Peale Museum facts for kids
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Peale's Baltimore Museum
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Peale Museum
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 Location in Baltimore
Location in Maryland
Location in the United States
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| Location | 225 North Holliday Street, Baltimore, Maryland |
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| Built | 1814 |
| Architect | Robert Carey Long, Sr. |
| Architectural style | Georgian |
| NRHP reference No. | 66000915 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1966 |
| Designated NHL | December 21, 1965 |
The Peale Museum, also known as the Municipal Museum of the City of Baltimore, was a special place in Baltimore, Maryland. It was one of the first buildings in the Western Hemisphere made just to be a museum! Inside, you could see beautiful paintings and learn about natural history.
The museum was started by a famous artist named Charles Willson Peale (1741–1827) and his son, Rembrandt Peale (1778–1860). For many years, it was Baltimore City's official history museum. Later, in the 1980s, it joined with other historical places in Baltimore to form the Baltimore City Life Museums.
In the 1990s, the Baltimore City Life Museums faced money problems. The Peale Museum branch, along with others, closed in 1997. Its large collections were then moved to the Maryland Historical Society. The building itself was named a National Historic Landmark in 1965, which means it's a very important historical site.
Today, the Peale Museum building is being fixed up and will reopen as the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture. It's a partnership between the city and a non-profit group. Soon, it will welcome visitors again to explore Baltimore's past!
Contents
Discovering the Peale Museum's Past
How the Peale Museum Began
The idea for a public museum came to Charles Willson Peale in 1783. He was drawing mastodon fossils at the time. A mastodon is a huge, ancient animal, similar to a mammoth. Peale was so inspired that he opened a museum in Philadelphia on July 18, 1786.
In 1810, Charles Willson Peale retired. His sons took over the museum. Later, in 1814, his second son, Rembrandt Peale, opened a new museum in Baltimore. It was located at 225 North Holliday Street. This new museum was called "Peale's Baltimore Museum and Gallery of Fine Arts." It showed portraits of famous Americans, many painted by Rembrandt's father. It also had a complete skeleton of a prehistoric mastodon! Charles Willson Peale himself had dug up this mastodon in 1801.
The Museum's Journey Through Time
In 1830, the original Peale Museum building was sold. The museum's exhibits moved to a new building. The old building then became Baltimore's first "City Hall." It served as the city government's main office until 1875. That's when the current Baltimore City Hall was finished.
After being City Hall, the old museum building was used by the Baltimore City Public Schools. It became the Number 1 Colored Primary School. Later, different businesses rented the building.
Saving a Historic Treasure
By 1928, the old museum building was in bad shape. It was almost torn down. But local historians and journalists wanted to save it. They had recently helped save another important building, the "Flag House." This was the home of Mary Young Pickersgill, who made the huge "Star Spangled Banner Flag" that inspired the national anthem.
Inspired by this success, people worked hard to save the Peale Museum. They raised $90,000 to fix it up. In 1931, the building was beautifully restored and reopened as the Municipal Museum of Baltimore.
The museum had another big renovation from 1978 to 1981. It reopened again as the Peale Museum. In 1985, it became part of the Baltimore City Life Museums system. This system closed in 1997, and the Peale Museum building became empty.
The Peale Museum Today
All the collections from the Peale Museum were moved to the Maryland Historical Society. This left the original building on North Holliday Street empty for some time.
As of 2014, a group in Maryland started a campaign. They wanted to raise $4 million to restore the museum. The building is located between the Zion Lutheran Church and the offices for The Real News. Soon, this historic building will once again be a vibrant center for Baltimore's history and architecture.
Images for kids
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Peale Museum
