BALTIMORE (AP) — Baltimore’s Bromo Seltzer tower has been a city icon for 100 years.

The tower and the original factory inspired by the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, Italy, was the tallest in the city when it was built in 1911 by Bromo-Seltzer inventor Isaac Emerson. The words Bromo Seltzer are prominently displayed on the tower’s four clock faces.

The Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts, which turned the building into 33 artists’ studios in 2007, is celebrating the tower’s centennial on Thursday evening with a special exhibition, tours, theater performances and short films. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake will unveil the Bromo Seltzer Arts Tower Commemorative Quilt created by several quilters from around the state.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)