Residents > Quick Facts about Annapolis

The original settlement in this area was on Greenbury Point, on the north side of the Severn River and the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, and was established by Puritans seeking religious freedom in 1649. The remainder of the century saw waterfront development on the banks of the creeks in the present City Dock area. In 1694 Governor Francis Nicholson redesigned a new Capital City for the Province of Maryland to replace the original seat of government in St. Mary’s City.

Named to honor the future Queen Anne of England, Annapolis literally translates to “Anne’s City.” All of this early town is within the designated National Historic Landmark area. On November 22, 1708, Governor John Seymour, appointed by Queen Anne of Great Britain, granted a charter to Annapolis, making it the oldest incorporated municipality in Maryland. Annapolis is the only Maryland city whose charter was issued under the Royal seal. During this period, Annapolis was the site of the nation’s first state house, the first parochial libraries and King William’s School (now St. John’s College), the first printing of the Maryland Gazette, the resignation of George Washington, the signing of the Treaty of Paris – which officially ended the American Revolutionary War – and the 1845 founding of the United States Naval Academy.

For a short period, between November, 1783 and August, 1784, Annapolis served as the capital of the United States.

Interested in the history of Annapolis and Maryland? Click here for Maryland State Archives .

Annapolis is twenty-seven miles from both Washington, DC and Baltimore City. The City is located on the Severn River with the United States Naval Academy on its northeastern border. Its western border is Route 50/301 and its southern border runs down the Annapolis Neck Peninsula area just south of Forest Drive. In addition to being the capital of the state of Maryland, Annapolis is the county seat of Anne Arundel County.

Annapolis’ average annual temperature is 55.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The average winter temperature is 35.5 degrees and the average summer temperature is 85.2 degrees. Breezes from the many creeks and the Chesapeake Bay itself moderate the temperatures. The average yearly rainfall is 39.03 inches. The average yearly snowfall is 14.4 inches.

The lowest land is near sea level at the City Dock, climbing to 92 feet above sea level between Bay Ridge Avenue and Forest Drive. Excluding the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis boasts 17 miles of waterfront and encompasses 7.2 square miles.

In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau reported a population of 35,838. This fi gure does NOT include 4,264 residents at the Naval Academy or students at St. John’s College. Annapolis is the largest incorporated municipality in Anne Arundel County and is a full-service city. More than 4.5 million people visit Annapolis each year.

Annapolis is governed by a City Council composed of a Mayor and eight Aldermen. The Mayor is elected at large for a four-year term and serves full time as the Chief Executive Officer of the City.

The eight Aldermen are elected for four-year terms to represent eight different geographical areas of the City known as Wards; Aldermen are not restricted as to the number of terms they may serve.

Services are provided by ten departments and nearly 550 full-time employees.

The City's operating budget for Fiscal Year 2002 which began on July 1, 2001 totals $54,638,870 and its assessable base for the same year is approximately $2,504,784,775. The City's real property tax rate per $100 of full property value for fiscal Year 2002 is 62.4 cents. The personal and operating property tax assessments are $1.66.

The Department of Public Works operates 226 miles of water, sanitary sewer and storm drains. The Department also operates a water treatment plant which supplies an average of 4.6 million gallons of water each day to residents and businesses. Sewage treatment is provided through a City/ County jointly owned facility which is operated by Anne Arundel County.

Municipal, County and State roads total 91.19 miles. U.S. 50/301 passes on the west side of the City through Anne Arundel County to the Eastern Shore over the Bay Bridge. There are two primary entrances to the City coming from the west - one is located in the Parole area via two regional shopping malls and the other provides direct access to the downtown historic area and central business District via Rowe Boulevard (MD Route 70). From the north, I-97 exits onto Route 50/301 just west of the City; Route 450 provides a scenic vista entrance to the City overlooking the Severn River and the U. S. Naval Academy in the foreground. From the south, the major entrances to Annapolis are MD Route 2 which affords direct access to the Parole area and U.S. Route 301 which intersects and joins U.S. Route 50 west of the City.

Annapolis is served by U.S. Route 50/301 and MD Route 2/170/450. Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI), located in northern Anne Arundel County approximately 18 miles north of Annapolis, has 39 scheduled air carriers and commuter airlines. The County is served by the Chessie System (C&O/B&O/WM) and the Consolidated Rail Corporation (CONRAIL). There is also a rail terminus at BWI Airport. Over 100 motor carriers are authorized to serve the County. The Port of Baltimore has a 42 foot channel, and is the fourth largest foreign tonnage port in the United States with excellent container ship facilities. Work is nearly completed on a dredging project to deepen the channel to 50 feet.

The City operates a shuttle bus service using gasoline-powered trolleys within the central business district. Paid parking is available at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium off Rowe Boulevard. The City also provides a regular fixed-route bus service and regular route and on-demand services for seniors and handicapped persons through the Annapolis Mobility program. Two large parking garages are located in the City's Historic District as are several surface parking lots.

There are nine companies providing taxi service within the greater Annapolis area. All of these companies are operated on a 24-hour on-call basis. The cab companies in the City run on a metered basis. There are also a number of limousine services available for charters, social events, and direct services to and from BWI, National and Dulles airports.

The 1990 Census found 16,438 Annapolis residents in the labor force. This is 65.9% of all Annapolis residents age 16 and over. The unemployment rate at the time was 5.6%. Of those employed, 4,875 were in technical, sales and administrative support occupations; 2,686 were in service occupations; 1,422 were in precision production, craft and repair occupations; 1,417 were operators, fabricators and laborers; and 100 were farming, forestry and fishing.

Annapolis has been designated a "Central City" by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Major components of the local economy are government (the State Capital,Anne Arundel County Seat, and the United States Naval Academy), tourism, and maritime industries. According to the Regional Planning Council, 32,350 persons were employed by industries in the City of Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy in 1990. Government and institutions employed 17,850 including over 2,500 military and civilian personnel at the Naval Academy. There were 6,400 persons employed in retail trade; 4,000 in services; 1,450 in finance, insurance, and real estate; 750 in manufacturing; and 1,800 in all other categories.

There are nine elementary and three secondary public schools in the area. Public schools are operated by the Anne Arundel County Board of Education which employs more than 6,500 instructional and support personnel. There are several private and parochial schools in the area.

St. John’s College (founded in 1696 as King William’s School; the third oldest institution of higher learning in the United States), a private liberal arts college, is known for a curriculum which is based on the “Great Books” of Western Civilization.

Anne Arundel Community College, located five miles from the City off Ritchie Highway (Route 2) is a public, two-year community college with approximately 3,000 full-time students, 9,000 part-time students, and 20,000 non-credit students enrolled in vocational, technical and liberal arts programs.

The United States Naval Academy, a National Historic Landmark, was founded in 1845. The 4,000-member Brigade of Midshipmen pursues a rigorous academic program and undergoes intense physical training in preparation for their commissioning as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps.

Police services are provided by the City's Police Department which is composed of 124 full-time professionally trained officers, 30 full-time and 25 part-time civilian employees, 11 school crossing guards, and 4 community service officers. Other agencies providing police services in and around the area are the Maryland State Police, the County Sheriff's Department and the Anne Arundel County Police Department. The City police department is located at 199 Taylor Avenue.

The City is authorized 94 career firefighters supplemented by trained volunteers; the Department also has four civilian employees. They operate three stations and 14 pieces of equipment including a fireboat and three advanced life support (ALS) system units which are strategically located throughout the City to provide fire and emergency service. Professional and volunteer companies from the U.S. Naval Academy and Anne Arundel County work in cooperation with the City department. City Fire Department headquarters are located at 1790 Forest Drive.

The Anne Arundel Medical Center, located on Jennifer Road in the county, is a full-service regional hospital in partnership with Johns Hopkins Medical Center. The Anne Arundel County Health Department offers out-patient services in 21 county locations. Five nursing and convalescent homes serve the greater Annapolis area. The Stanton Center in Ward Two offers free clinic services to eligible residents.

Annapolis is served by a local daily newspaper, The Capital, as well as the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post. Local radio stations include WNAV, WRNR, WFSI, WRNV (U.S. Naval Academy), and the COA-TV public access station. The City is served by Comcast and Verizon cable services, and has local WiFi in the historic downtown area for visiting boaters.

The City website, www.annapolis.gov has up-to-the-minute information on a wide variety of topics. The U.S. Postal Service operates three post offices in the City.

The City’s Recreation and Parks Department conducts over150 leisure programs annually. There are 200 acres of the City in parkland, street-end or “pocket” parks. Truxtun Park at the headwaters of Spa Creek provides 70 acres for outdoor activities, including 12 tennis courts and 5 basketball courts, an outdoor swimming pool, 3 outdoor playing fields, skate park and boat launch facility. A partnership agreement with the public schools enables the Department to offer activities at many of the schools located in the City. The 11 acre Back Creek Nature Park is a regional education center on the environment and natural habitat. The City also owns 650 acres of woods and ponds on Defense Highway in the county.

Overnight visitors may choose from a wide variety of facilities ranging from hotels and motels to historic inns to bed and breakfast homes. Information is available by calling the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (CVB),410-280-0445. Shopping is available in the Historic District and at several shopping centers and large regional malls. There are 19 banking institutions and savings and loan associations, each with several branches to serve the public. For special recreational interests, there is a country club, a golf course, a bowling facility, numerous movie theatres, many fine restaurants,over 25 marinas, and a health and racquet club. There are over 60 houses of worship in the immediate area.

The Annapolis, Symphony, Annapolis Opera, Colonial Players, Annapolis Chorale, Annapolis Brass Quintet, Ballet Theatre of Maryland, Annapolis Summer Garden Theatre, Children’s Theatre of Annapolis, Bay Theater and many other groups sponsor and present both professional and amateur shows, exhibits, and concerts. Historic Annapolis, Inc., Watermark Tours, Discover Annapolis, Annapolis Carriage, and a wide variety of touring companies coordinate presentations, organize tours of the City’s outstanding historic homes, buildings, and waterways, and conduct on-going research into the City’s past. A City funded Art in Public Places Commission has inspired contemporary expressions in art, music, dance, film and literary creations. Private galleries abound, as do public collections of historical paintings, archeological exhibits, architectural ornamentation, statuary and other civic reflections that create a sense of place in Annapolis. The Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts provides space for artists-in-residence and classes in art, dance, music, and many other mediums.

The entire downtown is a registered National Historic Landmark with over sixty 18th Century structures.

The United States Naval Academy - Museum, John Paul Jones Crypt, intercollegiate athletic competitions. For guided tours, inquire at the Armel-Leftwich Visitors' Center located inside Gate #1 or call 410-293-6933.

City Dock (the country's only remaining pre-Revolutionary seaport) - See oyster boats,sailboats and other pleasure craft. Take a Harbour Cruise. See the Kunta Kinte plaque, the Market House, the Waterfront Park and Walkway. Stop at the Visitor's Information booth for more information on the City's historic sites.

Annapolis, the state capital, is called the “Sailing Capital of America”, and is the home of the National Sailing Hall of Fame. Anne Arundel County is known for having the greatest number of boats registered in the State of Maryland. The depth of the water at City Dock is 12-14 feet with a 110-foot turning area. The Severn River’s average depth is 18 feet with creeks running at depths of 4 to 11 feet.

The Annapolis Visitor Information Center is located at 26 West Street with a seasonal information booth located next to the Theodore W. Johnson Harbormaster’s Building at City Dock. Printed lists of accommodations, restaurants, guided tours, marine cruises, charters and rentals, and shopping are available. The center is operated by the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (a public/ private partnership) with funding provided by the City of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County. Information is available by calling 410.268.TOUR.

The City also has walking tour brochures, a WEB site at www.annapolis.gov, and a public access television station on channels 34 (Verizon) and 99/100 (Comcast).

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For Additional Information:
City of Annapolis
Office of Public Information
160 Duke of Gloucester Street
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
410-263-1183