Gaslight at The Peale - The Peale

Help Baltimore Tell Its Stories — Make Your Year-End Gift Today

Help Baltimore Tell Its Stories — Make Your Year-End Gift Today

Help Baltimore Tell Its Stories: Make Your Year-End Gift Today

Gaslight at The Peale

Where Baltimore’s Brightest Ideas First Switched On

The Birthplace of Light City

Long before Baltimore’s skyline glowed with electric light, Rembrandt Peale—the artist, scientist, entrepreneur, and visionary museum founder—used the Peale building to spark a revolution. In 1816, he stunned visitors by illuminating his galleries with an invention few had seen before: manufactured gas light.

Crowds gathered on Holliday Street, staring up in awe at the brilliant glow pouring from the museum’s windows—brightness unlike anything seen in a world still lit by candles and oil lamps.What they witnessed wasn’t just a novelty.

It was the moment Baltimore became the first city in America—one of the first in the world—to be lit by gas.

A Museum Becomes a Powerhouse

Rembrandt Peale didn’t stop at dazzling visitors.

He founded the Baltimore Gas Company in 1817, manufacturing gas in a small shed behind the museum and sending it through wooden log-pipes to light the city streets. His innovation would eventually grow into Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE)—today one of the oldest natural gas companies in the world.

Illuminating Baltimore’s Stories Today

The Peale continues to be a beacon for innovation and community-powered storytelling. From our digital storytelling labs to our restoration apprenticeships, from exhibitions to performing arts, every program we run continues the Peale family legacy: illuminating Baltimore through creativity, invention, and community.

Your support keeps that light shining. Make a year-end gift and help Baltimore tell its stories. Every donation keeps programs accessible and helps preserve the Peale—America’s first purpose-built museum.