Read's Drug Store

[1] The downtown store was constructed in 1934 by Smith & May, Baltimore architects also responsible for the Bank of America building at 10 Light St.[2] In 1929, one company slogan was "Run Right to Reads.

Students at Morgan State University joined up with a local chapter of the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) to conduct a demonstration on January 20, 1955.

[6][8] In 2011, the Baltimore Commission for Historical and Architectural Preservation voted to grant temporary landmark status to the downtown store.

This decision blocked the plan by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Lexington Square Partners to build a $150 million development on the site.

[12] They accuse the city of "demolition by neglect": avoiding minor repairs and allowing the building to collapse in order to make room for development.