Baltimore is a city known for its historical landmarks and museum preserving the city’s art and culture. As a matter of fact, these landmarks and museum have become the most popular attractions for both tourists and locals. There are a handful of museums in the Charm City, some of them harboring important historical values every visitor must know. In case this is your first time traveling to some of these wonderful museums in Baltimore or visiting a museum in general, then this guide will help you.
Christine Jackson of Baltimore Magazine has created a guide for beginner tourists and locals to enjoy their visit to some of the city’s iconic museums. Read this guide and get started your journey towards Baltimore museums.
A Guide to Baltimore Museums
Image Source: Baltimore Magazine
Science, art, and history abound at the city’s many cultural institutions.
Looking to add a bit of culture to your afternoon? There is no shortage of great museums around Baltimore. Whether it’s art, science, history, or a particular famous figure you’re interested in, there’s a place nearby to spend your day wandering and learning.
Baltimore Museum of Art
This free museum houses a collection of 95,000 works, so you’re sure to find something to interest everyone among its vast collection. Lovers of modern art will want to linger in the galleries housing the famed Cone Collection, while those looking for the more non-traditional can usually find something interesting and extraordinary in the Contemporary Wing or special exhibition galleries. Recent shows have included a John Waters retrospective, surreal visions of some of Europe’s great conflicts, and a look back at the BMA’s first exhibit to feature black artists.
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History & Culture
The Smithsonian-affiliated Reginald F. Lewis Museum is home to art, photographs, sculptures, military antiques, and ephemera chronicling Maryland’s African-American history from 1784 to the present. Although it’s connected to the Smithsonian, the Lewis Museum remains open throughout the shutdown and is offering free admission to furloughed workers and up to three guests with a valid government I.D.
The Walters Art Museum
Housed across three buildings (including a historic residence) in Mount Vernon, the Walters features an extensive collection of Asian antiquities and decorative arts. Wander the Chamber of Wonders to experience what a 1600s nobleman might have shown off in his lavish home, or head to the 1 West Mount Vernon Place to see contemporary art placed alongside the preserved architecture of a 19th-century townhouse.
The Baltimore Museum of Industry
Explore Baltimore’s history as a hub of business and industry at this South Baltimore museum housed in a former cannery. Exhibits include a 1900s garment loft, a recreated soda fountain, a print shop, and a gallery dedicated to how Baltimore fueled the rise of the automobile. Don’t forget to stop by the Baltimore docked outside—she’s the oldest steam-powered tugboat in the United States.
Maryland Historical Society
The MdHS is the state’s oldest, continuously operating cultural institution, having been responsible for documenting Maryland history since 1844. With exhibits featuring figures such as The Catonsville Nine, Elizabeth Patterson Bonaparte, and the Peale Family of painters, this collection is comprised of more than seven million items from pre-Colonial times to the present. Read the rest of the list here…
These are a very informative guide for your visit to some of the city’s oldest, most popular and iconic museums. There are a lot of them in the city so it would take a while before you can visit all of them. However, if you don’t have the luxury of time to visit all these museums, CBS Baltimore listed the 5 of the best and must-visit museums in your vacation in Baltimore.
Baltimore’s Top 5 Museums To Visit Now
From historic ships to a collection of locomotives, Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the top museums in Baltimore, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of the best destinations for locals and tourists alike.
1. Baltimore Museum of Industry
Topping the list is the Baltimore Museum of Industry. Located at 1415 Key Highway in Locust Point, this is the highest-rated museum in Baltimore, boasting 4.5 stars out of 55 reviews on Yelp.
The museum says it depicts people who are often overlooked, the “workers, small business owners and others who built our history,” and shows Baltimore’s development from a small trading post to a thriving industrial center.
Exhibits include the preserved steam-powered tugboat The Baltimore and an interactive gallery featuring portraits of Baltimoreans in their workplaces.
Active duty and retired military personnel, with military ID, receive free admission. See more admission details here.
2. Historic Ships in Baltimore
Next up is the Inner Harbor’s Historic Ships in Baltimore, situated at 301 E. Pratt St., Piers 1, 3 and 5. With 4.5 stars out of 54 reviews on Yelp, the landmarks and historical building has proven to be a local favorite for maritime fans.
According to its website, Historic Ships in Baltimore is the steward of the U.S. sloop-of-war Constellation, USS submarine Torsk, U.S. Coast Guard cutter Taney, Lightship 116 Chesapeake and the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. Visitors can also expect a plethora of naval-related artifacts, materials and histories from these national treasures, celebrating over 200 years of naval and maritime history.
Fells Point’s Baltimore Tattoo Museum, located at 1534 Eastern Ave., is another top choice, with Yelpers giving the museum, tattoo and piercing spot 4.5 stars out of 39 reviews.
Displays showcase the history and artifacts of modern electric tattooing. While the spot displays mostly the traditional style of tattooing, more modern and varied styles of artwork can be found in the books and display racks of the museum’s collections of tattoo imagery, machines, tools and archives. See full post here…
Those are awesome museums found in downtown Baltimore. A lot of tourists and locals visit them all-year round to learn more about the historical background and artworks of some of the prominent persons of the city. While these attractions offer some information on Baltimore’s history, there are museums and houses that only focus on history. Scott Rouch has listed in Where Travel the museum and houses that hold significant information on the city’s historical background. Refer to the list below:
13 Historic Baltimore Homes You Can Tour
These homes tell a story of Baltimore and the country.
Image Courtesy of The Star Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum
What do a Declaration of Independence signer and the first U.S. born Catholic saint have in common? Their historic Baltimore homes.
Stretching out from the heart of Baltimore to the outskirts of the city, these locations can be visited for free or a small entry fee with hours of history to tour.
Mount Clare Museum House
Woven into the fabric of Maryland history is the Mount Clare Museum House. The state’s first museum house was built in 1760 by Charles Carroll, one of Maryland’s first state senators.
Mount Clare was the centerpiece of a plantation at the time and today the museum presents over 3,000 artifacts from the 18th and 19th centuries, allowing a look into plantation life. Seasonal tours are Thursday through Saturday from 11 am to 4 pm.
The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House and Museum
Why is Mary Pickersgill an integral part of American history? Pickersgill sewed the garrison flag that flew over Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to pen “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, built in 1793 was once Pickersgill’s home and business place. Today, this interactive museum tells her story through the exhibit, “Family of Flagmakers: The Star-Spangled Flag House Women Who Created the Star-Spangled Banner.” Children can design flags and fly them or measure themselves against two-foot stars.
Carroll Mansion
Discover more than 200 years of history at the former residence of Charles Carroll, who lived the longest of the 56 original signers of the Declaration of Independence. Learn how the mansion transitioned from a residence to a saloon, tenement apartments, a sweatshop, vocational school, recreation center and finally a historic site. Take a guided tour Saturday or Sunday from noon to 4 pm.
Mother Seton House
Elizabeth Seton was the first U.S. born canonized saint in the Catholic Church and her three-story house where she established a boarding school for girls is a part of the St. Mary’s Spiritual Center and Historic Site on Baltimore’s Paca Street.
Learn about Mother Seton at the visitor center through exhibits and artifacts and take time to visit the Historic Seminary Chapel. Open seven days a week
Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum
While not born in Baltimore, prodigious and groundbreaking writer Edgar Allan Poe claimed Baltimore as his home.
The house at 203 N. Amity Street is where Poe spent two years in the early stages of his career before becoming well known for works like “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.” Visitors can walk through the house and see artifacts including Poe’s writing desk and chair. See full post here…
One of the distinct features of Baltimore is its combination of the past and the present times; the past being represented by these wonderful museums and historical landmarks. There’s no way you cannot know the colorful history once you visit these places.
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