100 Light Street

Skyscraper in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. the present Legg Mason headquarters in Baltimore Legg Mason Tower the former Legg Mason headquarters in Baltimore before moving to this building Harborplace Tower January 2025 October 2026 100 Light Street 100 Light Street logo.svg 240 100 Light Street.jpg 100 Light Street in April 2026 U.S. Fidelity & Guaranty BuildingUSF&G Tower (1973–mid 1990s)Legg Mason Building (1997–2009)Transamerica Tower (2011–2023) 100 Light Street(between Light, East Lombard, South Charles and East Pratt Streets), Baltimore, Maryland 39 17 14.2 N 76 36 52.0 W region:US-MD_type:landmark inline,title USA Baltimore 1971 December 31, 1973 Mixed-use 528 ft on 40 529,993 sqft onTransamerica Tower http://www.skyscrapercenter.com/building/transamerica-tower/3252 Skyscraper Center CTBUH 2017-07-19 Vlastimil Koubek & Associates Robert Kylberg (civil) Huber Hunt & Nichols USF&G COPT COPT 3252https://www.emporis.com/buildings/118976 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215436/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/118976 usurped March 4, 2016 Emporis building ID 118976 Emporis71620021272 https://100light.com/ 100 Light Street (colloquially known by its most recent former label, the Transamerica Tower) is a 40-story, 528 ft on skyscraper completed in 1973 in downtown Baltimore, Maryland. It occupies the city block bounded by South Charles (Maryland Route 139), East Lombard, Light and East Pratt Streets. It is the tallest building in Baltimore and in Maryland. Originally built as the USF&G Building, it was the headquarters of the United States Fidelity and Guarantee Company (USF&G) in Baltimore, Maryland. USF&G, a specialized insurance company founded in Baltimore in 1896, relocated here from its former complex of three adjoining early 20th Century masonry structures at the southwest corner of South Calvert and Redwood (formerly German Street before World War I) Streets. Later occupied by and known as the Legg Mason Building, the structure faces the former "The Basin" of the Helen Delich Bentley Port of Baltimore on the Northwest Branch of the Patapsco River and the Inner Harbor downtown business waterfront redevelopment. History The tower was one of the first skyscrapers to be constructed using a then-revolutionary method of erecting a towering central reinforced concrete column first containing elevators and service infrastructure conduits and then followed later by the surrounding scaffolding or steel horizontal beams rising floor by floor, and was a magnet for "sidewalk superintendents" and passing office workers during its construction during the early 70's. Overlooking the new harborfront parkland and expanded bulkheads of former Sam Smith Park with newly rebuilt/repaved Light and Pratt Streets with median strips and landscaped tree-lined sidewalks focused on a brick waterside promenade, soon to be anchored by the historic sailing U.S. Navy warship, Constellation 1854 6 (originally thought to be from 1797, later documented as 1854) with "Constellation Dock" replacing old Municipal Pier 1. Later surrounded by an enormous surrounding plazas rising above a series of steps on the lower south and east sides of the block paved with pink stone panels with terraced garden plots with shrubbery at the edges. A few years later, the construction of Harborplace shopping pavilions with a new waterfall fountain in renamed McKeldin Square (renamed for former Mayor and Governor Theodore R. McKeldin), reached by crossing-over the adjacent streets by pedestrian bridges and a central amphitheater facing the water and the ships. Within a decade, the new tower was surrounded by additional glass and aluminum office buildings, hotels, and shopping/commercial high-rises. Construction of the new rising tower challenged for the first time forty years the "tallest tower" ranking held since its 1929 completion of the art deco-styled former Baltimore Trust Company Building, (which later went bankrupt shortly after its completion after the Great Wall Street Stock Market Crash of October 1929), then assumed several other names before bearing the title of the Maryland National Bank of the reorganized old B.T.C., by the 1960s soon the largest banking chain in the state. USF&G built the 35-story tower,Mirabella Lorraine Legg Mason tower owner and USF&G end lease early https://www.baltimoresun.com/2008/04/30/legg-mason-tower-owner-and-usf-end-lease-early/ 31 January 2015 The Baltimore Sun 30 April 2008 selling it when they were purchased by the St. Paul Companies, which is now a unit of The Travelers Companies. Despite its own changes of owners and names, the former USF&G Building remains the tallest building in Baltimore, the tallest building in Maryland, and the tallest building between Philadelphia and Raleigh after the completion of RBC Plaza in 2008. It was also the former home of Legg Mason investment and financial advisors after leaving its former headquarters at the Harborplace Office Tower. Legg Mason later relocated to a newer headquarters on the eastern side of downtown in Harbor East. The building was renamed the Transamerica Tower in November 2011 when Transamerica became the largest tenant of the building, moving there from its nationally known former headquarters in San Francisco, the iconic landmark Transamerica Pyramid which appears in the company's logo at the top of the building.Hopkins Jamie Smith Transamerica Workers Begin Move to Downtown Skyscraper https://www.baltimoresun.com/2011/10/31/transamerica-workers-begin-move-to-downtown-skyscraper/ The Baltimore Sun 31 October 2011 7 April 2012 The building was again put on sale in early 2015.Bednar Adam For sale: Transamerica Tower http://thedailyrecord.com/2015/01/28/for-sale-transamerica-tower/ 31 January 2015 Maryland Daily Record 28 January 2015 In February 2023, Transamerica downsized and left the building, ending their lease and forfeiting the naming rights. While some Baltimoreans still refer to the building as "Transamerica Tower", the Transamerica name from the building was removed, and Transamerica relocated to a smaller space at Wills Wharf at Harbor Point. Following this, the building's name was reverted to its address.https://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2023/02/13/100-light-transamerica-sign-coming-down-baltimore.html Baltimore Business Journal Transamerica sign coming down in Baltimore February 2, 2023 December 27, 2025 Occupants and ownership changes USF&G remained in the building until the mid-1990s. The building's primary occupant was asset manager Legg Mason, Inc., until 2009. In February 2007, Legg Mason announced that it would be moving to a new skyscraper in the Harbor East southeastern waterfront development, a move that was completed during summer 2009. As of 2010, the "Legg Mason" sign was no longer at the top of the Pratt and Light Streets building. April 2024 In 2009, the building became home to the Baltimore branch of RBC Wealth Management. April 2024 In spring 2011, the building also became home to Baltimore-based law firm Ober|Kaler (now Baker Donelson).Andrew Deichler http://www.costar.com/News/Article.aspx?id=F55E8ED370D89345D8C7C2DC68547091 Ober|Kaler Relocating HQ to 100 Light Street CoStar 13 April 2010 7 April 2012 The firm occupies 6 floors of the building. April 2024 In November 2011, the building became the headquarters of Transamerica. In April 2013, the building became the home of the Mid-Atlantic law firm Miles & Stockbridge P.C.Sernovitz Daniel J. Miles & Stockbridge moving to 100 Light St. http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/news/2011/05/19/miles-stockbridge-moving-to-100.html?page=all Baltimore Business Journal 19 May 2011 11 July 2013 Around 1978, a peregrine falcon made its home on a balcony on the building's 33rd floor.Jennifer Huizen A Highrise for Peregrines https://www.audubon.org/news/a-highrise-peregrines National Audubon Society 12 June 2015 6 May 2021 Every year since then, a pair of falcons have returned to the building to nest and fledge a set of chicks. April 2024 See also List of tallest buildings in Baltimore List of tallest buildings by U.S. state and territory Baltimore History of Baltimore Timeline of Baltimore history Charles Center Inner Harbor USF&G References External links 100 Light Street Website http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=10innerharbor-baltimore-md-usa https://web.archive.org/web/20070206103058/http://www.emporis.com/en/wm/bu/?id=10innerharbor-baltimore-md-usa usurped February 6, 2007 Emporis.com 10 Inner Harbor, Baltimore 2007-02-22 Chesapeake Conservancy Peregrine Falcon Cam autocollapse Category:Downtown Baltimore Category:Skyscraper office buildings in Baltimore Category:Office buildings completed in 1973 Category:Insurance company headquarters in the United States Category:1973 establishments in Maryland