City Hall seeking national prestige

More than a year after large chunks of molding crashed to the floor in Annapolis' City Council Chambers, work on renovating the room and the rest of the building remains at a standstill.

Patricia Blick, chief of historic preservation, said the city recently applied for the distinctions for City Hall, as well as the Charles Carroll House, the Stanton Center, McNasby's and 222 Severn Ave., which previously was home to the old Trumpy boatyard.

Some of the properties, including City Hall, already are registered as part more than 1,700 buildings in Annapolis that make up the Colonial National Historic Landmark and National Historic Landmark districts.

"Really (buildings on the National Historic Landmark registry are) cream of the crop that have great importance in national history," Ms. Blick said. "It gives (the building) a higher level of significance if individually listed."

The individual designation will give the locations more clout and more funding opportunities for renovations, Ms. Blick said. Both the Paca House and the Hammond-Harwood House have these individual landmark designations.

"The irony of all ironies, is City Hall is not a designated building so we didn't get a grant," said Mayor Ellen O. Moyer about a recent application for renovation funding. "So we're trying to secure historic designation for the building and re-filing for the grant."

The National Park Service decides on the designations and they look at factors including architecture and whether the building or location maintains enough of the historic materials and if the events that took place there are of national significance, she said.

Alderwoman Julie Stankivic, I-Ward 6, took the lead in getting City Council Chambers restored after a 30-foot piece of ornate plaster molding crashed to the floor in July 2006, leaving wiring exposed and large pieces of molding over the seats and across the desks where several aldermen sit during meetings.

Originally a one-story municipal building erected in the mid-18th century, City Hall was expanded in 1868 to include the modern council chambers. It was completely renovated in 1934.

Following the ceiling crash, the council unanimously approved a bill creating a committee to restore City Hall to its 19th-century glory, which included a gas-lit staircase, portico entrance and chandeliers in the ballroom.

Regardless, the project will be extensive, possibly going as far as tearing down some of the walls to find the original structure. And although officials have secured more than $55,000 in grants for the potentially pricey project, they still don't know the final cost for the renovation,

Ms. Stankivic has spent hundreds of hours combing the state archives seeking information on City Hall's history in architecture as well as its impact on the city and history.

She noted there is still plenty of planning to be done before any renovations even start on the building, including a structure report and paint analysis.

"I certainly don't want to see any changes made to that building until we complete the historical structures report," Ms. Stankivic said. "It's unfortunate, but these things take time. It's a priority to move this forward as soon as possible."