Updated on March 13, 2020
Day Trip to Annapolis
There weren’t many interesting natural sites in winter in the mid-Atlantic region. So for some fresh air, I headed for Annapolis, Maryland on the Saturday of Dec 7 for a more culture-related trip.
Photo with Gov. Larry Hogan’s FamilyThis photo was accessed from Governor Larry Hogan’s online photo gallery, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. When this material is used, in whole or in part, proper citation and credit must be attributed to the Executive Office of the Governor.
It’s a crisp winter morning as I made the short half-hour drive from Washington DC (that’s about the same distance to my favorite Asian market) to the capitol of Maryland.
For parking, the city-owned Calvert Street Garage was free on weekends.
St. John’s College
Just next to Calvert Street Garage was St. John’s College. Founded in 1696, it’s the third-oldest college in US. It’s a Saturday and its campus was tranquil and peaceful.
McDowell Hall
Lawn
Randall Hall
Just before I left, I paid a brief visit to Mitchell Gallery which was located inside St. John’s College. The two-room museum rotates its exhibitions regularly. But during my visit they were comics in a New York megazine that I wasn’t interested in. So, maybe next time.
Once out of St. John’s College, I was in the heart of Annapolis with historic townhouses in various styles.
Townhouses
At first, I planned to visit the nearby US Naval Academy. Unfortunately, I was carrying a backpack, which was among their forbidden items. So, I moved on to the city’s waterfront.
Marina
Annapolis from Waterfront
After that, I climbed uphill to the nearby St. Mary’s Church.
While a lot of activities were going on in the nearby gym of St. Mary’s High School, I wasn’t able to find the entrance to St. Mary’s Church. So, I took a brief tour of its garden and moved on.
Garden of St. Mary’s Church
Charles Carroll House EntranceHouse of a Declaration of Independence Signer
Click for details
Birthplace of Charles Carroll of Carrollton (September 19, 1737 – November 14, 1832), the only Roman Catholic to sign the Declaration of Independence and the last of the signers to die.
Charles Carroll of Annapolis (1702 – 1782), father of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, built the original portion of this house during the 1720s near the home of his own father, Charles Carroll the Settler (1660 – 1720). Charles Carroll of Carrollton lived here with his parents until 1743 when he departed for studies abroad. He returned here in 1765 and married his cousin, Mary Darnall (1749 – 1782) here on June 5, 1768. Charles and “Molly” Carroll used this house as their principal urban residence, and several of their seven children were born – and died – here. During the early 1770s Carroll enlarged the original structure and improved the grounds and gardens. In 1773 he launched his political career within these walls by composing his “First Citizen” letters that supported the rights of the people of Maryland against Lord Baltimore’s authority. The Carrolls entertained many important guests here, including George Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette. Outdoor festivities were held here in April 1783 to celebrate the end of the War for Independence. Carroll continued to live here while serving in the Maryland Senate (1777 – 1800) and the United States Senate (1789 – 1792). In 1821 Carroll rented out his mansion and thereafter divided his time between his daughter’s home in Baltimore and his plantation, Doughoregan Manor, in what is now Howard County.
In 1852 Carroll’s four Caton granddaughters conveyed the house and surrounding land to the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorisits) on the condition that the property “be always consecrated to religion.” The Redemptorists added the west wing to the house in 1856 to provide additional space for their Novitiate.
CHARLES CARROLL HOUSE NORTH PORCH
The porch you see before you is a modern reconstruction of this principal entrance to the Carroll House. It was added to the house in the 1770s by Charles Carroll of Carrollton and removed by 1866 when a two-story passage was built between St. Mary’s rectory and the house.
Concurrent with other work being done at the Carroll House in the early 1770s, Carroll designed a new formal entrance facing Duke of Gloucester Street with a porch complete with stone steps, bases, capitals, columns and pilasters. The “very Harde” stone for the various elements of the porch was quarried by indentured servants and slaves at Doughoregan Manor. In what can be gleaned from correspondence, initially four stones, each two feet square, were rough cut at the Manor, presumably for the bases. Three steps, recessed behind the front columns, rose from grade level to the porch landing. Over the years, the grade in this area has been dramatically altered and as a result, the stairs leading from the porch to the East side of the house are a modern addition to accommodate the change in grade.
Additionally, the entrance beneath the porch was created during the time period following the removal of the Carroll porch, most likely between 1866 and 1928.From nearby information board.
Spire of St. Mary’s Church
After that, I got back on the city’s Main Street, and partly for the atmosphere, visited a few shops.
Main Street
Shop
Banneker-Douglass Museum
Next on my list was Banneker-Douglass Museum, the state’s official museum for African-American history and culture. The building was constructed in 1875 as Mt. Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church, then converted to the current museum in 1984.
From its near-empty visitor logbook, it’s not hard to tell the museum’s (lack of) popularity.
Banneker-Douglass Museum Facade
Church Interior
St. Anne’s Parish Exterior
Maryland State House
After a quick lunch, next on my list was Maryland State House, the oldest state capitol in continuous legislative use in United States.
House Chamber
During my visit only the House chamber was open for public view. Well, the Senate one’s even tinier from online photos.
Ceiling of House Chamber
The current House and Senate chambers were works of 20-Century expansions. In the Revolutionary War Era the delegation was smaller, and so were the rooms, that for some time used to house the United States Congress. Nowadays, the Old Senate Chamber was restored to its appearance of 1780s, where on December 23, 1783, George Washington came before Congress to resign his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army.
Old Senate ChamberThe statue upstairs on the balcony was Molly Ridout, a prominent family whose brother later became Maryland’s governor.
Across the hall from Old Senate Chamber is the Old House of Delegates Chamber, which was restored to its looks in the late 19-th Century. Although most of its desks were removed so that people could roam the room.
Old House of Delegates Chamber
Then it’s the Caucus Room with some exhibitions.
Caucus Room
Silver Set of USS Maryland
Statue of Baron de KalbA general during America’s Revolutionary War.
State House with Christmas Decorations
Maryland Inn
Maryland Governor Holiday Open House
Before I entered Maryland’s State House, I noticed a line forming outside the Governor House across the street. Over lunch I heard it was the governor’s annual open house.
That turned out to be a once-per-year event for the public to take photos with Maryland’s Governor, enjoy a few cookies along a brief tour of (part of) Governor’s mansion. There were also performances of school music bands from across Maryland. For this I can certainly wipe off the dismay of being turned away at US Naval Academy for my backpack, and consider this my lucky day.
Line to Enter Government House
Government House
Fountain Decorated with Christmas Lights
Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the Governor’s House, except for the official ones with Governor himself, taken by his staff.
Photo with Gov. Larry Hogan’s Family
Street with Decorations
Since I was turned away by US Naval Academy, and Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College didn’t turn out to be as interesting, and it’s cold and windy. I decided to head back at 3:15pm and called it a day.
END
Day Trip to Annapolis by Huang's Site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.