The Peale

The Peale in Baltimore is a public art and history museum housed in a historic building on North Holliday Street. Built in 1814 in the Georgian style and designed by Robert Cary Long Sr., the building was the first museum of its kind in the United States. Originally founded by Rembrandt Peale, it housed portraits of famous figures as well as natural history objects such as fossils and minerals. After serving various other uses, including as a city hall and a school, the building reopened as a museum in 1931 and was relaunched as a community museum in 2022 following an extensive restoration. Today, you can experience the neoclassical architecture and the cultural significance of the site, which became part of the National Park Service's civil rights network in 2024.