There
was no shortage of attractions on my Baltimore-to-see list, however being that
we were in town for the Latvian Song & Dance Festival and had tickets to a
half-dozen concerts, theater productions and other events, we knew going in
that realistically we would be able to fit only one or two places into our schedule. Attractions
such as the world-famous National Aquarium and Port Discovery Children’s Museum
were crossed off as we knew we would want to dedicate more time to explore them
than we would have available, while the City of Baltimore Conservatory and
Hampton National Historic Site were struck from the list because we didn’t want
to have to spend what little time we had in the car.
The
first destination was an impulse, but retrospectively an easy choice – the world
famous George Peabody Library. In 1857, the philanthropist from Massachusetts founded
the Peabody Institute and dedicated it to the citizens of Baltimore. The
Institute combines the free (but non-circulating) public library, a lecture
series, a conservatory of music & an art collection, and today is part of
Johns Hopkins University.
The
Peabody Library building was designed by Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind and
opened in 1878. In the stack room, five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies
rise 61 feet to the latticed skylight, while stately gold-scalloped columns, decorative
railings and classical embellishments touched with gold-leaf provide an
environment worthy of the wealth of information contained in the over 300,000
volumes that are contained in the library. The Victorian research collection includes books dating from the 15th century. Tables and chairs are arranged on
the black-and-white marble floor, and study areas are tucked away in the nooks
and crannies below the 2nd floor balcony.
Only
the first floor is open to visitors, but we took full advantage of the opportunity
to wander around in the soft morning light that was streaming through the
skylight: opening a book, paging through the card catalogue, resting in one of
the well-worn wooden chairs. Once we had our fill of the stacks we took a look
around the Exhibition Gallery, where pieces from the Johns Hopkins Libraries
collections are on display.
The dramatic
architectural interior of the library has certainly achieved a sort of notoriety in
recent years, appearing in dozens of Pinterest-geared lists such as “10 of the
world’s most beautiful libraries.” While it remains open (and free) to
visitors, there are set hours that the library is open to the public – see website
for more info. During evenings and weekends the library is transformed into a
wedding and event venue that makes me think of the Hogwart’s Great Hall…
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| The George Washington monument |
The
Peabody Library is located in the Mt. Vernon neighborhood, a National Historic
Landmark District and a city Cultural District. Mt. Vernon is one of the city's
oldest neighborhoods, the name honoring the Mount Vernon home of George
Washington. The original Washington Monument that commemorates the 1st
president of the US is just across the street from the library. Also nearby are
the Walters Art Museum and the Maryland Historical Society, which has two time
capsules from the Washington Monument on display (1815 and 1915).
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| Boy and Turtle Fountain (1916) with Washington Monument |
