Baltimore Heritage

Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of the Peale’s renovations with architect Walter Schamu! Hear some of the many stories of the building, from its origins as the first purpose-built museum in the country, to the introduction of gaslight technology to the city, to its role as Baltimore’s first City Hall and public high school for people of color. Find out what is coming next as the Peale relaunches as a center for Baltimore stories and studies, and a laboratory for reinventing the museum for the 21st century in the creative and innovative spirit of the Peale family.

Join us to explore the eerie catacombs underneath Baltimore’s First Presbyterian Church, now called Westminster Hall, and the graves that surround it, including the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe. The burial ground predates the church, which was built on arches above the gravesites, so that the graveyard and its tombstones lie both underneath and around the building. We bet you will also recognize more than a few Baltimore street names as we walk among the patriots and civic leaders buried at Westminster including Calhoun, Hollins, Gilmore, and Bentalou. All told, the compact cemetery next to the University of Maryland School of Law is the final resting place for over 1,000 individuals. We can’t wait to see you "Where Baltimore's History Rests in Peace!"

Old St. Paul’s Cemetery’s list of the interred reads like the Who’s Who of the War of 1812 – Samuel Chase, George Armistead, John Eager Howard to name a few. Even Francis Scott Key spent part of his afterlife in the cemetery buried in the Howard crypt until he was moved to Frederick. Founded around 1799, Old St. Paul’s is one of the oldest cemeteries in Baltimore City and is on the registry of National Historic Places. Not regularly open to the public, come with us to peek behind its large stone walls and see the final resting places of those who helped shape this city.

If you haven’t been to Lexington market in a while, or even if you’re a regular there, we hope you’ll join us on a tour of this iconic Baltimore place to learn about recent changes and plans for the future of the market. On the tour, we will talk with the owners of Faidley’s, Berger’s, and other vendors that have been in their stalls for 100 years or more. We will also go down and explore the catacombs under the marketplace, getting a first-hand look at these mysterious spaces that are normally closed to the public.