Downtown | Greater Baltimore
800 Key Highway, 21230; 410-244-1900
Located at Covington Street and Key Highway between Federal Hill and Locust Point, the Visionary Art Museum is a recognizable landmark, covered in colorful chips of stained glass. The industrial-style museum maintains a 400-piece collection of unique and eclectic artwork produced by self-taught individuals. All six galleries explore one central exhibition theme at a time, while the permanent collection has yearlong exhibits centered on themes such as war, peace, and faith. The museum also features a sculpture barn and plaza, a giant whirligig, and a wildflower garden.
224 W. Read Street, 21201; 410-230-0580
Located in Mount Vernon, this museum houses an antique toy collection that includes miniature dollhouses, games, jack-in-the-boxes, and marionettes dating from 1800–1850. Next to the museum there is also an antique shop where similar toys and items are available for purchase.
216 Emory Street, 21230 (Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum); 301 W. Camden Street, 21201 (Sports Legends Museum); 410-727-1539
Located inside the old Camden Station building just outside the Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the Babe Ruth Birthplace Museum and Sports Legends Museum feature commemorative items of George Herman “Babe” Ruth and official archives that represent the rich history of the Baltimore Orioles and Colts. Artifacts on display include Babe Ruth’s catcher mitt, jersey, and the hymnal book he used while attending St. Mary’s Industrial School in Baltimore. The Sports Legends Museum also features multiple exhibits that include the Orioles Hall of Fame, the Baltimore Blast, and an engaging kids’ activity room called The Locker Room. The museums extend their hours on baseball game days.
601 President Street, 21202; 410-385-5188
The Baltimore Civil War Museum is one of two satellite museums operated by the Maryland Historical Society. Located in the historic President Street Station in Harbor East, the museum explores Maryland’s railroad history, the transportation of slaves escaping to the North, the divided loyalties during wartime, and the train station’s role in the “border state” between the North and the South.
901 W. Pratt Street, 21223; 410-752-2490
The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum is an excellent place for families to visit year-round. A 40-acre historic site containing locomotives, rolling stock, and documents that record the development of early railroading, the museum also has many weekly children’s programs and annual family-friendly events. Children will be delighted in watching toy trains make their way through the G-scale garden layout, and from April through December train rides are available to all. The B&O’s weekly Toddler Time offers stories with classic railroad children’s books. In December, families look forward to the month-long Holiday Festival of Trains, and come spring families hurry to purchase tickets to the annual Day Out With Thomas event, where young children and their parents take a 25-minutes ride with Thomas the Tank Engine, meet Sir Topham Hat, and enjoy storytelling and live music.
1415 Key Highway, 21230; 410-727-4808
The Baltimore Museum of Industry features an assortment of exhibits representing the industrial and technological heritage of Baltimore. From the flying prototype of a World War II boat bomber, to a replica of the 1910 Bunting Pharmacy where Noxzema was invented, the BMI celebrates the industrial advances that Baltimoreans and Marylanders have contributed to the world. Visitors can step into recreated workshops that explore printing, garment making, metalworking, and more. The BMI offers a Wee Workers program every other Tuesday morning for children 2–5 years old, and older children entering the third, fourth, and fifth grades can attend the Green Kids Urban Ecology Camp in July. Unique cake factory, garment making, engineering, and tugboat birthday party packages are also available. Outside the museum walls, families take advantage of the BMI’s large pavilion and grounds to celebrate the 4th of July at a perfect location for viewing fireworks. The pavilion is also home to the BMI Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings in the summer.
751 Eastern Avenue, 21202; 410-396-5565
The Baltimore Public Works Museum is the first and only museum of its kind in the world, located in the historic yet fully functioning Eastern Avenue Pumping Station dating back to 1912. A unique destination, the museum will entertain and inform visitors about the role public works plays in our everyday lives and how they influence the urban environment. A variety of tours and interactive exhibits are available for school, summer camps, as well as for private individuals and families. The museum also hosts special events throughout the year, such as the Heavy Metal: Big Truck Day in October.
1901 Falls Road, 21211; 410-547-0264
Located in the Bolton Hill and Charles North area, the Baltimore Streetcar Museum explores the city’s public transportation history with a focus on the railway era. Visitors can enjoy unlimited rides in the streetcars, explore visual displays, take a guided tour of a car house, and watch a 10-minute orientation video in the Trolley Theatre. The museum can also be rented out for children’s birthday parties, bar or bat mitzvahs, graduation parties, and other special occasion gatherings, where the party will have access to the Visitor Center facility and Trolley Theatre. Parties can also ride in streetcars dating back to the 1800s.
800 E. Lombard Street, 21202 410-605-2964
Built in the early 1800s and located in historic Jamestown, the Carroll Mansion was once the winter home of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence and one of the wealthiest individuals in America during his time. Visitors can visit the mansion, exploring its 200-year history through its time as a residential home, its time as Baltimore City’s first vocation school, and its time as a once beloved neighborhood recreation center. The Carroll Mansion is open for guided tours on Saturdays and Sundays. Visitors can also tour the neighboring Phoenix Shot Tower’s ground floor exhibit and sound and light show by appointment.
2701 St. Lo Drive, 21213; 410-366-8533
The Clifton Mansion was home to a Henry Thompson, Captain of the Flying Artillery, 3rd Maryland Brigade, in the War of 1812. Clifton Mansion also later became the summer home of Johns Hopkins. Tours are available by appointment.
100 W. Centre Street, 21201; 410-783-5720
The Contemporary Museum, located in Mount Vernon, explores the art and culture of our time and is committed to exclusive production and presentation of new art and thought-provoking exhibitions directly applicable to local audiences. Past exhibition themes have included recycled materials, perception of illusion and reality, energy consumption, and the exploration of the earth’s natural resources.
203 N. Amity Street, 21223; 410-396-7932
The small house where Edgar Allen Poe once lived with his family is now part of a row of houses and has been restored as a historic landmark. Although the house itself is the main attraction, several items belonging to Poe and his family, such as glassware and china, a telescope, Poe’s sextant, a traveling desk, and the only known portrait of Poe’s wife Virginia are on display. Other Poe-related sites in Baltimore include Sir Moses Ezekiel Statue of Poe at the University of Baltimore Law Center Plaza; Church Hospital, the site of Poe’s death; and Poe’s gravesite in West Baltimore.
847 N. Howard Street, 21201; 410-225-3130
Located in the heart of Antique Row in downtown Baltimore, the Eubie Black National Jazz Institute and Cultural Center promotes the legacy of African-American art and culture in the city through exhibitions, programming, and educational activities. The gallery exhibits rotate monthly featuring the original work of local and national visual artists. The center also offers a monthly film series highlighting African-American jazz musicians, an annual Kwanza celebration, a variety of workshops and clinics by professional artists, and theater program for children and youth 5 through 15 years old and up.
1724 Thames Street, 21231
The Fells Point Maritime Museum explores the story of the shipbuilding industry and how the community became the forefront of international commerce and politics. The museum examines the lives of privateers, shipbuilders, immigrants, African-American sailors, and the famous clipper schooners.
1417 Thames Street, 21231; 410-685-0295
The Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park celebrates Baltimore’s maritime history and first African-American owned shipyard in the country. The park highlights the life of Frederick Douglass as an enslaved child and young man and the leadership of Isaac Myers, a free-born African American who became a national leader. Visitors will also learn about the shipbuilding traditions of the Chesapeake Bay and the establishment of the African-American community in the 1800s through historic maps and images, artistic renderings, audio components, historic artifacts, and archaeological findings in a nearly 5,000-foot gallery of interactive learning centers.
2400 E. Fort Avenue, 21230; 410-962-4290
Fort McHenry is located just southeast of the Inner Harbor and is historically known for its role during the War of 1812 when 1,000 soldiers defended the Baltimore harbor and stopped the British from advancing into the city. A tour of the fort and grounds include the site of the flagpole from which the original battle flag flew, the guardhouses, the solders’ barracks, and the junior and commanding officers quarters. On the outer grounds, visitors can see Civil War batteries and the Civil War powder magazine. Fort McHenry is also visited year-round for casual picnics on the open grass or walks along the seawall.
11 W. Mount Vernon Place, 21201; 410-539-6914
The Garrett-Jacobs Mansion is arguably the most distinctive historic home in Baltimore, representing the Golden Age of elegance and glamour. With marble hallways and elaborate doorway carvings, the mansion remains as it was in the 1880s when Mrs. Robert Garrett, who later became Mrs. Henry Barton Jacobs, was considered the authority in regal entertainment. The mansion is comprised of four townhouses that once neighbored the original structure of the home, and includes 40 rooms, 100 windows, 16 fireplaces, and a theater, art gallery, conservatory, elevator, and supper room with a musician’s balcony. Tours are available Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations are preferred.
301 W. Camden Street, 21201; 410-625-7060
The Geppi’s Entertainment Museum, located in downtown Baltimore, takes visitors through the history of pop culture from the early day of comics, television, and rock and roll, to video games and the start of character collectibles. The museum’s timeline of entertaining and educational pop culture gives visitors the unique opportunity to walk through history. The museum presents special rotating exhibitions throughout the year, and also presents Halloween nights and Coffee with the Curator family events.
Pier I, 301 E. Pratt Street, 21202; 410-539-1797
The USS Constellation Historic Ships Museum is a collection of five national historic landmark sites along the Inner Harbor. These sites include the USS Constellation, the last all-sail warship built by the U.S. Navy and the last Civil War era vessel still afloat; the USS Torsk, the submarine that dispatched the last enemy vessel in Word War II; the USSCGC Taney, the last surviving warship from the attack on Pearl Harbor; the Lightship 116 “Chesapeake;” and the Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse. While touring the ships, visitors will explore the decks to learn about the sailing operations, see the main battery of guns, the Captain’s Cabin, and where the crew lived and socialized, as well as a navigation station, operation station, and an engine room. Children 6 years old and up are invited to take part in the Powder Monkey Tour at the USS Constellation to learn about the young boys who served as powder monkeys during the Civil War.
1524 Hollins Street, 21223
The H. L. Mencken House was home to the famous journalist and author Henry Louis Mencken from 1883 until his death in 1956. The second-floor office and backyard gazebo of the row house have been restored, and these areas are open to the public. The house is also a center for theatrical, literary, and musical events.
920 Lemmon Street, 21223; 410-669-8154 (for tours)
The Irish Shrine and Railroad Workers Museum is a historic site that celebrates the history of the immense Irish presence in Southwest Baltimore during the late 1840s. Unstaffed, the Irish Shine is an interpretive site that includes two renovated alley houses in the 900 block of Lemmon Street––one furnished as a period house depicting daily life, and the other house offering changing exhibits about Irish American history local neighborhood life. As part of an Irish heritage walk tour, visitors can combine the B&O Railroad Museum, Irish Shrine, St. Peter’s the Apostle Church, and the Hollins Street Market.
15 Lloyd Street, 21202; 410-732-6400
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is the leading museum of regional Jewish history, culture, and community, with special attention to the Jewish life in the state of Maryland. The museum campus includes the historic Lloyd Street (1845) and B’nai Israel (1876) Synagogues located in the heart of a historic Jewish neighborhood. Guided tours of the restored synagogues are available. The modern museum building offers changing exhibition galleries that include art work, historical photographs, clothing, ceremonial items, rare books, documents, and various memorabilia symbolizing the saga of Jewish life in Maryland. The museum also maintains program areas, a research library, museum shop, and meeting rooms.
201 W. Monument Street, 21201; 410-685-3750
Through comprehensive museum and library collections, the Maryland Historical Society, located in Mount Vernon, provides a thorough examination of the state’s history. The museum houses more than 350,000 Maryland cultural artifacts stemming from the 17th to the late 20th centuries, including paintings, maritime-related artifacts, Baltimore painted furniture, a large collection of 19th century American silver, quilts, costumes, ceramics, dolls, and toys. The H. Furlong Baldwin Library also holds millions of books, manuscripts, photographs, and more. Next door to the museum’s entrance at 201 W. Monument is the site where Enoch and Maria Louisa Pratt cultivated their 19th-century garden.
601 Light Street, 21230; 410-685-5225 (24-hour recorded information); 410-685-2370 (operator 9 a.m.–5 p.m.)
The Maryland Science Center, located at the Inner Harbor and within walking distance from Federal Hill, is Maryland’s oldest scientific institution. The center comprises three levels of exhibit halls, allowing visitors to discover dinosaur bones, monitor earthquake activity, explore the human body, and learn about outer space. The early childhood room on the third floor is a special space for infants and children up to 8 years old to engage in water play, construction zones, and other age-appropriate activities until 1 hour prior to museum closing. Just outside this room, young scientists and their parents look forward to “science encounters” at the demo stage, where live presenters demonstrate the wonders of scientific phenomena. Lucky guests may be asked to help! Be sure to check out the IMAX Theatre for a variety of features, including 3D films, and the Davis Planetarium for relaxing shows about outer space. The Science Center also holds weeklong half- and full-day summer camp programs, camp-in opportunities for scouts and school groups, and regular daytime programs for infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children. Visit the Science Center’s website for details.
600 N. Paca Street, 21201; 410-523-3443
The Mother Seton House, located just five blocks west of Mount Vernon Square, is considered the first Catholic school in Baltimore, founded in 1808 by Mother Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, who contributed to the growth and development of American Catholic parochial schools. Adjacent to the Mother Seton House, visitors can also tour the St. Mary’s Chapel, a French gothic style chapel, which was dedicated in 1808.
1601–1603 E. North Avenue, 21213; 410-563-3404
The National Great Blacks In Wax Museum is dedicated to the study and preservation of African-American history, presenting life-size wax figures of historical and contemporary personalities. Significant figures are presented in various exhibitions, including the Slavery Era, Rebellion, and the Underground Railroad, as well as the Harlem Renaissance, Entrepreneurship, the Modern Civil Rights Era, and Outstanding Marylanders. Hours of operation change each season, with extended days and hours in the summer and in February for Black History Month.
35 Market Place, 21202; 410-727-8120
Located in the Power Plant Live plaza, the Port Discovery Children’s Museum is a quick walk from the Inner Harbor and well worth a daytime family visit. Designed for children 2–10 years old, the museum nurtures growth, education, and creativity through hands-on play. Children immediately gravitate toward KidWorks, the dominating three-story climbing structure recommended for children 5 years old and up, while also enjoying the many other attractions, such as the Royal Farms Fill’er Up Station, the 1950s-style diner, and Miss Perception’s Mystery House. Older kids will also enjoy exploring pyramids at the Adventure Expedition. Parking is available at the Harbor Park Garage, which is attached to Port Discovery’s building and is easily assessable from Lombard Street. Discounted parking at the garage is available to museum visitors on the weekends.
830 E. Pratt Street, 21202; 443-263-1800
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture explores the lives of African-American Marylanders through its collections, exhibitions, and galleries. Museum themes include labor, art and intellect, and family and community. Every Saturday, the museum provides fun activities for children and families, including storytelling, art workshops, and educational programs.
844 E. Pratt Street, 21202; 410-837-1793
At the Star-Spangled Banner Flag House, visitors will learn about the sewing of the flag that inspired Francis Scott Key to write the famous poem that later became our national anthem. In this 1793 two-story home where the flag’s creator, Mary Pickersgill, once lived and worked, visitors can explore the exhibition galleries and take guided tours that recreate life in the early 19th century through living history interpreters. Families with young children will enjoy the interactive activities in the Discovery Gallery, which include designing your own flags, putting on a puppet play, and tinkering with old-fashioned toys. On the second Thursday and Saturday of each month, the Flag House also offers its Little Stars preschool programs, where children 3–5 years old can take part in reading stories, hands-on activities, games, and crafts based on the Maryland State Department of Education school readiness standards.
600 N. Charles Street, 20201; 410-547-9000
Located in the heart of Mount Vernon, the Walters Art Museum is a family-friendly museum offing live entertainment and free early childhood and children’s programs, in addition to offering a comprehensive collection of art that includes everything from Predynastic Egypt to 20th century Europe. Children’s programs include Art Tots for children 2–3 years old, ArtKids Preschool for children 3–5 years olds, and a monthly 45-minute Walk, Wonder & Create tour offered once a month that is recommended for children 6–8 years old and their families. For parents seeking a unique birthday party for their child, the museum will host three party themes designed for children turning 4–10 years old that surround mummies and ancient Egypt, animal safari, or kings and princesses. A wide variety of morning-only and full-day summer art camps are offered to children entering grades 1–5. Older youth entering grades 6–12 can make their own works of art through The Artist Studio Experience with a local practicing artist from a specialized field of fine art.
410-396-1049
Located in Mount Vernon near the Peabody Institute and the Walter’s Art Museum and surrounded by architecturally significant buildings, the Washington Monument is the first memorial erected in the United States to honor our nation’s first president and commander-in-chief, George Washington. Situated in the center of historic N. Charles Street, residents pass the memorial daily, often not realizing that visitors can walk up the 228 steps to steal a beautiful view of the city.