4. Alex. Brown & Sons Company Building
135 East Baltimore Street
(1901, Parker & Thomas; 1907 addition, Beecher, Friz & Gregg, architects)

Built to be "fireproof" in 1901, the Alex. Brown & Sons building proved its mettle when it survived the Great Fire of 1904. Once the home of the city's oldest financial establishment, the elegant brick and marble structure shows the rise of Beaux-arts Classicism in the financial district at the turn of the century. In a nod to modernity, architect Douglas Thomas boasted that the structure was the first building in the United States to be heated exclusively with electricity.  The centerpiece of the interior is a stained glass dome, most likely the work of Baltimore artist Gustave Baumstark, who studied under both Louis C. Tiffany and John LaFarge. For more information download the Alex. Brown & Sons Company Building .PDF file. (196 KB)

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