Zander's

The Alex. Brown Building derives significance from two sources. First, it is significant for its association with the historic firm of Alex Brown and Sons, the oldest investment-banking firm in the U. S., established in 1808. The firm has been directly involved in the financing of the development of the city of Baltimore since its first venture, the underwriting of Baltimore's first public waterworks in 1808. The building has served as the firm's main office contin­uously since its construction in 1901. Secondly, in the context of Baltimore's early twentieth-century commercial architecture, the building is significant as a richly detailed composition embodying the distinctive characteristics of the Georgian Revival, and as the first design of the later prominent local architec­tural firm of Parker and Thomas. It has been maintained in excellent condition and features an unusual, large Tiffany dome on the interior.