Maryland State House
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Navy72
N 38° 58.731 W 076° 29.448
18S E 370867 N 4315486
Serving as the Nation's capitol from 1783-1784, the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War, was ratified here by the Continental Congress (1784) and George Washington officially resigned his commission as Commander-in-Chief.
Waymark Code: WM1GM5
Location: Maryland, United States
Date Posted: 05/05/2007
Views: 40
NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK
Description: Architecturally, the Maryland State House is a severe brick structure topped by a tall octagonal dome and cupola. The main entrance facing the east, is protected by a one-story pedimented Corinthian portico with marble floor, four wooden columns, iron capitals, cast iron railing, and decorated with a modillion cornice and raking cornice in the pediment. This portico appears to be a later addition. The portal opens into a wide arched hall of similar classic order under the central dome, which has arched and oval windows and delicate plaster ornament in the Adam style, completed in 1793. Windows, with splayed jack arches, are 12/12 sash, with four on either side of a central three-bay projection, making the building 11 bays wide on the east façade. The building is ornamented with a heavy modillioned cornice and a central pediment with an oval window on the east side. The large octagonal dome rises from the center of the hip roof, which has a balustraded deck on the west side. The dome itself features modillioned and dentiled cornices, traceried oval windows in the octagonal portion, a balustrade above the dome, surmounted by a two-level octagonal cupola with 3/3 sash windows on the lower portion and louvered shutters covering windows on the second portion, each surmounted by a three-light fanlight. At the very top of the dome is an acorn-shaped finial. The west portion of the building, added in the early 20th century, features a massive 2 1/2-story portico supported by six columns. This side of the building is 13 bays wide, with four bays on either side flanking the portico, which covers five interior bays. A central pedimented entrance within the portico is flanked by pedimented windows on the first floor. The second floor has five windows, the central three of which are grouped slightly together. Over the entrance to the Old Senate Chamber is a curved balustraded spectators gallery, supported by fluted Ionic columns. Facing the entrance is the circular speaker’s platform. Typical of late Georgian Colonial design are the 12/12 sash windows with deep paneled reveals, window seats, and inner shutters, and the classically trimmed fireplace. Opposite the Senate Chamber is the Old Hall of Delegates, next to which is the present Historic and Flag Room, used for exhibit purposes.
Significance: Several historically significant events occurred in the Maryland State House, which now houses the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and attorney general of Maryland, as well as the State legislature. For nine months the State House was the seat of the Continental Congress while it acted as Revolutionary government. Here the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris on January 14, 1784, formally ending the Revolutionary War. Here Washington officially resigned as Commander-in-Chief. In September, 1786, the Annapolis Convention entertained a resolution from which grew the convention that drew up the Constitution. This late Georgian style building is the oldest state house in the United States still in use.
Source: Maryland Historical Trust
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Tour Information from Secondary Website Below
Tour of The Maryland State House
The beautiful Maryland State House is the oldest state capitol still in continuous legislative use. Construction of the State House, which was designed by Joseph Horatio Anderson, was begun in 1772, delayed by the outbreak of the American Revolution, and completed in 1779. The present dome, which replaced an earlier cupola, was designed by the noted colonial architect Joseph Clark and was completed in 1794. It is the oldest and largest wooden dome of its kind in the United States.
The Maryland State House was the first peacetime capitol of the United States and is the only state house ever to have served as the nation's capitol. The Continental Congress met in the Old Senate Chamber from November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784. During that time, General George Washington came before the Congress to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the Treaty of Paris was ratified, marking the official end of the Revolutionary War.
The interior of the original section of the State House is constructed of wood and plaster. The newer colonial revival section, which was designed by Francis Baldwin and Josiah Pennington and added between 1902 and 1906, has matched veined Italian marble walls and columns. A broad black line across the columned lobby marks the line between the two sections. The Maryland State House was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in July 1968.
The Old State House
The front entrance of the State House, which faces the Annapolis harbor, opens onto the Rotunda of the old State House. Directly under the dome in the Rotunda is the ship the Maryland Federalist which is a replica of a ship of the same size built in 1788 by the citizens of the Baltimore to celebrate Maryland's ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
To the right of the front door is the Old Senate Chamber where the Continental Congress met. This room has been restored to its original appearance and features a mannequin of George Washington dressed as he was when he resigned his commission. There are a number of portraits of early governors of Maryland by Charles Willson Peale, as well as Peale's celebrated portrait of Washington, Lafayette and Tilghman at Yorktown. The President's desk as well as some of the other desks and chairs in the room are original pieces made for the State House in 1796-7 by Annapolis cabinetmaker John Shaw.
The two rooms to the right of the Old Senate Chamber are the Stairwell Room and the Old Senate Committee Room. These rooms contain exhibits relating to the Road to Peace and Annapolis the Capital. The last room on the right in the old State House is the Archives Room.
To the left of the front door is the Calvert Room which contains portraits of members of the founding family of Maryland, the Calverts. There is also a portrait of Margaret Brent who, in 1648, asked the General Assembly for two votes, one as a landowner and one as Lord Baltimore's attorney. The General Assembly denied her the vote, but she may have been the first female to ask for the right to vote in the New World.
Next to the Calvert Room is the Maryland Silver Room which contains exhibits relating to Maryland and the U.S. Constitution as well as the magnificent U.S.S. Maryland Silver Service. The Calvert Room and the Maryland Silver Room were originally one room in which the House of Delegates met. The final room in the old State House is the Visitors' Center where guided tours are available on a regular basis.
On the wall of the Rotunda there is a plaque commemorating the contributions of Matthew Alexander Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole. Nearby, in a small glass case, is the miniature Maryland flag that accompanied astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. and Michael Collins on the first manned moon flight in the Apollo 11. Encased with the flag are tiny moon particles which returned with the mission.
Just outside the Visitors' Center is a plaque commemorating the space shuttle Challenger. The plaque contains a crew patch, state flag and American flag. These were presented to the people of Maryland by Mrs. Michael Smith, wife of the Challenger commander who was a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
The New State House
Above the landing of the main staircase is Washington Resigning His Commission painted in 1859 by Edwin White. (1817-1877) This depicts the scene on December 23, 1783 when General George Washington came before the Continental Congress in the Old Senate Chamber and resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in order to retire to private life.
The new Senate Chamber has four large paintings of Maryland's signers of the Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll of Carrollton, William Paca, Thomas Stone and Samuel Chase. The skylight, which is by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany, was recently restored when the chamber was redecorated.
The House of Delegates Chamber has also been recently restored, including its Tiffany skylight. The portraits are of former Speakers of the House of Delegates.
Street address:
State Circle
Annapolis, MD United States
21401
County / Borough / Parish: Anne Arundel County
Year listed: 1966
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event
Periods of significance: 1750-1799
Historic function: Government
Current function: Government
Privately owned?: no
Season start / Season finish: From: 01/01/2007 To: 12/31/2007
Hours of operation: From: 9:00 AM To: 4:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit. Include any additional observations or information that you may have, particularly about the current condition of the site. Additional photos are highly encouraged, but not mandatory.