MARYLAND AT A GLANCE

MUSEUMS

BALTIMORE CITY

ORIGIN

[photo, Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, 901 West Pratt St. (at Poppleton St.), Baltimore, Maryland] Today, more than 60 museums are located in Baltimore. They range in variety from the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum to the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum.


Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum, 901 West Pratt St. (at Poppleton St.), Baltimore, Maryland, May 2013. Photo by Adam N. Wexler.

[photo, Mosaics from Antioch, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland] A visible cross-section of Maryland, Baltimore museums showcase the cultural and religious history of its citizenry through institutions, such as the Baltimore American Indian Center Heritage Museum, the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, and the Jewish Museum of Maryland.


Star of Lozenges (3rd century) & Tigress & Boar (5th century), mosaics from Antioch, Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

[photo, Renaissance armor & swords, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland] Dating back to about 1765, the Robert Long House is the oldest surviving urban residence. Surviving centuries and fires, its house and garden may be toured for a look into colonial Baltimore life. Other famous Baltimore houses include the Mother Seton House, home of the first American-born Catholic saint, and the Edgar Allen Poe House and Museum. Both were constructed in the first half of the 19th century, and now are operated as museums.

Built in 1854, the USS Constellation was the last all sail warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and remained in service until 1933, when it was decommissioned. It now resides as a historic landmark in Baltimore Harbor, and is the only American Civil War era vessel still afloat.

Renaissance armor & swords, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland, August 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART
[photo, Baltimore Museum of Art, Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland] The Baltimore Museum of Art was created as part of the City revitalization plan after the Great Fire of 1904. Opened in 1914, the Museum quickly grew through loans and grants. Major contributions to the collection came from the Cone sisters. Dr. Etta and Claribel Cone were raised in a very affluent Baltimore family, and spent a good portion of their lives traveling abroad. In Europe, they acquired a substantial number of paintings, including works by Picasso, and Matisse. Claribel died in 1929, leaving her acquisitions to her sister, who willed the entire collection to the Baltimore Museum of Art in 1949.

Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, Maryland, September 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

Starting with only one painting, the Baltimore Museum of Art now preserves some 90,000 works of art in its permanent holdings, making it the largest art museum in Maryland. The Museum also boasts the largest collection of works by Henri Matisse in the world. While general admission to the Museum is free, special exhibitions sometimes require a purchased ticket.
[photo, Baltimore Public Works Museum, Baltimore, Maryland] BALTIMORE PUBLIC WORKS MUSEUM
Opening in 1982, the Public Works Museum was housed in part of the 1912 Eastern Avenue Pumping Station. Visitors could see what utility services the City provides and how the infrastrucure systems, including waste water pumps and electricity, work, as well as view an 18th-century wooden drainage trough.

The Museum closed in February 2010 due to budget shortfalls, but the Pumping Station remained operational. On October 5, 2019, the Museum reopened as the Public Works Experience, in which the new exhibits focus on the public works of today and the future.

Baltimore Public Works Museum, Pier VII, 751 Eastern Ave. (at President St.), Baltimore, Maryland, September 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

[photo, Baltimore Civil War Museum at President St. Station, Baltimore, Maryland] HISTORIC PRESIDENT STREET STATION
The President Street Station, which opened on February 18, 1850, is the oldest-surviving urban passenger station in the country. It was built by the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore (PW&B) Railroad.

Baltimore Civil War Museum at President St. Station, 601 President St., Baltimore, Maryland, September 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

On April 19, 1861, a week after the Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, a mob of Southern sympathizers attacked the Sixth Massachusetts Militia as they walked from the President Street Station to the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad's Camden Station in order to continue their journey to Washington, DC. Sixteen people were killed, including four soldiers, making the Pratt Street Riot the first bloodshed of the Civil War.

Today, the Historic President Street Station (formerly called the Baltimore Civil War Museum) has a large Civil War collection. The Station's exhibits focus on the City during the 1860s, the Station's role in the Underground Railroad, and Maryland's railroad history.

[photo, Peale Museum and Kurt L. Schmoke Conference Center, 225 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland] PEALE CENTER FOR BALTIMORE HISTORY & ARCHITECTURE
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture was opened in Baltimore in 1814 as the Peale Museum by Rembrandt Peale, who also designed it. The Peale was the first structure in this country particularly constructed as a museum. Fascinated by natural history, Peale displayed artifacts and even fossil bones along with paintings as the centerpieces of his museum. The Peale Museum also was the first public building in this country to use gas lighting.

Peale Museum & Kurt L. Schmoke Conference Center, 225 North Holliday St., Baltimore, Maryland, Septmber 2008. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.

By 1830, the Peale Museum was sold to the City and its exhibits moved to Calvert Street. Its original building became Baltimore's first City Hall, and later Primary School no. 1 for colored children (1876), and the City Water Board (1887). From 1915, it was rented to various private businesses, but not maintained. Facing demolition, the building was restored and rededicated in 1931 as the Municipal Museum of the City of Baltimore. In 1985, it was renamed the Peale Museum of the Baltimore City Life Museums. Along with the other Baltimore City Life Museums, the Peale Museum closed in 1997 and its collections transferred to the Maryland Historical Society (now Maryland Center for History and Culture) in 1998.

In 2005, the Friends of the Peale formed and later merged with the Baltimore History Center at the Peale in June 2012 to create the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture. In 2014, the Peale Center began to raise money for the building's renovations and by 2018, the exterior and the garden were renovated and work then began on the interior. From 2017 until renovations were completed in 2022, the Peale Center, known as Baltimore's Community Museum, offered exhibitions, lectures, tours, theatrical productions, and storytelling at its location on 225 North Holliday Street as well as off-site, including at the Carroll Mansion, 800 East Lombard Street.

The oldest museum building in the country, the Peale Center is listed on the National Historic Building Registry.

[photo, Roman & Greek Galleries, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland] WALTERS ART MUSEUM
The Walters Art Museum maintains a large collection of art and artifacts from around the world much of it originating from the private collection of William Walters. Upon his death in 1894, Walters willed the entirety of his collection to his son Henry. With purchases from Italy and Asia, Henry Walters greatly expanded his father’s collection and established the Walters Art Gallery in 1909. The Gallery was bequeathed to Baltimore City in 1931, and later renamed the Walters Art Museum.

Sculpture Court, Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles St., Baltimore, Maryland, August 2014. Photo by Sarah A. Hanks.

Today, the Walters Art Museum collection includes relics and artifacts from the ancient Americas, Napoleonic manuscripts, feudal Japanese armaments, 19th century artworks, and much more. The Museum also offers free admission.

Maryland Arts
Maryland Historical Chronology
Maryland Constitutional Offices & Agencies
Maryland Departments
Maryland Independent Agencies
Maryland Executive Commissions, Committees, Task Forces, & Advisory Boards
Maryland Universities & Colleges
Maryland Counties
Maryland Municipalities
Maryland at a Glance

Maryland Manual On-Line

Search the Manual
e-mail: mdmanual@maryland.gov


This web site is presented for reference purposes under the doctrine of fair use. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Maryland State Archives. PLEASE NOTE: The site may contain material from other sources which may be under copyright. Rights assessment, and full originating source citation, is the responsibility of the user.

Tell Us What You Think About the Maryland State Archives Website!
© Copyright September 20, 2024 Maryland State Archives