The Peabody Institute and George Peabody Library

The Peabody Institute and George Peabody Library. The Johns Hopkins University. , Philanthropist George Peabody founded the Institute in 1857 as a cultural center for the city's residents. In addition to establishing the first academy of music in America, the Institute originally comprised a public library, a lecture series, and an art gallery., Baltimore architect Edmund G. Lind designed the main building of the conservatory, which was completed in 1866. The library collection grew so quickly that a new building was constructed in 1878. Lind also designed the library, joining it so masterfully with the conservatory that the building's Italianate Renaissance Revival exterior appears to have been constructed all at once. Both the Institute and the library are now divisions of the Johns Hopkins University., Peabody Institute , Under the direction of well-known musicians, composers, conductors, and Peabody alumni, the Institute grew from a local academy into an internationally renowned cultural center throughout the late 19th and 20th centuries. Today, the Peabody trains many of the nation's classical musicians., Through its constituent divisions, the degree-granting Conservatory music school, and the community-based Preparatory music and dance school, the Institute trains musicians and dancers of every age and at every level, from small children to seasoned professionals, from dedicated amateurs to winners of international competitions. Each year, the Peabody stages more than 150 concerts and performances ranging from classical to contemporary and jazz, many of them free - a testament to the vision of George Peabody., George Peabody Library , Renowned for its magnificent interior, the library features an atrium surrounded by five tiers of ornamental cast-iron balconies and gold-scalloped columns rising more than 60 feet to a latticed skylight. Nathaniel H. Morison, first provost of the Institute, described the elegant library as a "cathedral of books." The ironwork was created by Baltimore's Bartlett, Robbins and Company., Now one of the Johns Hopkins' Sheridan Libraries, it serves the university's academic programs worldwide. The 300,000 volume Victorian research collection includes books dating from the 15th century, with particular strength in the 19th century. Both the library and the exhibition gallery are open to the public.