The Walter's Art Museum

The Walter's Art Museum

Baltimore, Maryland

Built: 1905

Addition: 1974

Architect: Delano and Aldrich(firm)

Architect: Shepley, Bullfinch, Richardson and Abbott(firm)

Architect: Kallmann, McKinnell and Wood (firm)

39.29652976572545, -76.61647300552309

limestone, glass

90,000 sq ft.

Public

Brutalist and Beaux-Arts (style)

The structure is very quadratic in its form. Viewed from overhead, its form is just a simple rectangle. Though it is worth noting that this form is made up of essentially two buildings. Continuing from overhead the left side building top appears ordinary compared to the right side which features a green, almost tile-like texture that bounds a glass square on the roof where light proceeds to enter the structure. It features 2 distinct levels that feature several interior rooms and an interior courtyard in the middle where the building truly shows its grandeur. This middle interior courtyard features a full look-around from the middle of the structure where it appears you can then space out into the individual rooms that contain the historic art pieces on display. The exterior features this glass atrium entrance lobby, added later during the building’s existence, this entrance helped combine the two sides of the museum. Its patterns and construction method seem to be rather ordinary, at least for the exterior. For the interior, there is a significant use of archway patterns for what appears to be entrances of hallways that lead to the rooms. The rooms seem to be very quadratic in form as well, with all featuring variations of rectangular and squarish forms. The rooms have varying colors and the courtyard features a brighter yellow. Standing as one of the cultural anchors for Mt. Vernon's place, the historic district the building is a part of, the structure started as a personal collection of Henry Walters and his son William T. Walters. Eventually, Henry made his collection viewable for the public in 1874. Ultimately, he requested a redesign from several architectural firms and renovations began in 1905 for the collection to be transformed into a museum and subsequently, the museum officially opened in 1909. A little over two decades later, after his death, the museum officially was given to the city.

image 1: File:Walters Art Museum, 600 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 (35452161645).jpg - Wikimedia Commons

image 2:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Walters_Art_Museum_ceiling_-_Stierch.jp

Image 1: Creative Commons

Image 2: Creative Commons

Julian Forster

Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie, "WALTERS ART MUSEUM", [Baltimore, Maryland], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MD-01-BC6.

Last accessed: November 4, 2025.