Construction started in 1920 and finished in 1922 on this sugar refinery in Baltimore, Maryland. The iconic 1951 built sign lives above the refinery that produces 14% of America’s sugar and employs 485 directly and supports an additional 125 jobs in trucking, terminal operations, cargo handling, and ship handling.

This refinery is a Port of Baltimore powerhouse with 42 ships a year delivering raw sugar which is refined at the rate of 7 million pounds per day! 23 packaging lines produce a variety of sugar products from sugar packets all the way up to 2,200 pound bags which are shipped via 1,100 train cars and 33,000 truck trips per year.

Thanks to Mike Singer, owner of the facebook group Baltimore and Chesapeake Bay Ship Watchers, 8 people (including him and I) were able to tour this amazing place. Unfortunately photography was not permitted in most areas.

Two areas we were permitted to photograph was the dock area where the ship Lady Alara was being unloaded by a pair of cranes.

The sugar storage facility which was being loaded with sugar from the nearby ship was the second area. Sugar won’t be stored there long before it enters the refinery for a multi-step process to convert it from raw sugar to the processed sugar we use and also ensure it is clean and safe for consumption.

I can report, however, that the workers in every area seemed proud of their work and were friendly as our tour group entered their spaces. Many endlessly fascinating machines of several types, some creating packaging from material delivered to the refinery, some assembling boxes, others filling bags or boxes with sugar, were humming in harmony with the workers to deliver the sugar we crave.

From this refinery sugar goes to store shelves or directly to other large customers like Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Hershey who take deliveries by the train car load.

At the end of the tour we were treated to a special surprise – we came out of a door on the roof and looked up to see the iconic 120×70 foot sign well known to Baltimore. We also had an impressive view of town from here.

Making our way back down to ground level we exited the building to another view of Baltimore. I was able to spot the French Navy ship FS Garrone which was available for tours October 26 and 27, 2019 from 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm at Broadway pier in Fells Point. I was able to do this tour – click the ship’s name to see the blog posting!

A big thank you goes to Domino Sugar for hosting our group and to Mike Singer for arranging it. Check out my short video below.

Check out more photos I took here by clicking here. You can view my photography (more than just ships!) here and more videos here.