The museum is housed on the ground floor of Lovely Lane United Methodist Church. Considered the Mother Church of American Methodism, Lovely Lane is listed on the National Register of Historic Places due to its unique architecture. The church was designed by Stanford White in 1884 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the congregation's organization.
The original Lovely Lane Meeting House was located in downtown Baltimore at 206 E. Redwood Street. It was at that site that the Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at the 1784 Christmas Conference. There, Francis Asbury and others were ordained by Bishop Coke and sent "to reform the nation and spread scriptural holiness over these lands."
The History of the Museum
The American Methodist Historical Society was established in 1855. Letters of Asbury, Wesley, Coke and other leaders as well as paintings, books and personal possessions have been accumulated during the 150 years since the founding of the society.
The year 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Lovely Lane Methodist Museum and the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Methodist Historical Society.
The collection was housed in "The Preachers' Rooms" on Baltimore Street until the great Baltimore fire of 1904. During the fire the Strawbridge Pulpit and Asbury Portrait were snatched from the burning. Much of the collection was lost in the flames. Saddened but not discouraged by the loss, the members of the Society, under the leadership of Dr. John F. Goucher and others, started the work of rebuilding. Many valuable artifacts and materials were added and the collection was moved to its present home in Lovely Lane.
