Baltimore: Bank of America Building and William Donald Schaefer Tower
The Bank of America Building (left), originally the Baltimore Trust Building, at 10 Light Street was built in 1929 by Taylor & Fisher and Smith & May. The 505-foot Art Deco tower was Baltimore’s tallest until the Legg Mason Building was completed in 1973. The building‘s exterior is decorated with bird and lion carvings, Maya-style human faces and is capped with a copper and gold roof. The ornate, two-story main banking lobby is highly decorated with mosaic floors designed by Hildreth Meiere, and historic murals by McGill Mackall on historic themes: the Baltimore fire of 1904, and the writing of the National Anthem at the Battle of Baltimore during the War of 1812. Shortly after the Baltimore Trust Company moved into the building in 1929, the bank went into bankruptcy in 1933, followed by receivership in 1935. The New Deal’s Public Works Administration occupied the building until it was bought by the Maryland National Bank in 1961, which was purchased by NationsBank in 1993. NationsBank merged with Bank of America in 1997.
The William Donald Schaefer Tower (right), originally the Merrit Tower, at 6 Saint Paul Place, was completed in 1992. At 493-foot and 37-floors, the tower stands as the third tallest building in Baltimore. he nine upper floors are unoccupied and contain a spiral staircase to the top floor. Its massive flagpole reaches up 690 feet, which would make it the tallest structure, but building height rankings generally do not include antennas and flagpoles. The 305,400-square-foot building began its life as the Merritt Tower, named for Merritt Commercial Savings and Loan, who went bankrupt in 1985. It has also been affectionately referred to as "the finger" by some in the design community. After a successon of owners, the Maryland Department of General Services purchased the building from Chemical Bank of New York for .2 million. The tower was renamed after William Donald Schaefer, who served as the mayor of Baltimore from 1971 until 1986.
Image by wallyg
Download: Click On The Image or Right Click And Save Image as
