Phoenix Shot Tower

Shot Tower
Phoenix Shot Tower
Phoenix Shot Tower is located in Baltimore
Phoenix Shot Tower
Phoenix Shot Tower is located in Maryland
Phoenix Shot Tower
Phoenix Shot Tower is located in the United States
Phoenix Shot Tower
LocationBaltimore, Maryland
Coordinates39°17′26.6″N 76°36′19.7″W / 39.290722°N 76.605472°W / 39.290722; -76.605472
Built1828
NRHP reference No.69000373[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPOctober 1, 1969
Designated NHLNovember 11, 1971[2]
Designated BCL1975

The Phoenix Shot Tower, also known as the Old Baltimore Shot Tower, is a red brick shot tower, 234.25 feet (71.40 m) tall, located near the downtown, Jonestown (also known later as Old Town), and 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 the "Phoenix Shot Tower", then the "Merchants' Shot Tower", and is also sometimes called the "Old Baltimore Shot Tower".[3] It is the only surviving shot tower among four that existed in Baltimore.[4] The structure was designated a National Historic Landmark on November 11, 1971 and as a local Baltimore City Landmark on October 14, 1975.[2][5]

The Shot Tower lends its name to the nearby Shot Tower/Market Place station on the Baltimore Metro subway system's northeast line. The original basketball team Baltimore Bullets was named in honor of the tower's role in producing shot, as was the team that became the Washington Wizards.[6]

  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b "Phoenix Shot Tower". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference NPS-b29 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Baltimore City and County Mills A-C" (PDF). Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  5. ^ "Baltimore City's Designated Landmark List" (PDF). baltimorecity.gov. Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation Department of Planning. July 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2023.
  6. ^ Vecsey, George (November 12, 1995). "Sports of The Times;Say Goodbye To 'Bullets' As Nickname". The New York Times. Retrieved January 28, 2018.