Carr Lowrey Glass Company (1889–2003) was a manufacturer of glass bottles.

Establishment

Carr Lowrey Glass Company founded in

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in 1889. Located on the Middle Branch of the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River ( ) mainstem is a river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore. With its South Branch, the Patapsco forms the northern border of Howar ...

in a neighborhood named Westport, Samuel Carr and William Lowrey established their company to create glass bottles for the pharmaceutical and perfume industries. As seen from the locally famous Hanover Street Bridge, just west of Fort McHenry, you could see the towering smoke stacks and piles of discarded blue glass the factory. Their company grew over the years as they were one of the first companies to utilize an "IS Machine," a machine that had individual sections that were timed to automatically blow and move the bottles to a conveyor system. In 1944, they were acquired by the Anchor-Hocking Glass Company. During this time, the company experienced major expansion. Carr-Lowrey was one of the producers of the famous Avon bottles that were shaped like cars, planes, animals, and also white glass shampoo bottles for

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, as well as facial cream bottles for

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Plastic bottles

As the global economy moved toward plastic bottles after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company's began to see fewer orders. To make matters worse, the company's glorified 6-Tank was shut down during a strike and was never restarted. Ownership of the company changed hands several times as the company struggled to find its niche. Moreover, Carr Lowrey had formidable competition in New Jersey with Wheaton Glass and from foreign companies such as St. Gobain in France and Rocco Bormioli in Italy. St. Gobain eventually opened a plant in Georgia, which spelled doom for Carr-Lowrey. The Abell Foundation, a local Baltimore philanthropy, loaned Carr-Lowrey money in an effort to keep an historic business in Baltimore alive. Unfortunately, Carr-Lowrey was never able to remain profitable and eventually closed its doors in 2003.

Rebirth

The image of Baltimore as a rusting industrial city seems to be fading. The city's downtown is now vibrant with activity from financial companies and bio-technology from nearby

Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...

and the University of Maryland at Baltimore. With this rebirth of the city, the waterfront property in and around town has become desired property for developers. The land once occupied by Carr-Lowrey Glass Company is now slated for waterfront housing. With Baltimore's Light Rail running right next to the property, a nearby exit to I-95, and a main road straight into downtown, the former Carr-Lowrey Glass Company site is considered by many an ideal place for residential and commercial development. In 2004, Patrick Turner, owner of Turner Development Company, purchased the property once occupied by Carr Lowrey. He soon purchased the electric generating plant next door that was owned by Baltimore Gas & Electric.

References

{{Glass makers and brands Defunct glassmaking companies Defunct companies based in Baltimore Manufacturing companies established in 1889 1889 establishments in Maryland Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2003 2003 disestablishments in Maryland