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Mercantile Deposit and Trust
Inventory No.:
B-5305
Other Name(s):
Charles Center Parcel 12
2 and 10 Hopkins Plaza
Date Listed:
11/5/2018
Location:
111 W. Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Baltimore City
Category:
Building
Period/Date of Construction:
1969-1975
Architect/Builder:
Peterson & Brickbauer, Architectes
Emery Roth & Sons, Builders
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Description:
The Mercantile Deposit and Trust building is a 22-story reinforced concrete modernist office building (2 Hopkins Plaza) with a square 3-story glass pavilion (10 Hopkins Plaza), constructed in 1969 at the southeast corner of Hopkins Place and West Baltimore Street. The site was designated Parcel 12 in Baltimore’s iconic Charles Center redevelopment plan. Designed by the prominent local architectural firm of Peterson & Brickbauer, widely recognized for their impact on the modern movement in Maryland, the building is characterized by functionally explicit massing, elegant proportions, and richly textured materials. It was one of the first reinforced concrete high-rise buildings developed in the state. The associated pavilion is distinctive in its form, massing, and transparent character. Both the office building and pavilion retain a high degree of integrity. The length of the building faces north onto West Baltimore Street; its shorter ends face east onto Hopkins Plaza and west onto Hopkins Place. The smaller, square pavilion is situated south of the office building on Hopkins Place. Paired, load-bearing concrete piers demarcate the seven bays of the long north and south facades. The elevator, restrooms, and stair core occupy a rectangular concrete core tower that projects north of the mass of the building between the 4th and 6th bays from the east. The notched form of the asymmetrically placed core tower expresses the two banks of elevators, restrooms, and stairs that the tower houses. On the east and west facades of the building, blind reinforced concrete walls separate the shorter facades into two shallow bays. The building terminates in a two-story high concrete band that screens the building’s flat roof above a blind mechanical penthouse floor. There are two entrances each on both the north and south sides of the building. The pavilion is a three-story, square glass building whose structure employs the same reinforced concrete as the office building. The building has a flat reinforced concrete roof; reinforced concrete panels terminate the building. The interior of the pavilion has been heavily altered, obscuring the original concrete structure, which would have been visible through the pavilion’s glass curtain walls. Four bush-hammered cross-shaped concrete columns support the roof structure. These columns anchor tapered concrete cantilevered beams bearing the coffered ceiling and roof. An egress stair, elevator, HVAC, and restrooms were housed within two free-standing, rectangular reinforced concrete towers. These interior towers extend only three-quarters of the way to the ceiling below the roof. A reinforced concrete mezzanine at the 2nd floor level connected to a platform associated with a skywalk, now gone, which once connected to the Morris Mechanic Theatre. Granite exterior stairs descend from this 2nd floor platform on the north side of the building. The full 2nd floor may be a later insertion. Alterations to the Mercantile Deposit and Trust Building and its pavilion are consistent with commonplace changes to late 20th century speculative office buildings and free-standing retail buildings.
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Significance:
Mercantile Deposit and Trust, designed by Peterson & Brickbauer in 1965, was the competition-winning design for Charles Center Development Parcel 12. Completed in 1969, the property includes the 22-story reinforced concrete office building (2 Hopkins Plaza) and its 2-story glass pavilion (10 Hopkins Plaza). Mercantile Deposit and Trust is historically and architecturally significant, as it exemplifies the local impact of the architectural ideals of one of the most influential urban renewal plans of the late 20th century—the Charles Center redevelopment plan. It is an outstanding example of the work of Peterson & Brickbauer, a significant local architectural firm widely recognized for their impact on the modern movement in Maryland. Its innovative, expressive use of structural concrete is especially noteworthy. Mercantile Deposit and Trust’s period of significance extends from the date of its completion in 1969 and 1975, when the Charles Center plan was fully implemented. Mercantile Deposit and Trust has exceptional local significance for its association with Charles Center’s architectural development (1958-1975). The building possesses exceptional significance because it represents the local impact of the revitalization ideals embodied in the groundbreaking, nationally recognized Charles Center Master Plan. The building has exceptional significance because of the importance of Peterson & Brickbauer to the modern movement in Maryland and because of the office tower’s significance as one of the first exposed reinforced concrete high-rise office buildings in the state. Mercantile Deposit and Trust possesses a high degree of architectural integrity and is currently being rehabilitated in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, preserving its character-defining features. Its continued preservation is especially important in light of the demolition and erosion of architectural character within the Charles Center Redevelopment Area.
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