Phoenix Shot Tower

The Shot Tower, when it was built in 1828, was the tallest structure in the United States until 1846. The design of the 215-foot tall Phoenix Shot Tower and its estimated 1.1 million bricks is based on Englishman William Watt’s 1782 patented process of making shot by pouring molten lead through colanders down the open shaft of a high tower. The molten “drops” were collected in a large water barrel at the tower’s base, then sorted by size and bagged for distribution. The finished product was called drop shot and was used for small game hunting, among other things. (Marsha Wight Wise for Baltimore Heritage)