Baltimore’s restored Peale Museum, now called The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture, has been chosen to receive a prestigious award.
The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM) announced that The Peale is one of two museums selected to receive its Buildy Award for 2024. The awards will be presented during MAAM’s Building Museums Symposium on March 8 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with the Peale’s Chief Strategy Officer and founding director Nancy Proctor accepting the Baltimore museum’s award.
It’s the sixth prize or honor that The Peale and its contractors have received since the 1814 landmark at 225 N. Holliday St. reopened in August 2022 as “Baltimore’s community museum,” following a five year, $5.5 million renovation. Also receiving a 2024 Buildy Award is the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Buildy Award was established to increase awareness within the field, and by the public at large, of the value of museums and the need for their ongoing creation, rehabilitation and expansion to serve future generations.
The museum association calls it the only award “that recognizes the museum leadership and design team for their part in guiding the planning and construction process to a high level of success.” Projects of different scales, types and budgets are eligible, with the emphasis being on the project’s impact.
According to MAAM, “the award recognizes the museums as an institution, their director and staff, and the design and construction teams whose completed museum projects demonstrate high achievement in the lessons of the Building Museums™ Symposium: careful, creative planning and diligent implementation, leading to institutional sustainability.” Unlike some awards that focus on one area, such as design, the Buildy recognizes accomplishments at every stage of a construction project, from planning to “life after opening.”
This year, the museum group said, its Buildy Award Selection Committee chose to honor the MIT Museum and The Peale in part because each addressed different and significant challenges.
Whereas the $111 million MIT project is a new museum on the lower three floors of a 17-story office and research building at the gateway to MIT’s Kendall Square campus, the group said, The Peale was “the revitalization of the country’s oldest purpose built museum to serve its community through grassroots-up programming and hands-on training in architectural preservation skills.”
A National Historic Landmark, The Peale’s building was designed by architect Robert C. Long, Sr. for artist Rembrandt Peale, who operated it as a museum from 1814 to 1829. It then became Baltimore’s City Hall (1830 to 1875); one of its first public schools for African Americans (1878 to 1887); a mix of commercial and industrial uses (1888 to 1929) and Baltimore’s first municipal museum (1930 to 1997).
After the city museum closed in 1997 due to budget cutbacks, its collection was transferred to the Maryland Historical Society. The building was abandoned for 20 years before the start in 2017 of renovation work that led to its reopening in 2022.
As Baltimore’s “community museum,” The Peale’s purpose is to record and present Baltimore stories through exhibitions, performances and events created by local artists and storytellers from Baltimore’s diverse communities. It also conducts a training and apprentice program for exhibition preparation and the historic preservation trades. It’s managed by a shared leadership team separate from city government, and its programming is driven by Baltimore’s creative communities.
MAAM’s Award Selection Committee noted several factors that contribute to The Peale’s success:
First, “the involvement of the community in the development of the design and its programming and the impact The Peale is making with the community through programs, including the apprenticeship program for exhibition preparation and historic preservation trades that is unique for a museum.”
Second, “the remarkable and sustainable revitalization of a significant historic landmark. The Committee noted the installation of an all-electric HVAC system and the gentle refurbishment of existing building fabric and finishes that is inherently sustainable and provides for a healthy interior environment.”
Third, “the beautiful rejuvenation of The Peale’s garden space and its extension into the adjacent alley. A new elevator fronting the alley provides accessibility to the building.”
Architects for the Peale’s renovation were Walter Schamu, principal-in-charge, and Ron Masotta, project architect, of SM+P Architects. Construction was by A.R. Marani; Ruff Roofers, and C&H Restoration and Renovation, Inc. The building that houses the Peale Center is owned by the City of Baltimore, with Department of General Services historic preservation officer Jackson Gilman-Forlini overseeing the renovation for the city.
According to Proctor, other preservation-related awards received by The Peale include: the Stewardship Award from Preservation Maryland in 2019; a Preservation Award from Baltimore Heritage in 2022; an Excellence in Institutional Rehabilitation award from the Maryland Historical Trust in 2023; the Diamond Award for Excellence in Construction from Associated Builders and Contractors in 2023, and the Phoenix Award from Preservation Maryland in 2023.
