The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture (the Peale), a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, is Baltimore’s Community Museum. Based in the first museum building in the United States, established by artist Rembrandt Peale in 1814, the Peale provides a showcase for the city’s storytellers that honors their importance and historical value.
Our mission is to ensure the whole story of the City is told, and, by amplifying its communities’ voices, to help people everywhere see Baltimore in a new light.
We work with local creators – storytellers, griots, performers, artists, architects, historians, students, educators, and other culture-keepers – who employ the full range of artistic media and processes to produce and share their narratives of the city, its places, and the diverse people who have made Baltimore what it is today.
In the historic Peale Museum building, a registered state and national historic landmark, these voices and their stories (often under-represented and unheard outside of their communities) have a historic home that honors the importance of their contribution to the heritage of the city and the nation. The Peale is also a laboratory for museum practice in the innovative spirit of founder Rembrandt Peale: more than a treasure house, it is a production house of culture and community, developing and testing new models for access, inclusion, and sustainability that are being adopted by other cultural organizations both within Baltimore and beyond.
The Peale Center began as Friends of the Peale in 2005. In June 2012, the Friends of the Peale and the Baltimore History Center at the Peale, a Maryland non-profit corporation formed by Judge John Carroll Byrnes, joined forces as The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture.
In 2017, the Peale hired its first Executive Director, Dr. Nancy Proctor, and reopened its doors for programming and events. The City of Baltimore, the building’s proprietor, replaced the roof and repair exterior masonry in 2017. In 2018, the Peale Center renovated all the windows and doors, as well as the historic garden, which was replanted with the help of a grant from BGE and generous donors. The final interior renovations, including the installation of an elevator, new HVAC, and modern fire-safety systems, are now underway with completion expected in 2022.
The Peale is located at 225 Holliday Street, Baltimore, MD 21202, across from the Abel Wolman Municipal Building and next door to Zion Church and the Real News Network. During its interior renovations, the Peale’s activities are based at the nearby Carroll Mansion and online.
Please contact us if you’d like more information about the Peale or how you can support the preservation and rebirth of America’s oldest museum building!