Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower

Art gallery · Baltimore

Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower

Art gallery · Baltimore

21 S Eutaw St UNIT 1002, Baltimore, MD 21201

Highlights

The Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower, a historic Baltimore landmark, blends artist studios and a captivating clock tower, offering tours and inspiring creativity.

21 S Eutaw St UNIT 1002, Baltimore, MD 21201 Get directions

bromoseltzertower.com

@bromotower

@onthegrid

"The beacon of the city's skyline, this free-standing tower is a Baltimore icon. It was built in 1911 and modeled after the historic Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy. Outside, the clock is often lit in different colors to support the home sports teams, but inside is where it's at: a bevy of artists are in residence here. Every Saturday, guests can explore their studios, which amounts to 15 floors of performance, visual and literary art, for free. While there, visitors can take a tour of the clock's inner workings and enjoy the city views from way up high." - Exit10

On the Grid : Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower

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@atlasobscura

"Isaac E. Emerson, the father of the modern headache cure, had a flair for marketing. This 15-story tower was his magnum opus. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, Emerson settled in Baltimore, where he developed his headache remedy in 1888. Bromo-Seltzer was one of the first antacids and, like the seltzers of today, was sold in pills to be dissolved in water. Used to treat headaches, heartburn, indigestion, and—perhaps most commonly—hangovers, the wildly popular product swiftly made Emerson a fortune. (Part of the seltzer’s effectiveness was due to its heavy, no-longer-FDA-approved concentration of bromides, which are a class of sedatives in the tranquilizer family.) Emerson was a savvy businessman in addition to a talented inventor, and understood the importance of advertising. He embraced print and radio promotions and used his company’s factory building (which has since become a fire station) as a conspicuous and permanent 3D billboard, erecting the Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower next to the building. The tower’s main attraction is the massive clocktower, with a clock face on each of its four sides. Each is made of white glass and the numeral placements spell out B-R-O-M-O when read clockwise and S-E-L-T-Z-E-R when read counterclockwise. The clocktower was originally capped by a rotating, blue, 20-ton, 51-foot Bromo-Seltzer bottle. This flashy topper was removed in the 1920s, as it became clear that the base would be unable to support its weight. In recent years, the tower has been repurposed as a collection of rental spaces and artist’s studios. The clocktower, with its expansive views of the city, is open for tours. The museum houses the largest cobalt blue glass bottles used to bottle the headache cure." - ATLAS_OBSCURA

Off-Centered Ale Trail: Baltimore

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@atlasobscura

19 Amazing Clock Towers

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Alyssa

Google

At the Bromo-Seltzer tower, you can hear the echoes of the past ringing loud and clear. Of the many artworks on display in the building, one artist brings visuals of bright jazz music to mingle with those echoes of clinking cobalt and heavy machinery. Although some notable aspects of the museum (honestly, the whole building is a museum in a way) were out of commission this visit due to inspections and repairs, I can imagine how incredible this attraction would be in full swing - bold sculptures in the lobby, the clock ticking away, the hand elevator working with an operator at the ready dressed in period garb, drinks in the clock tower at night, ringing in the New Year, secret tours to the extra levels above the clock. Okay, so they don't do the last few in the list according to the docents, but wouldn't it be cool? A girl can dream! Still, it was fun to see the art, clock and machinery and to learn about the history of the factory from the friendly docents. This is a place to come back to over and over again.

TJ Da DJ TV

Google

One of Baltimore's underrated landmarks! This tower defines helps everyone within a distance from it, answer,z "What time is it?" They do offer tours in the tower for $8. The building is only open to the public for 2 days a week. It is notnly a museum, but, home for a handful of local creators. Ad, this is a house of studios for artist to create! On the way down the stairwell, their works are up on the walls. This makes thie Bromo Seltzer Arts Towrr a great place to inspire other local creators!

Akshaya Bhagavathula

Google

The Emerson Bromo-Seltzer Tower has been a Baltimore landmark since its construction in 1911 as the tallest building in the city. The tower was built by Capt. Isaac Emerson, the inventor of the headache remedy Bromo-Seltzer, and designed by Joseph Evans Sperry (also designer of the Brewers Exchange). It once adjoined Emerson's Bromo-Seltzer factory, but the factory is no longer standing. The most interesting feature is the still-functioning tower clock, the face of which displays the word BROMO-SELTZER instead of numbers. Modeled on the tower of the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the tower was topped by a 51-foot revolving replica of the blue Bromo-Seltzer bottle. The bottle was illuminated with 596 lights and could be seen 20 miles away. Unfortunately, the bottle was removed in 1936 due to structural concerns. To the chagrin of many locals (including several Baltimore Sun editorial writers), it has not yet been replaced.

Devon the Divine Solar Child

Google

Baltimore's Most Curious Landmark, The Baltimore office of promotion and the arts along with philanthropist Eddie and Sylvia Brown have transformed the historic Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower into artist studios. The Tower is the workspace for a variety of creative artists ,writers, videographers photographers, poets and more throughout the day, artist welcome guess into their studios to view and buy original art. Upon its completion in 1911 the Bromo Seltzer Tower featured the largest four dial gravity driven clock in the world. Group tours available by prior reservation. Call 443-874-3596 , The clock room is not handicapped accessible. Elevators available to the 15th floor. Recently restored to the original weight driven mechanism. The location of this Landmark is 21 South Eutaw Street ,Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Margarita-Photography

Google

My wedding couple wanted a unique place to take their engagement photos so I recommended the Seltzer Tower, it did not disappoint! This was the first time that I had photographed here and it was a lot of fun being in such an interesting space. The staff was super nice and did a great job explaining everything. Two things to keep in mind if you are thinking about choosing this for photography. There is no AC so I would reconsider summer months and it is LOUD. So if you have any hearing impairment it could be difficult to communicate properly in this space. This is a location you need to reserve ahead of time.

SP Haynes

Google

Waiting for the start of a nasty-weather game at M&T Bank Stadium, we decided to explore the clock tower and art galleries. It was fun. The clock, which is over 100 y.o. with faces in four directions, is fascinating to see. The cost was $8 per person. There were only two artists (that we saw, at least) but they both took time to describe their work and techniques. Nice!

Rob Schimmel

Google

This visit was very worthwhile. According to the sign on the street, the clock tower ‘tour’ runs from 11 am to 4pm on Saturday only. It was minimally priced. As a senior I paid only $6. The charm of the building starts with the elevator floor dial. It’s one of those arched dials with a pointer that move to show you what’s floor the elevator is at. The clock tower is just above the 15th floor, and the Bromo Seltzer museum on that floor is very interesting. The star of the show is the clock tower room. What I first noticed was the clacking of the relays that control the elevators. In this digital electronics age, it was a blast to see an old fashioned relay panel (at least it was to me). There are also the old Otis motors running the elevators. The clock mechanism is pretty amazing. Driven by weights and regulated by a pendulum, the intricate drive turns the hands on four dials simultaneously. The guide said that the clock advances two seconds for every swing of the pendulum. The frosted glass dials are held in by massive clamps, which look like they can be removed to do maintenance on the clock hands. You also see the led floods that back illuminate the dials at night. And finally, you can walk down the stairway to see informal exhibits of the resident artists’ works. All in all, a worthwhile hour-and-a-half on a Saturday morning.

Catherine Waters

Google

The self-guided tour of the tower with both art galleries and the clockworks is a definite hidden gem in downtown Baltimore. A 3 room exhibit on the top floor houses a museum of Emerson Drug company history, advertising, and the iconic blue bottles. Views of the downtown area are nice from the 15th floor. The one thing this site lacks is a gift shop, but the stairwell art exhibits and guides in both the museum rooms and clockwork room make up for it. A nice hour or so worth of nostalgia with a uniquely Baltimore twist. Take the elevator or make the 15 floor climb to the top, but note that the clockworks room is accessed only by a ship's ladder style staircase, so there is no handicapped access to the clockworks room.