William Donald Schaefer Building

William Donald Schaefer Building
The William Donald Schaefer Building is the fourth-tallest building in Baltimore.
Map
General information
Location6 St. Paul St (northwest corner, E Baltimore St and St. Paul Street), Baltimore, Maryland, US
Coordinates39°17′23″N 76°36′51″W / 39.2898°N 76.6141°W / 39.2898; -76.6141
Completed1986
Opening1992
Height
Antenna spire590 ft (180 m)
Roof493 ft (150 m)
Technical details
Floor count37
Floor area305,394 sq ft (28,372.0 m2)[1]
Design and construction
DeveloperMaryland Department of General Services
References
[2][3]

The William Donald Schaefer Building (a.k.a. William Donald Schaefer Tower or simply Schaefer Tower, previously known as Merritt Tower) is the fourth-tallest building in the City of Baltimore, Maryland, located at 6 St. Paul Street. Originally completed by Merritt Savings and Loan in 1986 and later re-opened under state management in 1992,[3] the building rises 37 floors and 493 feet (150 m) in height.[2] Office space constitutes the lower 29 floors, housing more than 1,100 employees in 14 state agencies. The nine upper floors are unoccupied, containing a maintenance area, cement staircase, a ladder to the rooftop deck and then an eight-floor spiral staircase leading to the top of the spire and the flagpole.[4]

The flagpole atop the building reaches to 590 feet (180 m), higher than any building in the state.[5] The flags flown from the tower's poles are (by order of former Governor Martin O'Malley) a large and noticeable Star-Spangled Banner flag (a recreation of that flown over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812); and a smaller Maryland state flag. Both are usually clearly visible throughout the downtown area and most of the city.[5]

The iconic building was renamed for William Donald Schaefer (1921–2011), who served as the Mayor of Baltimore (1971–1987),[2] Governor of Maryland (1987–1995), and state comptroller (1999–2007).[2]

  1. ^ "William Donald Schaefer Tower". Skyscraper Center. CTBUH. Retrieved 2017-07-19.
  2. ^ a b c d "William Donald Schaefer Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  3. ^ a b "Donald Schaefer Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
  4. ^ Oxenden, Mckenna (25 July 2019). "You asked: What's at the top of that weird spire in Baltimore's skyline? We took a reader up to find out". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  5. ^ a b Rosen, Andy (June 19, 2008). "What's atop the Schaefer Tower?". The Daily Record (Maryland). Retrieved October 28, 2020.