CNN recently published an article on America’s ‘most endangered historic places.’ Do you know what rated #1? Shockingly, Annapolis.
Yes, our Annapolis. Specifically, the focus was on the City Dock area. That didn’t seem reasonable. After all, Annapolis is always complimented and recommended as a destination in all sorts of travel articles and websites. Subsequent to reading the article, I took a walk into town from my home in Eastport. Reluctantly, I concluded that the CNN article was addressing the damaged and declining ‘Quality of life and heritage tourism economy’ and in my view the same applies to residences.
The two over-sized Annapolis Yacht Club projects along with the former Fawcett building project seem to be the dictionary definition representing damage to the area. The projects are jarring and take away from our community scale, while adding nothing.
With the CNN article in mind, the addition of a ‘Boutique Hotel’ at City Dock would take the community’s historic nature from endangered to life support.
To all involved in these projects, you have sacrificed some of the best of our community for your own gain and, ashamedly, your own amusement. You may as well complete your tasteless additions to the community with inappropriate flourishes like Corinthian columns and plastic flamingos.
Oh by the way, not only are the buildings worth continuing criticism, so are the associated building methods. There are at least three obvious environmental problems.
The first is the significant impervious coverage which will result in continuing runoff further damaging our waterways.
The second is the lack of space to plant barriers that the architect promised during the public meetings since the building has metastasized to almost touch the property lines. There is essentially no space remaining to provide anything other than token landscaping.
Three, every time we get rain the muddy construction runoff adds to the pollution of Spa Creek.
Wouldn’t you think that if corners are cut there, they have probably been cut elsewhere as well?
eastport defined 
While our attention was distracted by the AYC reconstruction which (IMO) is no worse than the rich whites-only blight it was before, and the AYC Annex (which turned a small unobtrusive building into a 3.5 story 20,000 sq ft monster), the true “sneaky” betrayal of the city character (besides the new fugly Fawcett building reaching to the sidewalk instead of adding to walkability) was changing the AYC boat house from a tiny functioning boat house into a colossal boat storage center (again 3.5 stories) – put the boutique hotel there!
Did you send your comment on Corinthian Columns to the Capital Gazette or to the Mayor? I think that should go beyond this page. Thanks!