Photography By Scott Suchman
While most of the Eastern Shore hums, Easton buzzes. From its outskirts, it appears to be a typical Eastern Shore town bordered by Route 50 and hemmed by farmland and an increasing amount of development. But turning off the highway onto Goldsborough Street, resplendent with grand Victorian homes, you enter a historic community characterized by a cultured, modern tempo. Here flower shops, clothing boutiques, and antique stores sit next to trendy restaurants, hip art galleries, and sidewalk cafes. And be forewarned: When people come to visit Easton, they have a habit of staying. “It’s the quality of life,” speculates Mayor Bob Willey, a fifth-generation Eastonian. “For a little town, there’s always a lot going on.”
It’s hard to untangle which came first in Easton, the arts or the art supporters. Local historians like Norman Harrington, who in 1985 penned Easton’s Album, published by the Historical Society of Talbot County, speculate that a steady tide of well-heeled outsiders in the early 1800s contributed to the town’s cultural focus. By then, Easton had become the largest town on the Shore, offering wealthy families from Philadelphia, Washington, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore a sophisticated country retreat. By the time the railroad came in 1869, folks from all along the East Coast had discovered Easton. Thanks to these well-to-do waves of influence, Easton became one of the most progressive towns on the Shore.
The cultural heart of the town is the Avalon Theatre. Built in 1921, it began as a vaudeville theater and movie house. Today the two-story, 400-seat renovated art deco building draws 65,000 visitors a year who come to see a wide variety of acts from the Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra to the rock band Little Feat.
Some of the Avalon’s more cutting-edge productions come from the Cricket Theatre, a local troupe founded in 1996 by Easton residents Brian Hesson, Mark Mangold, and Tim Weigand. The group puts on three or four shows a year and has developed a niche audience looking for eclectic productions, like Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Side Man. “This is a town that really cares about and supports the arts to a degree way beyond its population,” says Ellen General, executive director of the foundation-run Avalon. “Most towns this size just can’t support the arts the way Easton does. People here have a heightened awareness of arts and culture, which is pretty amazing.”
If the Avalon is the heart of Easton’s performing arts scene, then the Academy Art Museum is the soul of its visual arts. The museum was begun in 1958 by a group of local artists, including sculptor Lee Lawrie, who created the statue of Atlas outside New York’s Rockefeller Plaza. The museum, which recently earned prestigious accreditation from the national American Association of Museums, currently has more than 4,000 members. Its multi-million-dollar renovation will add new galleries, studios, and an acoustically sound performing arts gallery. Its permanent collection spotlights masters like Robert Rauschenberg and Marc Chagall. Visiting exhibits have featured Rembrandt, pop artist Jim Dine, and Ansel Adams. “We serve an important purpose,” says Chris Brownawell, director the museum, who, with his blue blazer and bow tie, looks more Newport than Eastern Shore. “Many people across the Eastern Shore don’t have access to the museums in big cities. We strive to provide a special experience so that people can come face to face with great art.”
The arts are also thriving--and on sale--at Easton’s many local art galleries. Friday night’s popular Gallery Walks attract hundreds of visitors to the town’s galleries and shops, which stay open until 9 p.m. (late by sleepy small town standards) the first Friday of every month. “People love walking around and looking at all the art and gorgeous historic buildings we have,” says Patricia Spitaleri, the creative mind behind the Friday night programs as well as owner of South Street Gallery.
Evidence of the wealth that poured into the town over three decades is seen in Easton’s architecture. The Historical Society of Talbot County offers guided walking tours of the town’s architectural highlights, but visitors need only meander down any downtown street--Goldsborough, Aurora, Washington, Harrison--to get a feel for the town’s prosperous past, characterized by double porches, turrets, stylized slate roofs, and stately columns. It’s no wonder that Easton has become one of the most sought-after places to live on the Shore, having some of the highest priced real estate in the region.
At the epicenter of historic Easton is the Talbot County Courthouse, a pristine example of Federal architecture with its clock tower and arched windows. Fanning out from it are eighteenth- and nineteenth-century townhouses, legal offices, and shops. Nearby, the Asbury United Methodist Church, built in 1876, has a three-story tower, arched opalescent glass windows, ornate pilasters, and a whiff of fame. Here, Frederick Douglass, a Talbot County native and abolitionist, is rumored to have spoken to the church’s traditionally African-American congregation. The simple Third Haven Meeting House is a reminder of the town’s Quaker roots. Built in 1682, it is not only the oldest building in Maryland but is also one of the oldest churches in continuous operation in the nation.
For many years, one of Easton’s sole hotels was the Tidewater Inn, a 114-room establishment that since 1949 has welcomed dignitaries as well as hunters--and their dogs. Today, Easton has an abundance of overnight options, ranging from chain motels to quaint B&Bs. For intimate luxury--and award-winning cuisine--try The Inn at Easton, a Federal-era inn with a stylish twenty-first-century interior. Other historic overnight options include Easton’s Promise, a newly renovated nineteenth-century inn with an adorable dog; the Chaffinch House, a Victorian folly with a wraparound porch; and the Bishop’s House, a handsome Victorian B&B furnished with period antiques.
Restaurant-wise, Easton compares favorably to cities twice its size. Amy Haines, a thirty-something entrepreneur, was lured to town five years ago by a friend who grew up vacationing on the Eastern Shore. She had decided to leave her marketing position at a bio-tech firm in the San Francisco Bay area and open Out of the Fire, one of the town’s most popular restaurants, noted for its wood-burning oven and surprisingly cosmopolitan buzz. “As soon as I saw Easton, I knew I could do something here,” she says. “It had the energy I was looking for.” For other great meals, check out Restaurant Columbia for continental dining in an eighteenth-century home, Portofino and its traditional Italian cuisine, and General Tanuki’s, delicious sushi and authentic Pacific Rim cooking.
Mayor Willey believes that much of what attracts people to move to Easton is due to “the friendly factor.” “Easton is a place where neighbors help neighbors and people are just nice to each other. That’s not something that happens everywhere anymore,” he says. “People here spend their time volunteering to make the town a better place. It sounds corny, but it’s true. Whether you’ve been here forever like me or you’ve just come to town, it feels like home.” nCL
Andrea Poe writes from her home in Easton, Md.
Locals’ Guide to Easton
Cool Treat Hit
Hill’s Drugstore, an Easton institution since 1928, for its fresh lemonade and old-time soda- fountain atmosphere. 32 E. Dover St., 410-822-9751.
Must Be Lunch
Mason’s porch is the place to be in warm weather. Locals dine on tasty gourmet sandwiches, soups, and salads. 22 S. Harrison St., 410-822-3204.
Perk Me Up
Coffee drinkers refuel at Coffee East, an eclectic, art-filled space with an espresso machine that operates non-stop. 5 Goldsborough St., 410-819-6711.
Sweet Sins
Olde Towne Creamery, a traditional ice cream parlor with homemade waffle cones (9B Golds-borough St., 410-820-5223), and Sweet Nina’s, a cool and cozy nook for Italian espresso and gelati (37 Dover St., 410-763-9272), are the places to indulge in tasty treats.
Night Moves
Chez Lafitte, a cosmopolitan piano bar with coffee and dessert, is an intimate spot to wile away an evening. 13 S. Washington St., 410-770-8868.
Saturday Morning Ritual
Everyone hits the Farmers’ Market on Harrison St. from Memorial Day weekend through mid-December for fresh produce, peanuts, pies, honey, flowers, and locally made products. Latest addition: live music to serenade shoppers.
Resources
Academy Art Museum
106 South St. 410-822-0455
http://www.art-academy.org
Avalon Theatre & Cricket Theatre
40 E. Dover St. 410-820-8822
http://www.avalontheatre.com
Bishop’s House
214 Goldsborough St. 410-820-7290
http://www.bishopshouse.com>
Chaffinch House
132 S. Harrison St. 410-822-5074
http://www.chaffinchhouse.com
Easton’s Promise
107 Goldsborough St. 410-820-9159
http://www.eastonspromise.com
General Tanuki’s
25 Goldsborough St. 410-819-0707
Historical Society of Talbot County
25 S. Washington St. 410-822-0773
http://www.hstc.org
Out of the Fire
22 Goldsborough St. 410-770-4777
http://www.outofthefire.com
Portofino
4 W. Dover St. 410-770-9200.
Restaurant Columbia
28 S. Washington St. 410-770-5172
http://www.restaurantcolumbia.com
South Street Gallery
5 South St. 410-770-8350
http://www.southstreetartgallery.com
Talbot County Welcome Center
11 S. Harrison St. 410-770-8000
http://www.tourtalbot.org
The Inn at Easton
28 S. Harrison St. 410-822-4910
http://www.theinnateaston.com
Tidewater Inn
101 E. Dover St. 800-237-8775
http://www.tidewaterinn.com
