Phoenix Shot Tower, also known as the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, is a red brick shot tower, tall, located near the downtown Baltimore, downtown, Jonestown, Baltimore, Jonestown (also known later as Old Town), and Little Italy, Baltimore, Little Italy communities of East Baltimore, in Maryland. When it was completed in 1828 it was the tallest structure in the United States.
The tower was originally known as the "Phoenix Shot Tower", then the "Merchants' Shot Tower", and now is also sometimes called the "Old Baltimore Shot Tower". It is the only surviving shot tower among four that existed in Baltimore, and was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971. It was designated as a local Baltimore City Landmark on October 14, 1975.
The Shot Tower lends its name to the nearby Shot Tower/Market Place (Metro Subway station), Shot Tower/Market Place station on the Metro Subway (Baltimore), Baltimore Metro subway system's northeast line. Additionally, the original Baltimore Bullets (1944–54), Baltimore Bullets were named in honor of its role in producing shot, as was the team that is now known as the Washington Wizards.
accessed May 6, 2007 using bricks manufactured by the Burns and Russell Company of Baltimore. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Roman Catholic lay leader, wealthiest man in America at that time and the only surviving signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence, laid its cornerstone on 4 July 1828. It was completed the same year. The circular brick structure's walls are thick from the bottom to about up; then they narrow in stages of each, until reaching a thickness of at the top.
National Park Service, accessed May 6, 2007 to produce "drop shot" for muskets. When hardened, dried, and polished, the shot was sorted into 25-pound bags. The annual production was about 100,000 bags of shot,Statement of Significance
at the National Park Service's National Historic Landmark, National Historic Landmark Program website, accessed May 6, 2007 with the capability of doubling that in case of high demand. The tower stopped producing shot in 1892, when a new method of making shot made the tower obsolete. It re-opened for a brief period of production at the beginning of the twentieth century, and then closed for good.''Phoenix Shot Tower''
, Carroll Museums, accessed May 6, 2007
The shot tower was originally owned by the Merchants' Shot Tower Company which closed in 1898."Baltimore (Phoenix) Shot Tower"
National Park Service, accessed May 6, 2007 In 1921 the tower was purchased for $14,500 by the Union Oil Company, which planned to tear it down and put a filling station, gas station in its place. After strong objections by the community, by 1928 enough money had been raised to purchase the tower and present it to the City of Baltimore as one of its first preserved local historic landmarks.
The tower was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971 and a bronze plaque was attached to the tower's brick wall at the base. In the early 1980s, the management, exhibits, and tours were combined with those of the former Peale Museum. In 1985, other historic sites and homes were added to the newly created Baltimore City Life Museums system. The BCLM was closed in 1997, and in 2002 Carroll Museums Inc. was created to manage both the Carroll Mansion and the Shot Tower.
Phoenix Shot Tower
- web page by Carroll Museums, the organization that maintains the tower as a museum
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=phoenix+shot+tower&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.572881,60.46875&ie=UTF8&ll=39.290817,-76.605928&spn=0.008005,0.014763&z=16&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=39.290779,-76.606064&panoid=N4ARw9UO3rZNi_vNdJygDw&cbp=12,102.25225550476045,,0,-24.825581395348827 Phoenix Shot Tower on Google Street View]
Explore Baltimore Heritage - Phoenix Shot Tower
* *, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust {{Maryland museums National Historic Landmarks in Maryland Shot towers Towers completed in 1828 Industry museums in Maryland Museums in Baltimore Downtown Baltimore Historic American Buildings Survey in Baltimore Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore 1828 establishments in Maryland Baltimore City Landmarks
Design
The tower was built by Jacob Wolfe"An Engineer's Guide to Baltimore: Phoenix Shot Tower"accessed May 6, 2007 using bricks manufactured by the Burns and Russell Company of Baltimore. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, a Roman Catholic lay leader, wealthiest man in America at that time and the only surviving signer of the United States Declaration of Independence, Declaration of Independence, laid its cornerstone on 4 July 1828. It was completed the same year. The circular brick structure's walls are thick from the bottom to about up; then they narrow in stages of each, until reaching a thickness of at the top.
Production
Molten lead was dropped from a platform at the top of the tower, through a sieve-like device, into a vat of cold water at the bottom of the tower"Shot Tower"National Park Service, accessed May 6, 2007 to produce "drop shot" for muskets. When hardened, dried, and polished, the shot was sorted into 25-pound bags. The annual production was about 100,000 bags of shot,Statement of Significance
at the National Park Service's National Historic Landmark, National Historic Landmark Program website, accessed May 6, 2007 with the capability of doubling that in case of high demand. The tower stopped producing shot in 1892, when a new method of making shot made the tower obsolete. It re-opened for a brief period of production at the beginning of the twentieth century, and then closed for good.''Phoenix Shot Tower''
, Carroll Museums, accessed May 6, 2007
History
The tower remained the List of tallest buildings in the United States, tallest structure in the United States until 1846, when Trinity Church, New York on Wall Street was erected, and the List of tallest buildings in Baltimore, tallest in Baltimore until the completion of the spire of the First Presbyterian Church and Manse (Baltimore, Maryland), First Presbyterian Church at West Madison Street and Park Avenue in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon-Belvedere neighborhood in 1875.
The shot tower was originally owned by the Merchants' Shot Tower Company which closed in 1898."Baltimore (Phoenix) Shot Tower"National Park Service, accessed May 6, 2007 In 1921 the tower was purchased for $14,500 by the Union Oil Company, which planned to tear it down and put a filling station, gas station in its place. After strong objections by the community, by 1928 enough money had been raised to purchase the tower and present it to the City of Baltimore as one of its first preserved local historic landmarks.
The tower was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971 and a bronze plaque was attached to the tower's brick wall at the base. In the early 1980s, the management, exhibits, and tours were combined with those of the former Peale Museum. In 1985, other historic sites and homes were added to the newly created Baltimore City Life Museums system. The BCLM was closed in 1997, and in 2002 Carroll Museums Inc. was created to manage both the Carroll Mansion and the Shot Tower.
References
External links
Phoenix Shot Tower
- web page by Carroll Museums, the organization that maintains the tower as a museum
*[https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=phoenix+shot+tower&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.572881,60.46875&ie=UTF8&ll=39.290817,-76.605928&spn=0.008005,0.014763&z=16&iwloc=addr&layer=c&cbll=39.290779,-76.606064&panoid=N4ARw9UO3rZNi_vNdJygDw&cbp=12,102.25225550476045,,0,-24.825581395348827 Phoenix Shot Tower on Google Street View]
Explore Baltimore Heritage - Phoenix Shot Tower
* *, including undated photo, at Maryland Historical Trust {{Maryland museums National Historic Landmarks in Maryland Shot towers Towers completed in 1828 Industry museums in Maryland Museums in Baltimore Downtown Baltimore Historic American Buildings Survey in Baltimore Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Baltimore 1828 establishments in Maryland Baltimore City Landmarks