Regulars (Our Capital by Ellen Moyer)

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 12/1/11

A Capital Pair

Endurance Racers John Crandell and Heraldic

Touch of Class, a Marylander, was the first non-human female equestrian honored by the U.S. Olympic Committee as Athlete of the Year. In 1984, this Hall of Fame horse won two Gold Medals for the United States, clearing 90 of 91 jumps in show jumping Olympic competition. Her achievement inspired a new award to honor horses and people who demonstrate the highest standards of excellence in Maryland’s horse industry. The first winner was Maryland horse...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 11/24/11

The Big Power of Little Gifts

The Annapolis Community Foundation’s exponentially expanded reach

Anne Arundel County has two Community Foundations. Both remind us that giving helps keep us strong. The Community Foundation of Anne Arundel is big, visible and rich with caring people. The Annapolis Community Foundation is, by comparison, small and relatively invisible. With a board of generous citizens, it gives small grants and start-up money to fund new enterprises within our capital city. Over its nine years, the Annapolis...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 10/27/11

Meet the Spirits of Our Past

Gravestones chronicle changing Annapolis

A friend of mine was fond of saying that cemeteries were pleasant places to walk. They’re also great places to reflect on local history and, especially this time of year, to feel the spirits of the past. The cemeteries of St Anne’s Church and the old City Cemetery near the heart of Annapolis are a pair of open spaces wedged between busy Rowe Boulevard and West Street. Historic St. Anne Church, rebuilt three times on Annapolis’ second-...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 10/13/11

The High Points of Annapolis

How well do you know your capital skyline?

The skyline in Annapolis tells the facts of city life: the story of our 350-year history as a political center where great things happen, a religious center for the Church of England and the Catholic Church, the birthplace of our Navy, a center of education and an architectural gem. On land, our spires are subtle monuments to power, hope and inspiration. Architect John Evelyn, who inspired Gov. Francis Nicholson’s plan for Annapolis in 1695, wrote “not all need...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 10/6/11

Earning Its Stripes

How Annapolis became America’s Sailing Capital

Look around Annapolis these two weeks, and you’ll see how the maritime industry helps the visitor industry thrive. Recreational sailing and power boating are newcomers to this old city. We were a working seaport from colonial times through World War II. So well known were Eastport’s skilled wooden boat builders that in 1939 President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the grand and famous schooner America here to be restored. But...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 9/22/11

Help Make Annapolis Certifiably Wild

National certification hinges on finding 150 homeowners with backyard wildlife habitats

Annapolis is a city with a green ethic. We’ve been cultivating greenspaces for half a century with street-end parks, our Greenscape city beautification program, our commitment to cover half the city with a tree canopy and our cooperative program with Baltimore Gas and Electric to plant the right tree in the right place. Beyond those greenspaces to nourish wildlife, we’ve installed osprey nesting sites and made purple martin and bat houses fixtures in city parks....

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 7/21/11

Annapolis Is a Walking Town

But Is It a Walk-Friendly Community?

Annapolis is a walking town. It has always been so. In 1695, Gov. Francis Nicholson designed it so people could move from home to church to pubs to school to businesses in a two- to five-block walk. Compact neighborhoods still make Annapolis a place to walk and wander and wonder. Live here and you can walk to church and to school and to businesses and to pubs. Visit and you can explore your eclectic interests, peer over a garden gate of a colonial house on narrow streets and...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 6/2/11

Showtime Present

And the ghosts of showtimes past

It is evening in downtown Annapolis. The courtyard of the Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre on Compromise Street is alive with people. Above their heads, in bold letters, the marquee spells out Chicago ... Annapolis’ outdoor musical theater is in performance. The brainchild of Joan Baldwin, a visionary who loved the challenges of making new ideas work, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre opened 43 years ago in the abandoned historical Shaw Blacksmith Shop...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 5/19/11

A Tale of Three Fountains

They bring us water, adornment and inspiration

Annapolis has another fountain. You can’t miss it, for it dominates the plaza on West Street at Park Place as the great i am. Capping it is an unknown godlike male in the classic tradition and classically surrounded by horses. Water shimmers down it into a trough. Intrigued by the fountains of Rome, where people gathered to laugh and talk and hold hands, developer Jerry Parks built this fountain to welcome visitors to Park Place. It watches over the ghosts of horses...

Article - Our Capital by Ellen Moyer; by Ellen Moyer - 4/28/11

Walking thru History

In two hours, I’ll show you 350 years — with stops for ice cream.

Downtown Annapolis is a time capsule. Follow me on this mile-and-a-half jaunt, and you’ll pass through 350 years. Editor’s note: What’s your favorite walk in Anne Arundel and Calvert counties? Guide us through its spaces, history and ecology in 400 to 800 words with pictures. Send to editor@bayweekly.com. Selected tours earn editing, a byline and $25. Find a parking place on Main Street and buy two hours on the meter, for we start at Kilwins, the...