Constructed between 1885 and 1947, The Detrick & Harvey Machine Works (Machine Works) is a large industrial site contributing to both the Old East Baltimore and St. Frances Academy-Brentwood Avenue Historic Districts in the Johnston Square neighborhood of Baltimore. The Detrick & Harvey Machine Company had a pioneering role in encouraging industrial development in the area and was the only major manufacturer of large format machine tools operating in Baltimore during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The site remains as a critical example of Baltimore’s industrial expansion in the early twentieth century, particularly during World War I when the Machine Works was acquired by Bethlehem Steel. Eventually, because of its proximity to Baltimore Penn Station, in 1926, the site was converted into a garage and headquarters for the Yellow Cab Company and operated until the 1980s.

Machine Works will be a new center for Baltimore’s innovative manufacturers and small businesses. The rehabilitated building will provide graduation space for companies growing out of Open Works, a 34,000 square foot maker space that is located within a five-minute walk that provides micro-spaces for fabricators, artisans and small businesses, many of whom are minority or women-owned. Machine Works will also serve small fabrication and manufacturing firms that want to grow their business and create living wage jobs in alignment with Baltimore City’s Baltimore Together economic development plan and its successful Made In Baltimore initiative.

Come enjoy a behind-the-scenes hardhat tour of the ongoing construction of the Machine Works in Johnston Square neighborhood of Baltimore. The Machine Works is not accessible, and tour participants must be able to climb stairs. Tour participants will also be required to have full Personal Protective Equipment (hardhat, high visibility vest, glasses, proper footwear, and long pants). If you need to borrow PPE, please reach out to info@aptdc.org.

Parking is available on site on the west side of Machine works. The site is also easily accessible by train, about a 0.5-mile walk from Penn Station.