Photography By Scott Suchman
Tucked in shadows of the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and resting on the banks of Weems Creek is Annapolis’s demure, often overlooked cousin, West Annapolis. While this quiet, residential hamlet of 350 residences might not have the boaty atmosphere of nearby downtown nor the historic attractions, it does have a plethora of adorable boutiques, galleries, a smattering of worthwhile eateries, and every convenience desirable in a hometown. To many who live here, West Annapolis is as close to Pleasantville as it gets, and, in many ways, is reminiscent of what downtown was twenty-five years ago. Best of all, there’s free parking—and plenty of it.
West Annapolis has a slow, steady pulse similar in rhythm to the irresistible, miniature towns on Virginia’s Northern Neck. Annapolis Street fronts the area and is the commercial district where more than thirty stores reside. Behind this main drag is its sleepy residential side, graced with runway-wide, tidy streets, many named for local World War II veterans. The abundance of downright adorable 1950s cottage-style homes have qualified the area as one of the most sought-after places to live within the city limits. Real estate prices here have tripled over the past three years, with the current average cost of a home at $550,000 to $600,000.
The area that is today known as West Annapolis, which includes its high-rent sister community of Wardour, was given as a land grant to Norwood Beale in 1650. The land eventually was made into a plantation, inherited by Beale’s son, Andrew, who sold the property in 1718 to the Pickney family. The land was again sold in 1869, bought at auction by Major Luther Giddings, who in 1884 divided the land between his two daughters, Elizabeth and Catherine. Elizabeth received the area now known as Wardour, and Catherine received the area now known as West Annapolis. The areas eventually morphed into a residential community and were annexed in to the city of Annapolis in 1951.
Harold Parkinson, West Annapolis’s unofficial historian, has been a resident here since 1930. He recalls when the area was considered country, when mailboxes on the streets were marked “RFD” (Rural Free Delivery), when the electric trolley that ran from Annapolis to Baltimore stopped in West Annapolis. “The neighborhood hasn’t changed that much other than when we moved into this house, my wife and I were the youngest couple on the block, and all of the others were older couples,” says Parkinson. “Now, it’s just about reversed. Younger couples have moved in with kids, and now we’re one of the older set.”
Parkinson has fond memories of his childhood in West Annapolis. “During WWII, when I was in high school, most of the men in the area were drafted into the service,” he recalls. “And a lot of them belonged to the West Annapolis Volunteer Fire Department. There was hardly any men left to fight fires. So twelve or fourteen of us young boys in the neighborhood were trained to answer the fire alarm—we formed the junior fire brigade. Women were hired to drive the company ambulances during the day, so we’d ride with them to help transport patients. After the area was annexed into the city, the city fire company restricted the number of calls that the West Annapolis station could answer—they cut down our territory. The president of our fire department got so mad that he had the station moved to Jennifer Road so that they would be entitled to more calls. It’s something that I could never believe would happen, but he moved it. He must have known the right people to talk to.”
Through the ’70s and ’80s, West Annapolis began to blossom as a commercial area, with more and more businesses opened by area residents. Today there are more than thirty shops on Annapolis Street, which are housed in residences, complete with front porches and screen doors. One of the integral members of the area’s commercial .sector is the unofficially ordained king of West Annapolis, Gus Leanos, owner of Annapolis Gourmet and Deli. An Annapolis native, eighty-one-year-old Leanos recalls when Admiral Heights, a nearby residential community, was a dairy farm in the 1930s and ’40s and when the area where the stadium is now was mostly woods. “That’s where I took the girls,” chuckles the feisty Greek gent with snow white hair and a gritty charm.
For twenty-six years, Leanos’s father ran a deli on West Street, a busy feeder route to downtown. In 1948, he worked for his father and in ’49 he opened his own deli in West Annapolis, on the corner of Annapolis Street and Melvin Avenue. Most days you can find Leanos, who runs the deli with his wife, Helene, at the store, concocting batches of the best chicken salad this side of Chestertown and entertaining his customers with his sharp wit, political opinions, and terse .personal advise. “There’s a good class of people here,” says Leanos. “Not a lot of riff-raff. I was born downtown, and I’ve seen it change for the worst. I haven’t been downtown in years, and I wouldn’t go if I had to. Here it’s easy in, easy out.”
For long-time locals who have lost their tolerance for City Dock traffic, West Annapolis is rapidly becoming a welcome alternative spot to shop and run errands. “My husband shops only in West Annapolis during Christmas because of the parking,” explains a customer at The Giant Peach, a local children’s clothing boutique. “It’s the only place he can deal with.”
The Giant Peach has been in West Annapolis since 1994. Although owners Jean White and Mary Slidell originally opened their store on downtown’s Main Street in 1982, they migrated to West Annapolis, weary of the crime and lack of parking. “No locals would come downtown anymore because there wasn’t any parking,” says Slidell. “We were so afraid that over here we’d be out of the loop and have no exposure, but our business doubled that first year because of the parking. It’s so much more pleasant over here. It just has an old-fashioned feel.”
“It’s much more neighborly,” adds White. “Everybody knows everybody else and looks out for one another. You couldn’t pay us to go back downtown.”
This tight-knit community with its own babysitting co-op, dinner club, and newcomers’ welcoming committee, has become the area for young families to homestead. Thirty-somethings Robert and Susan Shapiro moved to West Annapolis in May 1999 shortly after they were married. Robert, co-owner of West Annapolis-based Smart Computing Solutions, introduced Susan to the area. “Robert had rented in West Annapolis and had always liked it,” says Susan, a director at the Annapolis-based law firm of Council, Baradel, Kosmerl & Nolan. “From the time we started dating, he said that when he bought a house it would be in West Annapolis. After spending time with him there, I soon agreed.”
The family-friendly atmosphere might not get more wholesome than West Annapolis. The West Annapolis Civic Association (westannapolis.org) is the backbone of the area’s community spirit, organizing annual events like the Fourth of July parade, the annual block party, Christmas caroling, and Meet the Creek Day in May when residents learn about the problems facing their bordering body of water, Weems Creek. The newest community activity is the “Listening to Our Trees,” a self-guided walking tour organized by West Annapolis resident Ginny Vroelesky. By studying the types and patterns of long-ago planted trees residents can discover what areas were former farm fields and the original forest land. Tour information can be found on WACA’s Web site. But even Pleasantville is not without its issues. Speeding has become what residents consider a “chronic” problem. But a solution is in the works. With assistance from the Annapolis Traffic Engineering Office and the Annapolis Police Department, a study is being organized to identify the high-speed areas and solutions to the problem. For those who stalled and missed the opportunity to scoop up a home in this community when the real estate prices were manageable, the regrets are many—and valid. But for those who were smart enough not to bypass the opportunity, the rewards are many—and obvious. “West Annapolis is a just great place to live,” says Susan Shapiro, mother of two-year-old Max. “You can walk around West Annapolis with your dog and your family and feel safe—not feel like you are constantly dodging traffic. And it’s convenient to downtown without being in the midst of downtown traffic. It’s really idyllic.”
