The Domino Sugar refinery opened in the Inner Harbor in April 1922. This spring, the still-active refinery will celebrate its centennial with several public events yet to be announced. Its iconic sign has recently been updated from the original neon to new LED lights. Photo by James Kirkikis / Shutterstock.com

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Last July, Charlotte Hardy, above, lit the restored sign at her longtime employer, Domino Sugar. Photo by ASR

Baltimore native Cathy Bowers owes her life to Domino Sugar.

Her parents, the late Albert and Cassie Bowers, met at the Baltimore refinery in the 1950s. Albert started in the mailroom and rose to the head of the billing department, and Cassie worked as a keypunch operator.

The company’s bowling league brought them together, and they started dating. “They had to keep it a secret,” from their boss, Bowers said. After the two were married, Cassie stayed home with the children while Albert continued to work for the company for 47 years.

Many Baltimoreans can cite a similar connection to Domino Sugar, which opened on the Inner Harbor waterfront 100 years ago. Its signature 120-foot-tall red sign represents the city as well as, say, Camden Yards or the Bromo-Seltzer tower.

But last April, while the sign was under renovation, a fire threatened the 30-acre campus, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Smoke billowed from one of its 15 buildings, fire trucks rushed to the site, and the smell of burned sugar, akin to crème brulee, filled the air, according to witnesses.

Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze.

Centennial celebration in April

Domino Sugar’s Baltimore refinery, one of three in the country, first opened on April 2, 1922.

Today, Domino Sugar processes 585,000 tons of raw sugar here. Ships and barges deliver the sugar cane crystals via the Patapsco River, and the refinery produces white, brown and powdered sugar from it.

Late last year, it started producing limited-edition 100^th-anniversary sugar packets to be distributed in restaurants. This April, Domino’s owner, American Sugar Refinery, Inc. (ASR), plans to celebrate Domino’s centennial with not-yet-announced events that will be open to the public.

“Generation after generation of people have been coming to work at the Baltimore refinery, earning good wages and making quality products,” said Peter O’Malley, spokesman for ASR, the world’s largest sugar refinery.

“Many employees have been here more than 40 years,” Peter O’Malley said. “It’s unusual in the workplace these days, but not unusual for our company.”

A sign of the times

One of those loyal employees is Charlotte Hardy, 74, who has worked at Domino Sugar since February 1969. “I’ve never seen a reason to leave,” said Hardy, now a laboratory analyst. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

When it came time to re-light the famous sign after a $2 million repair project, Domino officials chose Hardy to do the honors.

“I was glad that they asked me. I’m proud of that sign,” Hardy said. “I see it every morning when I get in, a little before 6:00.”

Presiding atop the refinery since 1951, the old sign had been showing its age.

“Neon in that environment has always been challenging. High winds would knock the sign down and break it. Brackish air, wind whipping by — it’s a tough place to keep a sign,” said Nicholas Redding, executive director of Preservation Maryland.

So, the old sign was dismantled in March, and a $2 million LED-light replacement project began. During the four-month renovation, O’Malley invited Redding to the roof for a closeup view of the iconic sign.

“That was a $2 million project, which really speaks to the seriousness of which they approach preservation and their story,” Redding said.

“They made sure it was the same in every single way,” he said. “They maintain that campus in a way that still speaks to their importance in the community.”

Raising money for charity

Domino’s owner, American Sugar Refinery (ASR), donated some of the letters to Second Chance Baltimore, a workforce development nonprofit.

Second Chance’s warehouse already holds letters from dismantled signs from the Ravens stadium and Bel Loc Diner. The nonprofit plans to sell them eventually.

However, one of the letters in the sign was too far gone to be restored, so ASR punched circles in the “D” and distributed medallions to many of its 500 employees.

With extra medallions to spare, the company donated the rest to its neighbor, the Baltimore Museum of Industry, so the museum could raise money for its operations.

At $125 each, the half-dollar-sized keepsakes proved to be popular. “It was a tremendous success. We sold out very quickly,” said Claire Mullins, director of marketing at the museum, which displays the sign’s five-foot dot over the “i” as well as other memorabilia from the refinery.

“To have this fundraiser from Domino was really a gift,” Mullins said. “They are great neighbors.”

Sustainability a priority

ASR tries to make a positive impact on the environment as well. “We’re always looking for ways to be more sustainable at our facility,” spokesman O’Malley said.

Solar panels line the roof of one building, and the company treats stormwater before it reaches Baltimore Harbor, he said.

In the past four years, the company has also started hosting oysters, each of which can filter 50 gallons of water a day.

Working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, employees place oysters near the company’s Patapsco River dock in September. They return every two weeks to clean off the oysters’ shells.

Then, in April or May, they’re relocated to an oyster sanctuary reef near Key Bridge.

“We have a great old dock there on our prop that we don’t use for anything else. We figured it made sense. The water is deep enough there, and the salinity is high enough for oysters to grow,” O’Malley said.

“The hope is they grow large enough where they can sustain themselves and continue cleaning the water of the Patapsco.”

Blue collar and proud of it

More than good neighbors and good stewards of its history and the environment, Domino remains an active, successful refinery.

“Domino really helps to continue the city’s reputation as a hardworking blue-collar town,” Mullins said. “It’s really important to remember that manufacturing still exists and is vital to the city.”

During the busy holiday season, from October to January, the refinery operates around the clock, O’Malley said. To make enough sugar for America’s bakers, the refinery operates 24 hours a day on three shifts.

Gone are McCormick & Company’s spice factory and PepsiCo, which once bordered the Inner Harbor, but Domino Sugar chugs on, its red sign illuminating the Patapsco River far below.

“A lot of people don’t realize that the refinery is more than just a pedestal for that sign,” O’Malley said. “It’s one of the few industries left. The sign is a beacon to travelers, and it’s a reminder that we’re still here going strong.”

To see historic photographs of the Domino Sugar refinery in Baltimore, visit facebook.com/DominoSugarBaltimore.