Baltimore Museum of Industry to Launch Key Bridge Exhibition with $545,000 Grant from Baltimore Community Foundation

Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF) has awarded a $545,000 grant to the Baltimore Museum of Industry (BMI), providing critical early support for the development of a major exhibition memorializing the victims and impact of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse. This lead gift will jumpstart the BMI’s fundraising campaign and underwrite a significant portion of the exhibition’s development, allowing the museum to move forward with confidence.

This exhibition will serve as a lasting tribute to those affected by the tragedy, while also examining the bridge’s significance to Baltimore’s economy, maritime industry, and workforce.

Set to be housed in the waterfront Decker Gallery, overlooking the Inner Harbor and working terminal at Domino Sugar, the exhibition will be a centerpiece at the BMI featuring original artifacts, dramatic imagery, oral histories, audiovisual storytelling, and digital interactives. It will explore the economic and human impacts of the Key Bridge collapse, the Port of Baltimore’s vital role in the region, and the resilience of the workers and industries that keep it running.

Beyond documenting the bridge’s role in shaping Baltimore’s past and future, the exhibition offers a space for public reflection and community dialogue, ensuring that this chapter of Baltimore’s history is both preserved and meaningfully understood. The grant from BCF will support deepened community engagement and public programming, exhibition research and design, and continued efforts to build and preserve the museum’s Key Bridge collection of oral histories, objects, archival materials, photographs, and artwork. The exhibition is scheduled to open in March 2027, on the third anniversary of the bridge’s collapse. The BCF grant is one of the largest the BMI has received to date.

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Source: Baltimore Community Foundation