The Peale Center

Raising the Curtain...
Join the effort to reopen the Peale Museum as a lively
center celebrating Baltimore’s distinguished history and
architecture.
Restore America’s oldest museum building, a National
Historic Landmark.
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
has spent the year 2012 expanding the board, updating
the architectural plans and construction costs, and
finalizing the business plan. We have now embarked on a
$4 million capital campaign to raise the funds necessary to
restore the building ($2.5 million) and operate it over the
long term ($1.5 million).
Reopen to the public free of charge the restored Peale
building for contemporary adaptive reuse.
Resident groups and collaborating institutions and
organizations will present programs, events, and exhibits
appealing to everyone interested in Baltimore’s colorful
past, dynamic present, and possible futures.
— The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
— Baltimore Architecture Foundation
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His Museum
The Peale Family of Artists...
Charles Willson Peale
Rembrandt Peale
Raphaelle Peale
Rubens Peale
and the Museum
Skeleton of the Mastodon,
Alfred Jacob Miller (1836)
Portrait of Washington,
Rembrandt Peale (1827)
Peale interior, circa 1960
Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827), the Maryland-born artist, naturalist, and inventor, opened
the country’s first natural history museum in Philadelphia in 1786. He was then the most
prominent portrait painter in America. In 1801, on a farm north of New York City, Peale
excavated two skeletons of what he called the “Mammoth” (the American Mastodon), an
event that profoundly affected the fortunes of his museum and of his artistic family.
The city bought the building the following year for $1,610 for use as the first formal City Hall.
It functioned as such until 1875, after which the building housed successively the Male and
Female Colored School No. 1 (1878-1887: it marked the beginning of public secondary
education for African-Americans in Baltimore), the city’s Bureau of Water Supply (1887-1916),
and finally rental space for shops and factories (1916-1928).
Several of Peale’s eleven surviving children became accomplished artists. Two of them—
Rembrandt (1778-1860) and Raphaelle (1774-1825) —established and operated Peale’s
Baltimore Museum. In 1797, they first displayed their collection of paintings, Indian and
military artifacts, and stuffed birds, animals, and fish in rented rooms in Baltimore. In 1814,
Rembrandt Peale welcomed the public to his “Museum and Gallery of the Fine Arts” in new
quarters on Holliday Street. The featured exhibit was a mastodon skeleton.
The building was condemned in 1928, but public regard for its long history and a plan to
return it to use as a museum rescued it from demolition. Reconstructed in the Federal Revival
style, the building reopened in 1931 as Baltimore’s Municipal Museum, commonly known as
“The Peale.” It housed numerous Peale paintings and a valuable collection of Baltimore
prints and photographs. The Peale Museum enjoyed a longer tenure than any of the previous
occupants, but having become part of the Baltimore City Life Museums in 1985, it closed in
1997 with the demise of that organization.
Rembrandt Peale commissioned architect Robert Cary Long to design the new home for
Peale’s Baltimore museum. The first museum building erected in the United States, it
resembled a typical Baltimore Federal-period townhouse. Two important differences were
the prominent central section featuring a recessed entrance and the rear extension with first
and second floor gallery spaces, the latter lit by a skylight.
It is time for the Peale to reassume its place as the center
for study of Baltimore’s history and architecture.
The Peale Museum documented the new American
nation’s emerging culture.
The role of the Peale as expounder of the city’s history and guardian of its architectural
landmarks was especially prominent under its long-term director, Wilbur H. Hunter. Hunter
was an acknowledged expert on the city’s history and an effective preservationist for such
projects as the Washington Monument, City Hall, and the Carroll Mansion.
In 1816, Rembrandt Peale illuminated one of his painting galleries with gas and shortly
helped to found the Gas Light Company of Baltimore. It was the first such enterprise in the
nation and the ancestor of the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company. In later years, the
museum lost money. Rembrandt Peale went heavily into debt to pay the original construction
costs. His brother Rubens (1784-1865) took over in 1822, but despite bringing in live animals
and other popular attractions, he was unable to compete effectively against traveling shows
and rival museums. Peale’s Baltimore Museum closed in 1829.
The effort to restore and reopen the Peale began with the Baltimore City Historical Society.
The Friends of the Peale was formed in 2008 to raise funds and complete the project. The
following year, another Maryland non-profit corporation, the Baltimore History Center at the
Peale, was established to work towards the same end. In 2012, these two groups joined forces
to form the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture. This organization and the
Baltimore Architecture Foundation, both 501©3 non-profit corporations, will oversee the
restoration of the Peale Museum building and its future operation.
The Program: Restore & Revive
The Vision: Engage!
Imagine the Peale Museum as a lively learning center!
Planned Permanent Exhibits
l Exhibits about the history and architecture of Baltimore, the Peale family, and their works.
The History of Baltimore and its physical growth up to the present, will be explained with
maps, illlustrations, and artifacts, emphasizing the development of trade, business, and industry that fueled the expansion as well as the transportation systems that made it feasible.
l A reading room with over 2,000 volumes on Baltimore’s history and architecture.
l An auditorium for presentations to groups of visitors, students, and general audiences.
l A cafe serving light fare that can be enjoyed alfresco in the Peale Center’s restored garden.
l Public talks, educational programs, and tours for schoolchildren and adults.
Located in the heart of Baltimore’s Civic Center,
the Peale Museum building will become:
l
A central meeting place for the study of Baltimore and its buildings.
l
A new destination, just a short walk from the Inner Harbor.
l
An active daytime and evening gathering spot for the Peale’s immediate neighborhood.
l
A forum for on-going public engagement with Baltimore’s built environment.
l
A key orientation site for the Baltimore National Heritage Area.
l
A major stop on Baltimore’s 3.2-mile Heritage Walk.
l
The home base for lecture series on architecture and walking tours of Baltimore’s buildings.
l
A repository for material and artifacts relating to Baltimore’s architecture and history.
l
A model for the adaptive reuse of the Municipality’s historic structures.
l
Headquarters for participating organizations.
We will restore for public use a unique building,
closed and empty for the past fifteen years, to reestablish its function as the center for the study and
appreciation of Baltimore’s history and architecture.
The Building as Exhibit will explore the history and architecture of the Peale Museum,
relating the complex and fascinating story of its founding and its important role in Baltimore
throughout two centuries of existence, highlighting John H. Scarff’s 1930 reconstruction of the
building and its reincarnation as Baltimore’s Municipal Museum.
The Peale Family of Artists and Their Works. Charles Willson Peale and the artistic dynasty
he created are recognized as the first family of American art. The Peale Museum’s collection of
portraits by Peale family members, now at the Maryland Historical Society, has been absent
from the Peale’s walls for too many years; some of these artworks will return for exhibit.
These exhibits can be periodically redesigned so that the Peale Center’s message remains
consistently fresh and relevant.
Planned Temporary Exhibits
Changing exhibitions on aspects of architecture, urban planning, preservation, landscape,
folklife, and communities will be installed on a rotating basis by the Peale Center’s institutional partners, especially those professional organizations and academic departments whose
ongoing research directly engages architectural design or history.
Potential institutional partners in the programming for the Peale Center include:
D:center Baltimore, American Institute of Architects (Baltimore chapter), Maryland
Historical Society, Maryland Institute College of Art (Environmental Design, Curatorial
Practice), Morgan State University (School of Architecture and Planning), University of
Maryland College Park (School of Architecture), and the Johns Hopkins University (Museums and Society Undergraduate Program).
Displays might include Masters’ thesis projects in architecture including models, AIA design
award winners, historical installations by museum-study classes at local universities, or
“Design in Process” exhibits by local architecture schools.
The Renovation:
Plans for a new Peale
H O L L I D A Y
S T R E E T
ENTRANCE
HALL
EXHIBIT
SPACE
EXHIBIT SPACE
S
Although it is in generally sound condition, the Peale Museum building needs to be
renovated to make it fully useable. The standing seam metal roof dating from the 1930s
is leaking and needs to be repaired or replaced. Rotting window frames have to be restored.
The HVAC system, installed in the early 1980s, must be upgraded. The major new items are an
elevator and remodeled bathrooms to provide ADA accessibility.
RECEPTION
INFORMATION
GIFT SHOP
E
Exterior garden condition
C
Interior water damage
C
The Peale buiding circa 1930
S
MAIN ENTRANCE
OFFICE
OFFICE /
EXHIBIT
OFFICE
A
Elevations and floor plans by Schamu, Machowski, Greco Architects, with James T. Wollon, Jr.,
consulting architect, show the work to be done and the future use of the space.
ACCESSIBLE
ENTRY
ELEVATOR
LOBBY
HALL
ELEV
E
Y
ELEV
HALL
STORAGE
LECTURES
&
ASSEMBLY
A
CAFE
INDOOR
SEATING
L
L
REHABILITATE ROOF
CAFE
SERVICE
REPOINT MASONRY
REPLACE GUTTERS
HISTORIC GARDEN
CAFE SEATING
Building Elevation facing Holliday Street
ACCESSIBLE
ACCESS
Proposed First and Second Floor Plans
GARDEN (BELOW)
Funding & Costs
Resident Organizations
Funds Raised to Date:
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
$40,000 (for architectural and program plans)
Baltimore City Heritage Area grant of $20,000 matched with private funds from
Constellation Energy, France Merrick Foundation, William Donald Schaefer Civic
Fund, and participating organizations.
James D. Dilts, President
Jean H. Baker, Vice President
Romaine S. Somerville, Secretary
Sally Johnston, Treasurer
Baltimore Architecture Foundation
The mission of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, established 1987, is to promote an
awareness and appreciation of Baltimore’s built environment.
Costs of Restoration
The total estimated cost for design and construction to bring the Peale Museum building
up to current standards and allow for its adaptive reuse is $2.5 million. A major fund-raising
campaign is underway to pay for the costs of restoration. These funds will be used primarily
to construct a new elevator tower, and to remodel the existing bathrooms to provide ADA
accessibility. Existing mechanical systems will also be upgraded.
Restoration Items
Our mission is to present the unique history and architecture of Baltimore to residents and visitors,
especially students, through exhibits, talks, walking tours, special programs, and research facilities.
Roof
Elevator/Lobbies
Exterior repairs
Exterior fire stair
Garden/Landscaping
Peale Café
Bathrooms
HVAC Upgrades
Plumbing Upgrades
Electrical Upgrades
Technology Upgrades
Sprinkler System
Plaster repair/Painting
Millwork/Trim
Demolition/cleanup
Exhibits
Contingency
Design/Permits (5%)
$ 130,000 (or $40,000*)
$ 250,000
$ 250,000
$ 35,000
$ 75,000
$ 200,000
$ 140,000
$ 200,000 (or $57,000*)
$ 150,000
$ 50,000
$ 40,000
$ 150,000
$ 120,000
$ 80,000
$ 50,000
$ 225,000
$ 200,000
$ 117,000
SUB TOTAL
$ 2,500,000 (rounded)
Pledges of Operating Support
$ 1,500,000
GRAND TOTAL
$ 4,000,000
* repair rather than replacement costs
Thor Nelson, President
Lisa Keir, Secretary
Walter Schamu, FAIA, Treasurer
Tracey Clark, Executive Director
Illustration Credits
Cover
Walter Schamu, The Peale Museum, (2007).
Page 2
Charles Willson Peale, The Artist in His Museum (1822) Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Page 3
Charles Willson Peale, Self Portrait (1791) National Portrait Gallery; Rembrandt Peale, Self Portrait by
Candlelight ( ca.1808) The Detroit Institute of Arts; likeness of Raphaelle Peale by Charles Willson Peale,
detail of Staircase Series (1795) Philadelphia Museum of Art; Rembrandt Peale, Rubens Peale with a
Geranium (1801) National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.;
Page 4
Alfred Jacob Miller, Skeleton of the Mastodon (1836) Maryland Historical Society; Rembrandt Peale,
Porthole Portrait of George Washington (1827) Maryland Historical Society; Interior of the Peale Museum,
photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine © Jennifer B. Bodine.
Exterior of the Peale Museum, photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine © Jennifer B. Bodine;
Peale Garden, © Monument City.
Page 7
Page 8
Plans courtesy Schamu, Machowski, Greco Architects.
Back Cover Baltimore Schoolchildren, (1947) Maryland Historical Society
This publication was made possible by funding from the
Baltimore National Heritage Area. Designated in 2009, BNHA
works to preserve and promote the city’s cultural resources
and to improve the quality of life of Baltimore’s residents
and visitors. www.baltimoreheritagearea.org
Pamphlet layout and design: Jeremy Kargon, Morgan State University