There are also
innumerable attractions close at hand in the areas near Annapolis (both
Baltimore and Washington, DC are close neighbors of Annapolis.)
Baltimore is
easy to reach on Greyhound and MTA (#210) buses from Annapolis. By road
Annapolis is only about half an hour from Washington (via US-50) or
Baltimore (via I-97). Both neighboring cities have excellent public
transportation.
Banneker-Douglass
Museum
84 Franklin
St Off the south side of Church Circle
410/974-2893
Tues-Fri 10-3,
Sat noon-4
Free
admission.
Named after
two prominent local African-American residents, Benjamin Banneker and
Frederick Douglass, this museum presents arts and crafts, exhibits,
lectures, and films, designed to portray the historical life and cultural
experiences of African-Americans in Maryland. The site was formerly the Old
Mount Moriah African Methodist Episcopal Church.
Charles
Carroll House
107 Duke of
Gloucester St Behind St. Mary's Church at Spa Creek
410/263-1737
Mar-Dec Fri
noon-4, Sat 10-2, Sun noon-4; Tues-Thurs tours by appointment
Closed Easter,
Thanksgiving, Dec 24, and Dec 25
Admission
Charged.
Built in 1721
and 1722, and enlarged in 1770, this is the birthplace and dwelling of
Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the one Roman Catholic to sign the
Declaration of Independence. It sits on high ground overlooking Spa Creek, a
block from City Dock. Visitors can tour the house plus the 18th-century
terraced boxwood gardens and a 19th-century wine cellar. The Charles Carroll
House hosts several public programs throughout the year. Recent programs
have included mother-daughter high teas, an 18th-century dress workshop, a
celtic music concert on the terraced lawns, and a candlelight Christmas
dinner.
Chesapeake Marine Tours
City Dock at
the foot of Main Street
410-268-7600
Reservations
required
A variety of
cruises are offered, weather permitting, aboard one of five vessels.
Day on the Bay Cruise
A 7.5 hour
tour on the Annapolis II, passes local landmarks including the Naval
Academy, a Victorian lighthouse and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum
across the bay in the restored fishing village of St. Michaels. There is a
3 hour stop for lunch and sightseeing.
Annapolis Harbor Tour
A 40 minute
cruise of Annapolis Harbor and the Severn River.
Spa Creek Tour
A 40 minute cruise of Annapolis harbor, past the
US Naval Academy, and the residential areas of Spa Creek.
90 Minute Cruises
Tour the Severn River, Chesapeake Bay bridges,
or Thomas Point Lighthouse.
Discover Annapolis Tours
26 West Street
410-626-6000
Daily:
April-Nov.; Rest of the year: Sat., Sun.
Telephone for
departure hours
Closed Jan. 1,
Thanksgiving Day, and Dec. 25.
A one hour
narrated bus tour which introduces passengers to three centuries of local
history, architecture, folklore, etc. The tours pass through residential
areas, the waterfront, a section of the US Naval Academy, and around the
State House and the governors house.
Hammond-Harwood House
two blocks
west of the State House at 19 Maryland Ave, off King George Street
410/263-4683
MonSat 104,
Sun noon4. Closed Jan 1, Thanksgiving, and Dec 25
Admission
Charged
Built in 1774,
this house is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the
United States. The warm redbrick Palladian villa, which consists of two
symmetrical wings connected by a central hall, was built in 1774 to the
designs of William Buckland. It is an outstanding example of the Maryland
five-part plan that connects the central main section of the house by
hyphens to semioctagonal wings. Famous for its center doorway of tall Ionic
columns, the interior is a showcase of decorative arts and paintings, as
well as ornamentation and wood carvings. The house is named for its original
owners: Mathias Hammond, a Maryland member of the Provincial Assembly, and
the Harwood family, who owned the house before it became a museum. A photo
exhibit documents various aspects of the house from the 1920s to the
present.
Helen Avalynne Tawes Garden
580 Taylor
Street at the Tawes State Office Building across from Navy Stadium
Access on
weekdays is through the State Office Building. Holiday access is between
the Court of Appeals and the Department of Natural Resources buildings.
410-260-8189
Guided tours
by reservation. A booklet is available for self-guided tours.
Daily
dawn-dusk.
Free
Admission.
A five acre,
barrier free botanical garden featuring representations of the states
natural environmental communities, from the forested mountains of western
Maryland to the sand dunes of the Eastern Shore. Shallow ponds support
wildlife such as bullfrogs, ducks, fish, songbirds, and turtles.
Maryland
State House
State Circle
410/974-3400
Mon-Fri 9-5,
Sat-Sun 10-4; tours daily 11am and 3pm
Closed Jan 1,
Thanksgiving, and Dec 25
Free admission
Located in the
center of Annapolis, this is the oldest U.S. capitol in continuous
legislative use. It was built between 1772 and 1779. The building also
served as the U.S. capitol from November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784.
Inside the Old Senate Chamber, George Washington resigned his commission as
commander-in-chief of the Continental armies at the end of the Revolutionary
War. This was also the place in which the Treaty of Paris was signed in
which England acknowledged the independence of their former colonies in this
country.
The dome of the building is
made of cypress beams and is held together by wooden pegs. The State House
contains exhibits that depict life in Annapolis in colonial times. There
are free 30-minute guided tours at 11am and 3pm that emanate from the
visitor center on the first floor.
Also on the grounds of the
State House is the cottage-sized Old Treasury Building, built in 1735 to
hold colonial Marylands currency reserves.
William
Paca House and Garden
186 Prince
George St
410/263-5553
Mar-Dec
Mon-Sat 10-4, Sun noon-4; Jan-Feb Fri-Sat 10-4, Sun noon-4.
Closed
Thanksgiving, Dec 24, and Dec 25
Admission
Charged to tour house and to tour garden. A combination package covering
both the house and the garden is available.
Among the
great historic residences in Annapolis is this former home of William Paca,
a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a governor of Maryland
during the Revolutionary period. Built between 1763 and 1765, and restored
by Historic Annapolis from 1965 to 1976, it is a five-part structure, with a
central block, hyphens (much smaller sections each consisting of a hallway
and small rooms) and wings. It contains a total of 37 rooms. Behind the
Paca estate is a two acre garden consisting of five elegant terraces, a
fish-shaped pond, a Chinese Chippendale bridge, a summer house, and a
wilderness garden.
Tobacco
Prise House
4 Pinkney St
(by
appointment)
410/267-7619
This pastel 18th
century building is a colonial tobacco warehouse that now presents tours
explaining the handling and storage of tobacco leaves.
Shiplap House
18 Pinkney St
MonFri 24
Admission free
Built in 1715
as a tavern, this building now is now a small museum of Annapolis history,
with an herb garden in the rear containing assorted medicinal plants grown
in colonial times.
St. Annes Church (Episcopal)
Church Circle
410-267-9333
Daily 8-6
Free Admission
The third church on the site
since the parish was founded in 1692. King William III presented the
communion silver in 1695. The St. Annes Memorial Window by Tiffany & Co.
won first prize for ecclesiastical art at the Chicago Worlds Fair in 1893.
St. Johns
College
60 College Avenue
King George Street
The school was chartered in
1784 and offered a traditional liberal arts education until 1937 when it
adopted a curriculum based on a study of the classics. Francis Scott Key
was one of its students.
The Elizabeth Meyers
Mitchell Gallery on campus displays changing exhibits during the academic
year. The gallery is open Tues.-Sat. noon-5.
U.S. Naval
Academy*
52 King George
St
410/263-6933
(see note
below)
Founded in
1845, this national historic site is the U.S. Navy's undergraduate
professional college, spread over 338 acres along the Chesapeake Bay and
Severn River on the eastern edge of town.
Among the
attractions on the academy grounds are the chapel and crypt of John Paul
Jones and the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Preble Hall, which contains
collections of nautical relics, paintings, ship models, and other historic
items.
At noon
formation (held in Tecumseh Court at 12:05pm Monday through Friday), all the
midshipmen line up and are accounted for before marching in for the noon
meal. Commissioning Week, usually the week of the last Wednesday in May, is
a colorful time of full-dress parades.
*
Unfortunately, at this time, US Naval Academy public tours have been
suspended and the grounds closed to all pedestrians and vehicles without US
Defense Department identification and authorization.
London Town
House and Gardens
839 Londontown
Rd Edgewater
Take Rte. 50
to Rte. 655 (exit 22), then take Rte. 2 south, over the South River Bridge.
Turn left on Mayo Rd., then left on Londontown Rd
410/222-1919
Mar-Nov
Tues-Sat 10-4, Sun noon-4
house tours by
appointment
Admission
Charged
Just south of
Annapolis, across the South River is the 1760s Georgian home of William
Brown. This is the only remaining structure from what was once a bustling
trade town called London Town that rivaled Annapolis in size and importance.
The London Town Foundation, in conjunction with Anne Arundel County, has
begun the archaeological task of unearthing the 23 acres around the William
Brown House and rebuilding the lost town. Meanwhile, the house is open to
visitors. The 8-acre woodland gardens, and the dig sites are also open to
the public on a limited schedule. On the third Saturday of each month from
March through October, when archaeologists are on-site, visitors can
participate in the digging, as well as tour the gardens and the house. The
foundations goal is to educate the public regarding about the social
history of the town and the history of the times. Education about the
process of restoration and excavation is included in their aims.
Schooner Woodwind
(410) 263-7837
Pussers
Landing at the Annapolis Marriott Waterfront Hotel
800 Comprise
Street
Tues-Sun.
11,1:30, and 4. Mon. at 6:30, from May 1-end of Sept. Call for Fall
schedule.
A replica of classic early 20th
century yachts, this 48 passenger vessel is outfitted with mahogany woodwork
and gleaming chrome. Two hour cruises cover a tour of the Annapolis
harbor, waterfront views of the US Naval Academy, and a trip up the Severn
River.
