Courtesy of the Maryland State Archives. Special Collections (Mame Warren Collection) Henry Schaefer, Market Space from Green Street, 1891-95 MSA SC 985-1-105
By James Houck
Market Space from Green Street, 1891–95
When describing the Market during this period, Don Riley wrote in 1959: “A trip through the old Market at City Dock in Annapolis on Saturday night was like a crowded, jostling tour of a county fair, with a carnival thrown in for good measure. It was, that is, in the town’s horse and buggy days. Blocks before you got to the market you heard it—an excited, sustained hubble-bubble of voices, as stall operators shouted and chose from huge, colorful piles of green produce, racks of baked goods, trays of seafood. It was always a dramatic thing to see in the dusk, for the low, spreading building—little more than a shelter without walls, actually—was lit by flaring gas torches, their flames flickering in the evening eeze…The present market, still at the dock, is modern and more or less streamlined. It still offers good quality and wide variety—but the magic atmosphere of the old place isn’t there anymore.”
Although, those last words were written in 1959 of the “modern” Market, they’re as applicable as ever to our current Market in the center of Downtown Annapolis. Do you think the Market, as is, lives up to its reputation as described by Riley in 1959 or do you think there’s room for improvement and, if so, how?
What do you think & why?
Please email your thoughts to our Publisher and Editor at: Veronica@whatsupmag.com and Editor@whatsupmag.com.
