In light of the recent developments regarding Annapolis’ iconic public space, we at The Sound thought it important to add some more historical context to the current discussions about the future of the Market House. Acclaimed historian, author and native Annapolitan Ginger Doyel graciously offered to lend us her insight as she guided us through this ‘living tour’ of the Market House. We hope you’ll enjoy it.
NOTE: Default viewing mode is 240p, but for computers that can handle it we highly recommend changing to 720p/HD at the bottom of the YouTube menu for optimal viewing and listening.
ABOUT Ginger Doyel (from her website):
Ginger Doyel is a fourth-generation Annapolitan. She received a B.A. in Leadership Studies from the University of Richmond in 2001, graduating first in her class from the University’s Jepson School of Leadership Studies that year. While at Richmond, she also founded and captained the University’s first women’s golf team.
Upon graduating, Ginger served as a Research Fellow for the Pew Partnership for Civic Change in Charlottesville, Virginia. While in Charlottesville, she also founded the business Art Fore Golfers, and in doing so, created original golf art for clients along the East Coast.
In 2002, Ginger returned to Annapolis and became an author and publisher. She has written several books, including Annapolis Vignettes; Gone to Market: The Annapolis Market House, 1698-2005; The Annapolitan Club: A Tradition of Hospitality Since 1897; and Over the Bridge: A History of Eastport at Annapolis. In addition, she has illustrated seven books. In Summer 2009, Ginger traveled to Israel and Palestine for six months to gather background information for two forthcoming books. The first, a volume that puts Tomorrow’s Youth Organization’s work into a global context, will be published in September of 2010. The second, a collection of her illustrations of the region, will be published in 2011. She has also contributed to The Capital newspaper (her history column won several Historic Annapolis Foundation Preservation Awards) and several magazines. Articles about her work have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, and Chesapeake Life magazine. Ginger lives in Eastport near her parents and sister, who is studying law in Washington, DC.
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Ginger has hit upon a key fact. The most publicly accessible building in the center of the Ancient City as Capital of the State of Maryland — i.e The Markethouse and lands surrounding it should be the place to go to get the news of the day and exchange latest ideas in the best and largest sense. It is a place to stop, dwell and find reconnection.
To the degree a farmers market is integrated with and surrounds the markethouse makes it all the stronger a place. Reopening the front door closest to the harbor and reestablishing the cross walk to the harbor’s edge is key in connecting the City and its people to the Bay.
While a seemingly mundane issue — the City could simply furnish and install some of those automatic bollards that rise up and then disappear into the sidewalk to deal with pedestrian safety and automobile traffic conflict issues at peak times of congestion.
see link:
http://automaticbollard.com/product_overview.asp?ProductID=54
It is time for Annapolis to get smart about utilizing its core urban, historic and waterfront assets and move away from auto dependent planning decisions which affect the quality of place in a negative way.
One wonders why all of Main Street focuses on the cinderblock sidewall of an old grocery store (formerly Fawcetts) with a parking lot as forecourt. Hopefully Mayor Cohen and his Administration will seriously address moving Annapolis forward from an urban planning and architectural perspective in keeping with its notable and rare 1695 town plan by Nicholson.
This does not mean doing nothing (as is Annapolis’s want) and letting the City continue to die a slow death from a thousand cuts. It is encouraging to see Fred Kent of the “Project for Public Spaces” come to town from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 25, in the City Council Chambers and present a way for Annapolis to think differently about its future.
In my view, the Market House should be host to businesses or services that serve the entire community first and foremost. Even when it was not a “market house” in the past it was sometimes re-purposed to serve a community in times of need and in order to be sustainable, especially if the economy continues to struggle it absolutely MUST stay true to that history and also MUST be useful and affordable to ALL citizens of the city. I could afford Mann’s Sandwiches, Miss Nancy’s Bakery, Machoian (forget how to spell that) Chicken, could splurge for the Big Cheese at times. Mann’s was the first place I got a sausage biscuit sandwich with my dad as a tiny child on a special trip downtown alone with him that I always remember (yes sausage often figures highly in my fondest memories) probably close to 40 years ago. and since those places are gone there is not much left, maybe Chick and Ruths but that is rather crowded…always has been, wonder why. They maybe stay busy all year. Outer Annapolis residents DO come in specifically to go there, many meet there regularly.
I just do not see anything on Fred Kent’s site about prioritizing an entire community and ensuring the town is affordable for all of it’s citizens…which as far as I am concerned is the only way to ensure long term success. I’m not only talking about the poorest of the poor- although they will never get out of poverty if there is no step up, there are also many people who do not feel that they should be forced to always “make more money” and can no longer just find basics easily in the sea of “choices” – who desperately want to be able to live on a modest salary. Never considered climbing a business ladder to the top successful. The last thing these people want to do is work 70 hours a week supporting businesses they may even find unethical just to be able to live, as the prices rise to the whim of those constant climbers. We can never keep up with it.
One other point…this town is FULL of lifelong residents, whose life work is ALL about Annapolis, not scattered, they are historians who’s passion is for the city and it’s history…an untapped resource…and won’t be seen here because they are not “on the web”. They are not about selling themselves.
@Alex:
We’re always looking for new insights into our city, so if you’d be willing to forward me contact info for any of these individuals you’re referring to I’d love to tap them as resources.
Drop me an email at kstewart@annapolissound.com.
peace,
K
@Alex’s comment on Fred Kent: Fred explained in his presentation that the main issue is less one of business and more one of people and places. People will go where exciting things are happening and, most importantly, they will go where other people are. Whether or not they end up entering a store to buy something is secondary. Some of course will, but a place does not flourish on business alone. The attraction of the place itself and what is happening there draws people, and that doesn’t have to cost anything. I would say that many of the most exciting bustling places in cities that I’ve visited around the world have been places where I haven’t spent any money, or only very little. I was there because it was a fun place to be.
I understand that this does not do away with the problem of products being affordable only for a few. But I suppose we should keep in mind that Fred Kent is (in my understanding) not a business manager or developer, but a designer of public places in general. Maybe I can say more on this later, and once the video is up Fred’s perspective will become clearer too.
Admin: I passed on the email. Hopefully you will receive some feedback from me or others…thank you very much.
Mr Matlack: I can see the wonderful vision in this presentation and would love to see such a place created. I myself prefer the focus on a place and honestly spend very, very little of my time “shopping” at all. I do suppose that my perspective as a resident and someone who avoids driving to be unique. I can see this idea being regenerative and making the town a better place to enjoy and live but I still wish there were businesses more tailored to affordable basics. Many small towns that still enjoy visitors have that. Large cities have it. One thing I actually cherish is my ability to walk all over. I will walk to the Hillsmere area where I have clients and other family rather than drive if I can take the time and various other reasons. I could walk to Grauls for groceries but there is so little here. To me that has a great deal to do with sustainability of a hometown…in fact I have encouraged those more specifically interested in historic preservation to speak up because I am much more interested in hometown preservation than historic preservation. Especially when the focus on many homes now-a-days is on “property value”
What does property value even mean now-it used to mean a home-an investment for life-a place to pass on and to create a lasting family and community. Now it means a way to profit and generally transient people instead of communities. I know other families who have also tended to share these views on property value-and it is a dying breed. I lived briefly in Dover De and saw repeatedly the inability in this market for the Amish to sustain their very low impact lifestyle-what can you pass on? They don’t build to take over. They do not build stuff that then remains empty and unused based on the fluctuations of a current trend or market. In a less extreme example-that is what has been crushed…that is why this is a town that has had hard times before but continued to stay a community…until the last few decades. In my short lifetime it has changed so dramatically every year, and not in a very forward thinking manner if anyone were looking at the community as a whole-the bigger picture. Making a home instead of a market investment…which – how’s that working out for ya now?
I stare at a monstrous 2 mil home next door that I can’t see being steadily occupied anytime soon. It was also a family home at one time…and boy it is irksome to hear it described as a historic renovation. Believe me-no past residents of that home had anything so gaudy and fancy or extremely expensive-family or not.
One of those “investments”