10 Light Street
| 10 Light Street | |
|---|---|
| |
| Site Information | |
| Address | 10 Light Street |
| Geo-reference | 39°17′21″N 76°36′51″W / 39.28922°N 76.61411°W |
| Building Data | |
| Building Type | Commercial |
| Architectural Style | Art Deco |
| Design | |
| Architect | Robert E. Lee Taylor |
| Architecture Firm | Taylor and Fisher |
| Construction | |
| Completed | 1929 |
10 Light Street has been known by many names—“Baltimore Trust Company Building,” “Maryland National Bank Building,” “Bank of America Building.” Under any association, this 34-story skyscraper is a striking feature of Baltimore's skyline. Designed by architectural firm Taylor & Fisher, construction took eighteen months. When it was finished in 1929, it was the tallest building in Maryland; in fact, it was the tallest building south of New York City. Fashioned out of Indiana sandstone and local brick over a steel frame, it cost $3 million to build. A fun fact about 10 Light Street: every brick had to be carried on someone’s back because they didn’t use a crane.
Before the Baltimore Trust Company, who financed construction of 10 Light Street, moved into their building, the stock market crashed. They moved in anyway, but by1933, after the company went bankrupt, the building was left vacant The building was used during this time by the New Deal’s Public Works Administration. Since then, it's been occupied by several other banks (Maryland National Bank, Commercial National Bank, Bank of America) and law firms (Semmes, Bowen, & Semmes; Miles & Stockbridge). Today, 10 Light Street is no longer an office building. Plans were put in place in 2012 to convert a majority of the building into 445 residential apartments. A portion of the ground floor has also been converted into a gym facility and is currently being occupied by the FX Studios & Under Armor Performance Center.
Hildreth Meière's mosaic floor in the lobby of 10 Light Street is one of the building's many jewels. The Cosmatesque style that Meière drew from was derived from trends that were popular in Rome during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The figures represent the primary industries in Baltimore at the time, most of which were locomotive.
By Dom Guida
