Carr Lowrey Glass Company (1889–2003) was a manufacturer of glass bottles.

Establishment

Carr Lowrey Glass Company founded in

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Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

in 1889. Located on the

Middle Branch Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

of the

Patapsco River The Patapsco River mainstem is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Maryland that flows into the Chesapeake Bay. The river's tidal port ...

in a neighborhood named Westport, 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 The Hanover Street Bridge – officially, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge – is a bascule bridge crossing the middle branch of the Patapsco River along Hanover Street (Maryland Route 2) in Baltimore, Maryland. The bridge was built to repla ...

, just west of

Fort McHenry Fort McHenry is a historical American coastal pentagonal bastion fort on Locust Point, now a neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. It is best known for its role in the War of 1812, when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack b ...

, you could see the towering smoke stacks and piles of discarded blue glass 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 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 transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

. In 1944, they were acquired by the Anchor-Hocking Glass Company. During this time, the company experienced major expansion. Carr-Lowrey was one of the producers of the famous Avon bottles that were shaped like cars, planes, animals, and also white glass shampoo bottles for

Head & Shoulders Head & Shoulders (H&S) is an American brand of anti-dandruff and non-dandruff shampoo produced by parent company Procter & Gamble. It was introduced in the United States on 1 January 1961 based in Manhattan and used the slogan THE AMERICA AND WORL ...

, as well as facial cream bottles for

Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...

Plastic bottles

As the global economy moved toward plastic bottles after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 was a long-standing famous manufacturer of glassware and ceramics products in Millville, New Jersey, USA. A spin-off of the original firm (which returned to its pharmaceutical glass roots) adopted the name in 2006. Founded in ...

and from foreign companies such as St. Gobain 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 (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...

and the

University of Maryland at Baltimore The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a public university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1807, it comprises some of the oldest professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, pharmacy, social work and nursing in the United States ...

. 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 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

, 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.

References

{{Glass makers and brands Defunct glassmaking companies Defunct companies based in Baltimore Manufacturing companies established in 1889 1889 establishments in Maryland Manufacturing companies disestablished in 2003 2003 disestablishments in Maryland