here - The Peale Center

The Peale Center for
Baltimore History
and Architecture
Reinventing.America’s Oldest.Museum.Building
Raising the Curtain...
Join the effort to reopen the vacant and deteriorating
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 plans to reopen the building in 2016,
the bicentennial of the founding of the Baltimore
Gas and Electric Co. Its ancestor, the first gas light
company in America, was formed by Rembrandt
Peale, founder of the museum, in 1816.
We have raised $1 million of the $4.5 million needed to
renovate the building ($3 million) and operate it in the
initial years ($1.5 million). Help us to raise the rest so
that we can reopen to the public free of charge the
restored Peale Museum—featuring programs, events,
and exhibits appealing to everyone interested in
Baltimore’s colorful past, dynamic present and
possible futures.
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. On
August 15, 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 June 1816, Rembrandt Peale illuminated one of his painting galleries with gas and later
that month started, with others, 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. The Peale Center, a 501©3 nonprofit corporation, 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 café featuring a novel menu of homemade soups, salads, and breads utilizing locally
grown ingredients that can be enjoyed alfresco in the 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.
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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.
We will restore for public use a unique building,
closed and empty for almost 20 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.
Institutional partners in the programming for the Peale Center include:
Baltimore Chapter, American Institute of Architects/Baltimore Architecture Foundation;
Maryland Historical Society; Maryland Institute College of Art; Morgan State University,
School of Architecture and Planning; The Johns Hopkins University
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
MAIN ENTRANCE
Exterior garden condition
Elevations and floor plans by Schamu, Machowski, Patterson Architects, with James T. Wollon,
Jr., consulting architect, show the work to be done and the future use of the space. Construction
documents are now being prepared; when they are completed, the project will be put out to bid.
The City plans to begin work on the roof and exterior of the building later this year (2015).
EXHIBIT
EXHIBIT
S
ENTRANCE
HALL
S
RECEPTION
GIFT SHOP
E
C
OFFICE
EXHIBIT
C
Although it is in generally sound condition, the Peale Museum building needs to be renovated
to make it fully useable. The 1930 standing seam metal roof leaks and needs to be replaced. (The
City of Baltimore will install a new roof.) Rotting and leaking window frames and sashes have to
be restored. The 1980 HVAC system, only partially operable, needs replacement. The major new
items are an elevator and remodeled bathrooms to provide ADA accessibility.
EXHIBIT
A
Interior water damage
ACCESSIBLE RAMP
The Peale buiding circa 1930
ACCESSIBLE
ENTRY
ELEVATOR
LOBBY
HALL
HALL
ELEV
Y
ELEV
E
PRESENTATION AND
EXHIBIT HALL
L
REHABILITATE ROOF
L
SERVICE
A
CAFE
SEATING
CAFE
SERVICE
REPOINT MASONRY
REPLACE GUTTERS
Building Elevation facing Holliday Street
HISTORIC
GARDEN
First and Second Floor Plans
CAFE
SEATING
GARDEN
(BELOW)
Funding & Costs
The Peale Center for Baltimore
History and Architecture
Funds Raised to Date:
Mission Statement
$1 million from major private donors, the City of
Baltimore, the Baltimore National Heritage Area,
and the Peale Center Board of Directors.
The restored Peale Center will be a lively gathering place
to explore Baltimore’s rich architecture and diverse history.
James D. Dilts, President
Jean Baker, Vice President
Sally Johnston, Treasurer
Catherine Rogers Arthur, Secretary
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
$ 3 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 exterior elevator and lobby, and for exterior
repairs, HVAC replacement, electrical upgrades,
sprinkler system, and plaster repair.
Construction Costs
Pledges of Operating Support
GRAND TOTAL
$ 3,000,000
$ 1,500,000
$ 4,500,000
Illustration Credits
Cover
Page 2
Walter Schamu, The Peale Museum, (2007).
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.
Page 7
Exterior of the Peale Museum, photograph by A. Aubrey Bodine © Jennifer B. Bodine;
Peale Garden, © Monument City.
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
Enable the Peale Museum to reassume its historic
identity in Baltimore. Help us turn empty rooms into
animated places of exploration and discovery.
The Peale Center for
Baltimore History and Architecture
225 North Holliday Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21203
For information:
info@thepealecenter.org
www.thepealecenter.org
The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture
© 2015 The Peale Center