continued…

Next we went into another large room that was set up to look like a clothing manufacturing facility. Baltimore was also a hub for clothing manufacturing. Our tour guide showed us the revolutionary technology of the era that made mass-produced clothing possible — a device that simultaneously cut many pieces of cloth stacked together instead of cutting one piece at a time. Coupled with an assembly line sewing process, where each woman on the line sewed a particular piece of the garment and then passed it on to another who would sew her particular piece, ready-to-wear clothes could be quickly produced. The machines were loud and deafness was a problem for the workers.

Next we went to a section that was designed to look like a belt-driven machine shop from 1910. Baltimore had also once been a hub for fabricating parts and tools for various industries. Most of the machines were connected via belt to a rod that ran along the ceiling. The rod rotated, moving the belt and powering the machine. The rod was rotated by a steam engine in the corner.

Wednesday, August 26 — We spent the morning getting ready for our trip to San Diego. By the early afternoon, we were feeling like everything was as ready as could be. We decided to go to the Museum of Industry, which focused specifically on the manufacturing industries of Baltimore that “modernized the nation.”

We drove through downtown to the south side of the peninsula that made up the inner harbor. The museum was on the waterfront in a building that was clearly a refurbished old industrial building. Parking was free in the attached lot.

Tickets were $15 for adults and $8 for children 6 – 17. The receptionist told us a free guided tour was about to begin highlighting the black people who were significant in Baltimore’s history. We generally enjoy guided tours, so we signed up.

We waited in a small movie theater near the entrance that was showing a film about Linotype machines, which was the most revolutionary change to printing since Gutenberg invented the printing press circa 1440. The machine was invented in Baltimore by a German immigrant between 1882 and 1884. Instead of setting each individual letter by hand, one could type a single line of text and the machine 3-D printed the line from molten lead. The lines were then hand set into the printing press. The discarded lines of tin were reinserted into the machine for melting. The Linotype was rendered obsolete by laser printers.