Silo Point

Text

Of the many repurposed industrial buildings in Baltimore’s urban landscape, perhaps none is as extraordinary as Silo Point. Looming high above the brick rowhomes of Locust Point, Silo Point luxury condominiums began life as a mammoth grain elevator built by the B&O Railroad in 1924. At that time, it was both the largest and the fastest grain elevator in the world and reflected Baltimore’s important position in the grain export industry in the early to mid-twentieth century.

Designed by the engineering firm of John S. Metcalf Co. of Chicago and Montreal, the building is made up of two interconnected structures: a concrete workhouse which stands 220 feet tall and a concrete grain bin structure that rises to 105 feet. Additional structures were added later. During the grain elevator’s heyday, ten miles of conveyor belts carried 3.8 billion bushels of grain from train cars onto cargo ships annually.

The grain elevator ceased operations in 2002 and sat vacant until its conversion to Silo Point by Turner Development Group in 2009. The residential tower is now home to 24 floors of 228 condominiums. The Baltimore Sun described the new building as having “brutalist concrete walls,” in addition to a fitness center where basement catacombs used to be, outdoor sculptures constructed out of grain extracting machines, recycled circular gears given new life as lobby coffee tables. It also has commanding views of the harbor.

The B&O grain elevator was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.