Annapolis
Maryland’s capital since 1694, ANNAPOLIS has changed little in size and appearance over the centuries, its charmingly narrow, time-worn streets making it among the more engaging small US cities.
At the centre of Annapolis, overlooking the town’s dense web of streets, stands the stately Georgian beauty that is the Maryland State House. The structure was completed in 1779, and for six months between 1783 and 1784 it served as the official Capitol of the USA; it remains the nation’s oldest statehouse still in use. The Old Senate Chamber, off the grand entrance hall, is where the Treaty of Paris was ratified in 1784, officially ending the Revolutionary War. A statue of George Washington stands here on the spot where, three weeks before the treaty signing, he resigned his commission as head of the Continental Army. Also on the grounds of the State House is the cottage-sized Old Treasury, built in 1735 to hold colonial Maryland’s currency reserves.