Originally completed during the 1930 renovation of the Peale Museum, our historic garden has undergone as many transformations as the building itself. After sitting unused and overgrown for 20 years, it was returned to public use as part of the “Birdland and the Anthropocene” exhibition, curated at the Peale by Lynne Parks. Today the garden features working gaslights, historic architectural pediments, a pollinator garden designed by Ashley Kidner, and a quiet oasis hidden in the heart of downtown Baltimore.

The large pediment that sits at the back of our garden was created by Italian sculptors Andrei and Franzoni, who also worked on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC before it was burned by the British in the War of 1812. The sandstone sculpture originally appeared on the First Union Bank Building, completed in 1806, and designed by architect Robert Carey Long, Sr. who also designed the Peale building, which opened in 1814.  The pediment was moved to the Peale when the garden was created during the 1930 renovation.