Shot Tower

Also known as The Old Baltimore Shot Tower, the tower was built in 1828 and is 215 + feet tall. The cornerstone was set by Maryland Patriot Charles Carroll of Carrollton. It is entirely made of 1.1 million bricks. It was the tallest building in the US until 1846. Annually, 2.5 million pounds of «drop» shot, used for small game hunting, was made in the tower until 1892. They offer a short film about shot towers in general.

Well, that was lame. Nice noticeable landmark that we walked to and it was completely closed up. I should have checked the hours, but they’re so darned limited anyway that it’s useless for most.
Erected in 1828 for making shot. Molten lead, poured through a sieve at the top, dropped into a tank of water inside the base. Height 234 feet, 3 inches. Diameter at base 40 feet. At top 20 feet. Owned by the City of Baltimore.

I LOVE the Shot Tower and wanted to take my daughter inside, as we always drive by the tower on our way up I-​83. We did stop by the Tower, but were not able to go in. After a few minutes of searching on the web (it was not an easy find), I learned the Tower is now operated by Carol Museums and that tours are only on SAT and SUN at 4pm! I will have to make it a point to get my daughter downtown on the weekend soon!

Good morning Baltimore
Every day’s like an open door
— From the musical Hairspray
Baltimoreans, Washingtonians and historians looking for something off the beaten path should look no further. I am NOT talking about walking by the Phoenix Shot Tower, but I AM talking about making arrangements to step foot INTO the iconic brick structure.
What’s that? You didn’t know that you could step foot inside? I’ve not seen the other reviewers mention touring the tower and I’ve heard of people living nearby for over a decade without a spark of curiosity of how to get into towering oddity.
Before you get TOO excited, know that you’re limited to just two floors out of the 234.25 ft space. You do, however, get to quench your thirst of the unknown and you get to taste what your in inquiring mind was hungry for. Some might see dusty floors, naked aging brick, wooden steps and oil stained floors from the days of Esso. The rest of you will uncover history.
How you can tour: Contact the museum to arrange a Saturday or Sunday tour. You’ll assemble at the Carroll Mansion and you’ll walk towards the tower with your docent. Admission is $ 5…and it will hopefully go towards paying the lighting bill before winter. Temporary power was supplied by Apple iPhone 4s on my group’s visit.
As Tracy Turnblad from Hairspray once sang, «Good morning Baltimore… every day is like an open door.» So now it’s up to you to use the key.

Are you feeling like having an urban adventure? Then this is your place? Right in «downtown» Baltimore. It’s a must see city monument. Please visit it during the day as in the evenings the area gets a little sketchy.

If I had a billion dollars I would buy the shot tower! I don’t really know how much it costs but like many other iconic and historical structures in Baltimore, it is for sale. If one of my Unilocal friends makes the purchase then I better get an invite to a shot tower party. I will help with the theme and everything! We can pretend we’re making bullets and take it back in time when they really did that stuff or we can serve shots!

I never knew what this structure was for the longest time. It always stands out though as I have walked and jogged by the area. I think it is a cool history that it was used to make ammunition during the revolutionary war. How cool is that? It’s definitely worth walking by.

I walked over to Shot Tower while waiting for a table at Miss Shirley’s this past weekend while visiting the Inner Harbor. It was a beautiful fall day and I was interested to know what the giant tower in the sky was. There was decent information explaining the history behind the tower and it was a nice walk to make the very long wait for lunch more bearable.