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A Hidden History Gem
A Hidden History Gem
The Baltimore Museum of Industry is a hidden gem on the south side of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. A great place learn about early industry in Baltimore.
hangzhou,
zhejiang,
China
(prbd.net)
01/03/2011
The Baltimore Museum of Industry was founded in 1977 and incorporated as a private non-profit in 1981. The museum was created to preserve a great industrial past that is a legacy of Baltimore. Located on the south side of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, it rests quietly across from Fells Point and in the shadow of Domino Sugar.
Education: Focused on Bringing History to All Ages
On a busy spring day, yellow school buses line the parking lot. Every day, school groups pass through the museum. Up to 70,000 students have toured the facilities annually, making it one of the most attended museums in the State of Maryland. It has remained popular with teachers and students alike and runs many focused, hands on type programs that keep the interest of even the youngest minds.
One program that continues to remain popular is the Cannery. A replica of a working oyster cannery, students are assigned roles by the instructors. Some will become the “bosses”, others will become oyster shucker’s, can makers, and operators of the canning equipment. Teachers observe as the museum’s instructors guide the students through the steps required to run an early 1900’s oyster canning operation.
The Exhibits: What to See
Within the museum there are exhibits that showcase many local businesses that were responsible for “first’s” in their industry.
Print Shop: A working linotype printing press, still operational and invented in Baltimore by Ottmar Mergenthaler is the center piece of this exhibit. Linotype (for line of type) was used extensively from the late 1800’s until as late as 1970 and revolutionized the printing industry. Related equipment from old typewriters, and special type used for headlines are all on display in the Print Shop.
Cannery: The main building of the museum was once the Platt & Company Cannery. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor was the home to 80 cannery’s at one time. Oysters, fruits and vegetables were all processed from abundant resources harvested from the Chesapeake bay and surrounding farmlands. A stop at this exhibit invokes thoughts of the past industry, canning equipment, work stations and especially the stern visage of Mr. Platt staring from his portrait on the wall.
Bunting Pharmacy: The famous skin cream, Noxzema was manufactured in Baltimore by Dr. George Bunting. The exhibit is a replica of Dr. Buntings original pharmacy.
Garment Loft: Baltimore has always been a major garment producing city, in fact at one time it was quietly the largest employer in the city. Drawing on its port location and a large influx of immigrants that provided the skilled and unskilled labor the industry required. The museum has recreated a working garment manufacturing shop with rows of cutting tables, sewing machines from different periods and accessories such as hats and oyster shell buttons.
Machine Shop: Heavy industry is part of Baltimore’s history. Steel, ship building, railroad and manufacturing plants all dotted the industrial landscape of the city. In the early days of industry, parts were manufactured to order or as needed by skilled machinists in many machine shops throughout the city. A replica of a working machine shop is one of the permanent exhibits located in the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Overhead belts drive the lathes and other equipment used by machinists to make the custom pieces required to keep the machines of industry rolling.
Decker Gallery: Another of the permanent exhibits is the Decker Gallery. Named for a supporter of the museum and probably it’s top benefactor, Alonso Decker of Black & Decker, the gallery showcases many of the “firsts” that happened in the city. Baltimore was the first city to have gas street lamps, the first railroad started in Baltimore (B&O), the first manufacturing in the U.S of umbrellas and many others. The Decker Gallery also celebrates many industries and companies called Baltimore home.
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