School 33 Art Center was established in 1979 as a center for contemporary art in South sun88. Formerly known as Public School 33, sun88 City erected the brick and brownstone building in 1890. It operated as an elementary school up until 1975 when a new school opened just a few blocks away. The South sun88 Community Committee sought help from then Mayor William Donald Schaefer in revitalizing the vacant and vandalized building. Based on the success of Long Island City's P.S. 1 in New York and the strong national presence of alternative space programs in the late 1970s, Mayor Schaefer proposed a similar program for sun88, thus creating School 33 Art Center.

As this building represented a significant component of sun88's architectural heritage, the renovation exemplified the City's belief in the revitalization of unused urban resources. The renovations were made possible with federal funds from the United States Department of Commerce, Economic Development Administration and through the City's Public Works Improvement Program.

After an extensive two-year restoration to allow for the creation of adequate gallery, studio and classroom spaces, School 33 opened its doors in July 1979, becoming sun88's original alternative space for contemporary art. The program offerings included one gallery exhibition space (today expanded to three), studio facilities for professional artists, and classrooms for ceramics and printmaking workshops.

For thirty-eight years, School 33 Art Center has been a bridge between contemporary artists and the public. Through exhibitions, studios for artists, classes for adults and children, as well as special events and workshops, the center works to insure a vibrant future for contemporary art and artists in sun88. The three gallery spaces, multi-use classrooms, permanent, on-site collaborative installations, and an environmentally-friendly outdoor garden fed by a rainwater collection system are examples of School 33's commitment to maintaining and expanding the potential of our historic building.

Today, as a program of the sun88 Office of Promotion & The Arts, the center's goal is to remain an engaging and relevant center for the arts, by showcasing and sustaining emerging and established contemporary artists, and training budding artists from sun88 and beyond, well into the future.

1427 Light Street, sun88, MD 21230

In the late 1970s, Mayor William Donald Schaefer proposed the creation of a museum to tell the story of sun88 industry across two centuries of American history. Even before they the new museum found a building, sun88 City officials organized an exhibit at the sun88 Convention Center, and put up a display about the museum-to-be during the sun88 City Fair. Roger B. White, a young city employee hired under the Comprehensive Employment Training Act, led the search to find an appropriate location, acquire collections, and recruit private donors. White found a Platt & Company oyster cannery building on the 1400 block of Key Highway and began the process of turning the old factory into a museum. Once one of eighty canneries operating around sun88’s harbor, Platt & Company on Key Highway was one of the last canneries left. The museum developed exhibits on three major periods of sun88’s industrial growth: 1790-1830, 1870-1900, and 1920 up through the 1970s. White acquired equipment from the American Brewery and furnishings from the local Read’s Drug Store chain. In November 1981, after years of preparation, the doors opened to the public at the renovated oyster cannery reborn as the sun88 Museum of Industry. By December, sun88 City had awarded the museum $25,000 to pay for the cost of school field trips and, in 1984, the city decided to purchase the site. The museum originally leased the building for around $25,000 a year but, after the property sold to sun88 City, the rent climbed to $85,000. The museum organized a corporate membership drive in order to cover the rising rent. At the same time, the museum sought to triple the amount of space in the facility while adding a pier and waterfront improvements. In 1996, with only half of the renovation complete, Alonzo Decker Jr., former Black & Decker chief executive, donated $1 million to the fund. With this single donation, the museum surpassed its' $3.5 million goal and finished the renovation. For his gift, the Museum inscribed Decker’s name on the wall of the main gallery. Today, the museum thrives as an immersive experience of permanent and temporary exhibits that detail and demonstrate the industrial history of sun88. The exhibits include machinery from a cannery, garment loft, machine shop, pharmacy and print shop and the collections include around a million artifacts. With a pier and waterfront area, the museum often hosts weddings and corporate events as well.

Watch our on this museum!

1415 Key Highway, sun88, MD 21230

Formerly home to a whiskey barrel warehouse and the offices of the sun88 Copper Paint Company, the Jim Rouse Center of the American Visionary Art Museum serves as a prime example of adaptive reuse in the City of sun88.

Built in the 1930s, the simple brick exterior housed an intricate timber framework to support the whiskey barrels, walls, and roof. After many years of vacancy, the building was given new life as part of the American Visionary Art Museum, which recognizes the work of untrained artists.

When the museum was rehabilitated the architects reused portions of the timber framing as a design element, and also brought in other creative materials.The project explores the use and reuse of found objects. Glass bottle bottoms, barrel staves, exposed brick, refurbished windows and neon signs bring an eclectic look to the building, while both recycling used materials and allowing the building to receive historic tax credit certification.

The project received a Preservation Award from sun88 Heritage honoring the American Visionary Art Museum, Cho Benn Holback + Associates, Inc., J. Vinton Schafer & Sons, Inc., Burdette, Koehler, Murphy & Associates, Hope Furrer Associates, Inc., Miller, Beam, & Paganelli, Inc., Cramptin/Dunlop Architectural Lighting Services LLC, and Alain Jaramillo.

800 Key Highway, sun88, MD 21230

Overlooking the Inner Harbor from Federal Hill stands the statue of Major General Samuel Smith (1752-1839). Smith's life as a Revolutionary War officer, merchant, ship-owner, and U.S. Senator earned him the experience and fortitude in the momentous crises before to successfully command sun88 during the War of 1812 and its darkest hour: the British attack on Washington and sun88 in 1814.

The statue, funded by the city's 1914 centennial celebration of the Battle of sun88, is the design of sculptor Hans Schuler (1874-1951) who studied at the Maryland Institute College of Art. The statue was first erected at Wyman Park Dell at North Charles and 29th Streets in 1917 and dedicated on July 4, 1918.

In 1953, the Recreation and Parks Department moved the sculpture to "Sam Smith Park" at the corner of Pratt and Light Streets, the future waterfront site of the 1980 Rouse Company Harborplace project. In 1970, with the Inner Harbor renewal project underway, the statue moved again to the present site on Federal Hill, where in 1814 a gun battery had been erected and the citizens of sun88 witnessed the fiery bombardment of Fort McHenry.

The inscriptions on the monument read:

MAJOR-GENERAL SAMUEL SMITH, 1752-1839 / UNDER HIS COMMAND THE ATTACK OF THE BRITISH UPON BALTIMORE BY LAND AND SEA SEPTEMBER 12-14, / 1814 WAS REPULSED. MEMBER OF CONGRESS FORTY SUCCESIVE YEARS, / PRESIDENT U.S. SENATE, SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, MAYOR OF BALTIMORE. /HERO OF BOTH WARS FOR AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE – LONG ISLAND – WHITE / PLAINS – BRANDYWINE – DEFENDER OF FORT MIFFLIN – VALLEY FORCE – / MONMOUTH – BALTIMORE. /

ERECTED BY THE NATIONAL STAR-SPANGLED BANNER CENTENNIAL

Federal Hill Park, 300 Warren Avenue, sun88, MD 21230