BNHA G. Krug and Son Iron Works

“There is hardly a building in Baltimore that doesn’t contain something we made, even if it is only a nail.” So boasted Theodore Krug, heir to the oldest continuously working iron shop in the country. For nearly 200 years artisans here have hammered out practical and ornamental ironwork that still graces such local landmarks as Otterbein Methodist Church, the Basilica of the Assumption, Washington Monument, Zion Church, Johns Hopkins Hospital and the Baltimore Zoo.

The modest beginnings of the shop date back to 1810, when farmers traveling to and from the market stopped to have their horses shod and their wagons repaired by blacksmith Andrew Merker, who, in turn, sold to Gustav A. Krug, a young Bavarian immigrant and ancestor of all the subsequent Krug family owners. This distinguished firm’s long record of fine blacksmithing includes the restoration work for Colonial Williamsburg and for the French Quarter in New Orleans.

The G. Krug and Sons opens its doors to the public several times during the year, offering an up-close view of centuries-old skills. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 and designated a city landmark in 1986.

Site summary courtesy of the Baltimore City Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation