Establishment

Carr Lowrey Glass Company founded in Baltimore

Baltimore

Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

 in 1889. Located on the Middle Branch

Middle Branch River

-References:*...

 of the Patapsco River

Patapsco River

The Patapsco River is a river in central Maryland which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal portion forms the harbor for the city of Baltimore...

 in a neighborhood named Westport

Westport, Baltimore

Westport is a neighborhood in south Baltimore, Maryland. It borders the Middle Branch River on the east, Cherry Hill and Lansdowne to the south, Hollins Ferry Road to the west, and Interstate 95 to the north...

, Samuel Carr and William Lowrey established their company to create glass bottles for the pharmaceutical and perfume industries. As seen from the locally famous Hanover Street Bridge, just west of Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry

Fort McHenry, in Baltimore, Maryland, is a star-shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in Chesapeake Bay...

, you could see the towering smoke stacks and piles of discarded blue glass in piles behind the factory.

Their company grew over the years as they were one of the first companies to utilize an "IS Machine," a machine that had individual sections that were timed to automatically blow and move the bottles to a conveyor system

Conveyor system

A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transportation of heavy or bulky materials...

.

In 1944, they were acquired by the Anchor-Hocking Glass Company

Anchor Hocking

Anchor Hocking Glass Corporation is a manufacturer of glassware. The Hocking Glass Company was founded in 1905 by Isaac Jacob Collins. That company merged with the AnchorCap and Closure Corporations in 1937. Anchor Hocking is primarily located in Lancaster, Ohio...

. During this time, the company experienced major expansion. Carr-Lowrey was one of the producers of the famous Avon

Avon Products

Avon Products, Inc. is a US cosmetics, perfume and toy seller with markets in over 140 countries across the world and sales of $9.9 billion worldwide as of 2007.-Business Model:...

 bottles that were shaped like cars, planes, animals, and also white glass shampoo bottles for Head & Shoulders

Head & Shoulders

Head & Shoulders is a brand of anti-dandruff shampoo produced by Procter & Gamble. Head & Shoulders Classic Clean Shampoo is the top-selling shampoo in the United States by dollar sales.- History :...

, as well as facial cream bottles for Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....

.

Plastic bottles

As the global economy moved toward plastic bottles after World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the company's began to see fewer orders. To make matters worse, the company's glorified 6-Tank was shut down during a strike and was never restarted. Ownership of the company changed hands several times as the company struggled to find its niche. Moreover, Carr Lowrey had formidable competition in New Jersey with Wheaton Glass

Wheaton Industries

Wheaton Industries was a long-standing famous manufacturer of glassware and ceramics products in Millville, New Jersey, USA. A spin-off of the original firm adopted the name in 2006Founded in 1888 by Dr...

 and from foreign companies such as St. Gobain

Saint-Gobain

Saint-Gobain S.A. is a French multinational corporation, founded in 1665 in Paris and headquartered on the outskirts of Paris at La Défense and in Courbevoie. Originally a mirror manufacturer, it now also produces a variety of construction and high-performance materials.The company has its head...

 in France and Rocco Bormioli in Italy. St. Gobain eventually opened a plant in Georgia, which spelled doom for Carr-Lowrey.

The Abell Foundation, a local Baltimore philanthropy, loaned Carr-Lowrey money in an effort to keep an historic business in Baltimore alive. Unfortunately, Carr-Lowrey was never able to remain profitable and eventually closed its doors in 2003.

Rebirth

The image of Baltimore as a rusting industrial city seems to be fading. The city's downtown is now vibrant with activity from financial companies and bio-technology from nearby Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins University

The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...

 and the University of Maryland at Baltimore. With this rebirth of the city, the waterfront property in and around town has become desired property for developers. The land once occupied by Carr-Lowrey Glass Company is now slated for waterfront housing. With Baltimore's Light Rail running right next to the property, a nearby exit to I-95

Interstate 95 in Maryland

Interstate 95 in Maryland is a major highway that runs diagonally from northeast to southwest, from Maryland's border with Delaware, to the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, briefly entering the District of Columbia before reaching Virginia...

, and a main road straight into downtown, the former Carr-Lowrey Glass Company site is considered by many an ideal place for residential and commercial development.

In 2004, Patrick Turner, owner of Turner Development Company, purchased the property once occupied by Carr Lowrey. He soon purchased the electric generating plant next door that was owned by Baltimore Gas & Electric.