Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, African American history museum in downtown Baltimore, United States.
The Reginald F. Lewis Museum is a history and culture museum in downtown Baltimore, Maryland, dedicated to the African American story of the state. It spreads across several floors and holds collections covering work, arts, sports, politics, and military contributions by Black Marylanders.
The museum opened in 2005 and was the first major African American cultural museum on the East Coast of the United States. It was built to give a permanent home to the history of Black Marylanders, which had long been scattered across smaller collections and archives.
The museum takes its name from Reginald F. Lewis, a Baltimore-born businessman who built the first Black-owned company to reach billion-dollar revenue. His name above the entrance reminds visitors that the building honors not just a collective history but a specific person from Maryland.
The museum is located in downtown Baltimore and is easy to reach on foot or by public transit from many parts of the city. The collections are spread across multiple floors, so leaving enough time to move through each level at a comfortable pace is a good idea.
The museum has an oral history studio where visitors can sit down and record their own memories and personal stories. These recordings are added to the museum's archive and become part of the collection itself, not just a side activity.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
