Friedberg Hall and the Peabody Institute

Following mid-nineteenth century dictates about the importance of comprehensive education to the "moral and intellectual culture" of America's urban centers, George Peabody followed a then-unique blueprint in creating his eponymous institute in Baltimore. The Conservatory would, according to its founder and original directors, encompass every aspect of a student's education. It originally comprised a non-circulating library, a music conservatory, a lecture series, an art gallery, and a series of prizes for student achievement, funded by money set aside by Peabody himself.

In its early years, the Institute's most popular events were its lecture series, which attracted luminaries like Ralph Waldo Emerson to Baltimore. By the late nineteenth century, the Peabody Library became the center of the institution; however, with the opening of the nearby Enoch Pratt Free Library, a circulating library, the Peabody Library lost some of its visibility. In the twentieth century, the Institute focused on its niche as a prestigious music conservatory, and that remains its primary focus today. 

However, Peabody's original mission as a broadly-conceived educational institution can still be glimpsed today in its highly-visible architecture on Mount Vernon Place. The Peabody Library is a Baltimore landmark and retains its original collection; it also hosts many public events and private celebration like weddings. Finally, pieces from the original Peabody art gallery remain in various spots around campus.