of Naval Academy midshipman , and students from St Johns to suppress . Jane Wilson McWilliams , in her seminal work Annapolis : City on the Severn ( The Johns Hopkins University Press , 2011 ), notes that the fire originated in Mr . Richard Chaney ’ s stables before igniting several homes and shops along West Street and Colonial Avenue . In the end , several animals died , and thirteen homes were destroyed , but no human casualties were reported .
A well-attended hanging occurred on the fringes of the neighborhood in 1877 , as did lynchings in 1875 , 1898 and 1906 . In the case of each of these events , felons were purloined from the city jail , formerly located on Calvert Street .
In February 1902 , a group of prominent local women rallied Mayor Charles A . DuBois to charter the Annapolis Emergency Hospital Association . With funding from a myriad of public and private sources , the association was transformed a home on Cathedral Street into a cottage hospital . The first patient was a stonecutter injured while working on the new Court of Appeals building .
In 1908 , the Washington , Baltimore and Annapolis ( WBA ) company laid tracks for a commuter trolley and interurban trains that traveled from a terminal on the corner of Calvert and West Streets down West Street toward Church Circle and on to Baltimore , a convenient albeit loud and odorous
Shaw Street Pocket Park means of transport that continued for more twenty-five years . The line was convenient to Murray Hill residents . George T Melvin wrote , “ Of itself [ the train ] will bring many desirable people here … and will open for Annapolis a new era which cannot prove otherwise than stimulating not alone to trade and industry but to social and home life ”.
In 1909 , construction began on a larger hospital building at the corner of Franklin and Cathedral . In 1919 a maternity ward was added . The hospital continued to expand in size and services until it moved to its current location on Jennifer Road in 2001 .
What to do with the 4.5 acres formerly occupied by the hospital became a contentious issue until Acton Landing , an upscale development of homes , townhouses and condominiums , was built . These homes are some of the most sought-after properties in the Murray Hill neighborhood , not only for upscale features , but also for their proximity to Calvert , West and Cathedral Streets . One can easily walk to the galleries in the Arts District , restaurants on Inner West Street , and historic downtown Annapolis from anywhere in Murray Hill , especially Acton Landing .
Today , Murray Hill remains a beautiful community characterized by welltended homes , a shady tree canopy , pedestrian and bike-friendly streets and an old-fashioned neighborhood feel . Wide lots and deep setbacks accommodate numerous homes built in a variety of styles , most between the 1920s and 1940s . Waterfront homes along Spa Creek range from extensively and expensively rehabbed properties that sell in the $ 900,000- $ 3 million range to smaller and less affluent pre-War bungalows and Cape Cods .
Several streets dead-end at small pocket parks situated on the shores of Spa Creek ( Amos Garrett , Taney , Lafayette , Cheston , Southgate , Acton Park ). Although parking for these parks is sparse , they are a lovely place to launch small watercraft such as dinghies , canoes or kayaks . Local yoga companies frequently offer waterside classes . It isn ’ t unusual to enjoy an impromptu solo concerto or to watch a plein air artist at work , and the grassy knolls are perfect for a picnic .
Acton Hall
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