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1778: Rembrandt Peale is born.
1801: Mastodon skeleton is excavated on a New York farm. Later will be Peale's opening attraction.
1814: The Museum and Gallery of Find Arts opens at 225 N. Holliday St. in Baltimore. Grand opening is about a month before the British attack on Fort McHenry.
1816: One of Rembrandt Peale's galleries is lit with gas lamps. Peale soon helps found the Gas Light Co. of Baltimore.
1822: A brother, Rubens Peale, takes over museum operations, bringing in live animals.
1829: The Peale Museum closes.
1830: Baltimore City buys the building for $1,610 to use as the first formal City Hall.
1875: City Council and mayor move out of the building and across street into new City Hall.
1878: Male and Female Colored School No. 1 serving 500 children moves into the space. By 1883, advanced classes are taught and school is officially designated a high school.
1887: City water department takes over building.
1916: Building rented out for shops and factories.
1901: City building inspector calls for building to be razed. Instead, city leaders agree to make repairs.
1928: Building again is condemned, but public outcry leads to major renovation.
1931: Renovated building reopens as the Baltimore Municipal Museum. Features balustrades, marble tile, other appointments from homes demolished to make room for new Enoch Pratt Free Library on Cathedral Street.
1985: Museum becomes part of the City Life Museums.
1997: City Life Museums close.
2008: The Friends of the Peale organization is formed.
2012: The Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture expands its board, updates renovation cost estimates and fundraising plan.
Sources: Baltimore Sun archives; the Peale Center for Baltimore History and Architecture; and booklet by Wilbur Harvey Hunter to commemorate building's 150th anniversary