Present-day Annapolis was settled sometime after 1649, when Puritans exiled from Virginia moved their settlement from across the Severn River. The community was originally known as Proctor's Town, then Town on the Severn, and then Anne Arundel's Towne. Annapolis was renamed one last time, after Princess Anne, when the Maryland Legislature was moved to this location in 1694 by Sir Francis Nicholson. When Annapolis became the colony's capital, a new town was laid out in a Baroque radial street pattern. Two circles were the centerpiece of the town, with either being the site of one of the two important aspects of colonial life: government and religion. Publick Circle, which later became State Circle, was the site of the Maryland State House, and Church Circle was the site of the community's Episcopal church. Annapolis is the only town in the United States with a radial-only street pattern.
Annapolis served briefly as the capital of the United States, after the Treaty of Paris was signed. Congress was held here from November 26, 1783, until June 3, 1784.
Annapolis' colonial center still remains the center of the community, due to the State House; the United States Naval Academy, which opened in 1845; St. John's College; and the retail and dining streets of Main Street, West Street, and Maryland Avenue. The terms "Downtown" and "The Historic District" can sometimes be used interchangeably to refer to the same core of the city.
Looking over Lawyer's Mall from Bladen Street at the Maryland State House.
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