From the Director – The Peale

James D. Dilts, former Baltimore Sun reporter and author

Former Baltimore Sun reporter and author had a passion for railroads, historic preservation and jazz

By Frederick N. Rasmussen, The Baltimore Sun, 13 May 2018

James D. Dilts, a former Baltimore Sun reporter and author who wrote widely on railroads, architecture, historic preservation and jazz and led the effort for the restoration of the historic Peale Museum in Baltimore, died at Union Memorial Hospital on Tuesday from heart failure and multiple myeloma.

The Evergreen resident was 81.

“Jim was an iconic figure to anyone even remotely interested in the B&O and its embryonic fits and starts. His masterwork,‘The Great Road,’ is a must read. His early history of the railroad is unparalleled,” said Courtney B. Wilson, executive director of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum and a longtime friend.

“His written works, love for Baltimore and its buildings, his kind words and contagious laugh will keep him alive and in the hearts of many,” Mr. Wilson said.

Herbert H. Harwood Jr., a noted railroad author and historian and a retired CSX executive, called Mr. Dilts a “first-class historian.”

“Jim’s book on the B&O is a virtuoso job,” said Mr. Harwood, a Cross Keys resident. “You can’t pick at it one way or the other.”

A Renaissance man who left Baltimore with a richer heritage

A remembrance of Jim Dilts, historian, journalist and steadfast friend

By Mark Reutter, Baltimore Brew, 9 May 2018

James Dothard Dilts, who died yesterday at age 81 after a short illness, had many talents. A journalist, historian, book author, carpenter and sailor, he was also a jazz connoisseur, documentary filmmaker, friend of artists and a leader of Baltimore’s preservation movement.

His presence will be missed in those diverse spheres even as his legacy will grow thanks to what he’s left behind – not just a written record of hundreds of articles and a half dozen books, but an elegance of manner capped by an infectious grin that drew many into his orbit.

Insofar as describing himself, Jim liked to recall the day he emerged from a dusty railroad tunnel in West Virginia (part of his hands-on research of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad) only to be confronted by a bewildered local.

“You some kind of enTHUsiast?” the man asked the hot and begrimed city slicker.

Jim cherished that description and, as time went by, his enthusiasm for his adopted hometown only multiplied as he battled to preserve Fells Point from foolish development, covered the local jazz scene for DownBeat and unearthed such buried treasures as Baby Lawrence, the legendary tap dancer who had fallen on hard times.

Celebrating Jim Dilts, President of the Board of the Peale Center

Jim Dilts at the opening of “Birdland and the Anthropocene” at the Peale Center, October 6, 2017.

It is with deep sadness that we must share the news that the Peale Center’s Board President, James D. Dilts, passed away unexpectedly on May 8, 2018. Jim was a true friend of Baltimore and a tireless champion for its history and architecture – above all, the historic Peale Museum building. He was also a master storyteller, a veteran of the Baltimore Sun, and author of numerous books on Baltimore architecture, including with John Dorsey, the definitive A Guide to Baltimore Architecture; historic railroads, with his latest, The World the Trains Made: A Century of Great Railroad Architecture in the United States and Canada, due out in September; and jazz, which he brought to historic buildings across the city in a concert series, “Jazz in Cool Places.” Thanks to Jim’s vision and leadership, the Peale’s exterior is now restored and the building is open again as a center to experience Baltimore’s past and imagine its future through cultural storytelling and innovative exhibitions, programs and events. He helped us all “see Baltimore in a new light.” Penny Williamson, Jim’s wife, asks that donations be made to the Peale’s Capital Campaign in lieu of flowers.

Checks can be made payable to:
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, P.O. Box 1742, Baltimore, MD 21203.

Jim Dilts lighting the Peale’s “Magic Ring of Fire,” November 29, 2017.

Jim Dilts and BGE engineer, Steve Pedri, with the historic gas streetlights restored by BGE, in front of the Peale, November, 2017.

The Peale is recruiting!

Interested in helping reinvent the 21st century museum? The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture is looking for reliable and creative volunteers who want to spread their wings and help us soar! We’re renovating the oldest museum building in the U.S. and relaunching it as a platform for cultural innovation: a center for producing inclusive narratives of the City that help people see Baltimore in a new light.

Whether your thing is art or architecture, storytelling or natural science, history or new technologies, there is an opportunity for you to develop your ideas and skills at the Peale. Even an occasional contribution can make a big difference to the Peale and the services we are able to provide to the City’s communities. Everyone’s input is welcome and valued – contact us if you can help with your time and expertise. Thank you!

Peale Director Nancy Proctor on The Artist Exchange Radio Show

Nate Couser and Hullywood interviewed the Peale’s Director Nancy Proctor on The Artist Exchange Radio Show on July 7. From about 32 minutes in to the show, hear about the plans and vision for reinventing the urban museum at the Peale Center, the first museum ever purpose-built in the United States.