Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park

1417 Thames St, Baltimore, MD

151-200 guest capacity

This venue can host up to 200 guests

About this vendor

Industrial Chic Meets Baltimore Waterfront

Located in Baltimore, MD, the Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park is a romantic waterfront wedding venue. This industrial-inspired building, which sits on the banks of the Patapsco River and the Baltimore harbor, is one of Baltimore's oldest waterfront buildings. You will find this venue in the historic Fells’ Point neighborhood of the city, adding even more character to the already distinctive property. Its stately brick facade provides a breathtaking backdrop to your joyous occasion. Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park has a rich and storied history. It was constructed to celebrate the contributions made by Baltimore’s African-American population to the city’s maritime industry. This includes the establishment of the Chesapeake Marine Railway and Dry Dock Company. Today, the park is home to the headquarters for the Living Classrooms Foundation. With this, the venue is kept as a museum and art gallery with regularly changing exhibitions. Event spaces at Frederick Douglass - Isaac Myers Maritime Park combine the setting’s industrial past with more romantic elements. Exposed brick walls and wooden beams sit alongside hardwood floors and huge windows, filling the space with sunlight. There are also outdoor settings if you’ve envisioned a waterside wedding. Waterfront balconies add a classic, sophisticated touch to your celebrations and give you the chance to get some fresh air before continuing the day. Inside, gatherings of up to 250 people are welcomed. If you want a much larger soiree, you can stay outdoors with up to 1,000 guests. You have several hours before and after your celebration starts to set up the space and clear away your belongings. Your caterer has plenty of kitchen space to prepare your reception meal, no matter whether you’re spending the day indoors or outdoors.

Pricing details

Starting prices

Reception:

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Ceremony:

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Bar services:

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Catering:

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Starting prices don't include service fees, taxes, gratuity, and rental fees. Guest count and seasonality may also affect prices.

Amenities + details

Ceremony Area

Handicap Accessible

Indoor Event Space

Liability Insurance

On-Site Accommodations

Outdoor Event Space

Reception Area

Wireless Internet

Covered Outdoors Space

Dressing Room

Ceremony Types

Civil Union
Commitment Ceremony
Elopement
Interfaith Ceremony
Non-Religious Ceremony
Religious Ceremony

Guest Capacity

Up to 200

Settings

Beach
Waterfront
Historic Venue
Museum
Tented

4.7

out of 5.0

14 reviews

Search reviews

7/25/2023 • Erica L

The Maritime Park was the honestly the only venue we needed to look at. As residents of Fells Point we had our heart set on this venue and it could not have been more perfect! Plus it is COMPLETELY dog friendly, so our buddy could be there start to finish! The backdrop of the city is gorgeous, the boats add such a nice touch, and the versatility of the space is amazing. We were able to have both a rain plan and a severe weather plan (which we were dangerously close to needing to use) and this space provided so many options to accommodate all weather. Thankfully, the rain cleared just in time and we were able to use the dock for our ceremony, the promenade for cocktail hour, and the third floor for the reception. Natalie was incredibly helpful in providing recommended vendors. potential floor plan ideas, and general advice throughout the process. We could not have hoped for anything better!

6/03/2023 • Riley R

We cannot say enough good things about FDIMMP! Natalie her team and the whole venue were amazing. They were responsive and flexible and it’s a beautiful spot. Worth the views alone. Our only warning is remember you are only paying for the venue! Natalie made that very clear to us but we didn’t realize how much that would entail as we are wedding newbies. Rentals and lighting and only their approved list of caterers ended up being way more expensive than we thought. The venue is worth the price but remember how many other things are needed! Thank you FDIMMP couldn’t have asked for a better bmore wedding!

11/08/2022 • Lisa Y

My husband and I just got married at the Frederick Douglass- Isaac Myers Maritime Park on 11/5/22 and we could not be happier! Natalie and her team were very easy to work with and the venue itself is so flexible. We held our ceremony out on the pier, cocktail hour inside on the second floor where guests were able to go through the museum, and our dinner and reception were on the third floor in a beautiful room full of exposed brick. We had so many guests compliment how unique and beautiful the venue was! We were also so happy to work with a non-profit space where money goes back towards Living Classrooms and the community. That was a huge factor in our decision. Natalie and her team were also very helpful in recommending vendors who work well in their space. We had the best time and we cannot thank the team at Frederick Douglass-Isaac Myers Maritime Park enough!

Any questions?

11/17/2021 • Jami L

This was the only venue that I site an in-person site visit for and I immediately knew this was going to be my wedding venue. The city views from the dock are gorgeous and the interior views are just as pretty. The entire Living Classrooms team was wonderful to work with and made the day go so smoothly. They worked with me through a postponement and answered all of my million questions that came up during the planning process without any hesitation.

12/04/2019 • Janie S

Since we live in Baltimore, we wanted a venue that would reflect our love for the city. The Frederick Douglas - Isaac Myers Museum did JUST that! The venue itself is absolutely gorgeous- waterfront views, a pier overlooking the water, a museum our guests perused during cocktail hour, and beautiful exposed brick on the third floor! Our vision truly came to life! Natalie was SUCH a pleasure to work with- she answered our dozens of questions quickly, and was always friendly and professional. If you're looking for a stunning venue in the heart of Baltimore, look no further!

7/23/2019 • Briella B

We really wanted to choose a waterfront venue that we felt was a celebration of Baltimore, that was also more casual (not like hotel-type venue). Despite a last-minute surprise rainstorm, we were able to have our ceremony outside on the pier and it was gorgeous. The reception space inside was perfect--big enough to comfortably seat our 125 guests and a dance floor, but small enough to feel intimate. Many of our guests commented on how cool of a space it was. Natalie was great to work with as well. Would definitely recommend this venue to other couples!

7/22/2019 • Anya R

The Frederick Douglass Maritime Museum is beautiful - we ended up changing our original planned date for one that they had available, and we are so glad that we did! Natalie was great to work with - she was very helpful, especially in the beginning with recommendations for vendors, and very responsive to emails! We definitely recommend making sure at least some of your vendors are familiar with the space - most of ours were, and it showed in the end results! Everything came together beautifully!

6/02/2019 • Garima B

Our guests could not stop talking about Frederick Douglass Museum as a venue — it was PERFECT!! Typically, ceremonies are held on the picturesque pier which makes for a magical experience and the reception is held on the top floor of the museum in the BEAUTIFUL Founder’s room. It is a hidden gem, not a lot of folks have heard of it, but if you are interested in the perfect Fell’s Point spot, look no further than the Frederick Douglass museum!!

5/15/2019 • Suzanne A

This is a beautiful space right in the heart of Baltimore. We took the water taxis from our church to this venue, had a beautiful outdoor cocktail hour on the water, indoor reception and an easy walk to Fell's Point after our reception was over. It is a beautiful space with large windows overlooking the water. Great for a rustic Baltimore wedding.

2/02/2019 • Kevin B

Working with Natalie and the team at the Museum was a dream! They allowed us to tour the facility several times (after hours!) before we finally decided to book with them and then several times thereafter during the planning stages. They provided recommendations for layout and vendors but were also totally supportive when we did something different! Since our wedding was in January- everything was indoors. Our ceremony was at a church downtown and our reception was at the museum. We had a “children’s and young adults area” on the 2nd floor; bar, cake, and DJ/dancing on the 3rd floor gallery and sit down plated dinner for ~150 in the Founders Room. It was the perfect flow! Someone was there manning the front of the facility thought the wedding night which made it feel very secure. There was no issue with the attached restaurant and the location could not be beat for convenience for our out of town guests! So many hotels and parking options are within walking distance! Love the fact that we supported Living Classrooms when we booked the Museum and couldn’t have been more pleased with the way things turned out! Highly recommend having your wedding or other event at the Frederick Douglass Isaac Myers Maritime Museum!

12/01/2018 • Becca M

We are so glad we chose this beautiful venue for our wedding! We had our ceremony outside on the pier and our reception inside on the 3rd floor. All of our guests loved the museum and the wonderful views of the harbor. It’s also located in a great area of the city with lots to do if you’re having guests stay nearby. Natalie was very professional and helpful throughout the entire process from booking the venue up through our wedding day. We would highly recommend this venue!

11/21/2018 • Belen G

We booked this venue for the breath taking views you could see from the pier. We decided to rent the 3rd floor for our reception and the pier for our ceremony. The whole process for booking the venue went smoothly and Natalie was very easy to communicate with. The inside of the venue is absolutely beautiful and the artwork inside is by Baltimore artists and is always changing, which we loved. I would recommend this venue to anyone in search of a place to host their wedding.

6/26/2018 • Madison K

Beautiful venue for celebration . We planned outdoor wedding with indoor reception. Unfortunately weather did not cooperate. The power went out due to storm and created a challenge for caterer. The caterer was very professional and was able to make the event a success. Natalie was a pleasure to work with The museum is a great backdrop for cocktails, and the guests enjoyed the displays and views

10/30/2011 • Sea S

We pick this spot for our wedding because we fell in love with the breathtaking views of the harbor and long that pier that served as an idle aisle for our ceremony. We also like that we were giving our money to a museum rather than a conventional venue. In addition, the sales staff presented the venue in a positive light and while it was more expensive than comparable venues (Museum of Industry), we felt fine the added cost. However, once we had signed the contract and paid our deposit, the venue's representatives became nearly impossible to get a hold of and they were unwilling to have our walk though on weeknights or weekends. For a period several months, they were unresponsive to our question and they didn't return our numerous phone calls. This was extremely stressful leading up to our wedding. When we finally got them to agree to a time for a walk through, their representative was condensing to us and our caterer. As a result, we had to struggle to do damage control to the relationship and felt worried that something would blow up (again) between them on our wedding day. As far as we know, there were no blow ups between the venue's representative and our caterer on the wedding day. However, during our rehearsal, the venue's representative snapped at our guests. We think the essence of the problem at the beautiful location lies in the venue's representative's personality and lack of can-do attitude for even the most routine request that promotes a successful stress-free wedding. While we're sure our pictures will be beautiful and the guests loved the site, we would strongly recommend against this site as it unnecessarily added a lot of stress to our wedding. If we had to do it all over again, we'd wait to get married at a time or date that the museum of industry had available.