USF&G NOW BALTIMORE HOTEL:

The historic USF&G Corp. building, once destined for demolition, has undergone an extreme makeover and is now downtown Baltimore’s newest hotel—a Hampton Inn & Suites. The $22 million transformation of the 1906 building at Calvert and Redwood streets has been in progress for about three years. Vacant since 1990, the seven-story building had become a roost for pigeons and had a leaking roof and crumbling floors before the renovation. The distinguished building has a limestone facade with carved lions heads, intricate plasterwork in the entry foyer and 900-pound brass lampposts out front. During construction, the developers encountered 3-foot-thick walls and vaults on every floor that had been used to hold insurance certificates. The developers restored the original executive suite with marble walls and a backlighted skylight made of glass panels.