By Ciel Smith, intern at Historic Annapolis and rising senior architecture student at Princeton University / Published on July 15, 2026
Walking through downtown Annapolis is a lovely stroll through American architectural history. From the State Capitol, to St. Anne’s Episcopal Church, to Mellon Hall at St. John’s College and more, Annapolis is full of beautiful buildings from across the centuries. And this charm extends beyond a handful of notable buildings; part of what makes Annapolis so special is its overall feel, achieved by the careful preservation of its cityscape. This includes smaller structures, often considered “ordinary,” which together create an extraordinary effect. Tracing the history of these “ordinary buildings” paints a fuller picture of local culture, emerging within and around this everyday architecture.
In that spirit, I’d like to focus on a midcentury modern building located on 1 Martin Street nestled beside the William Paca and James Brice Houses. Built in 1970, One Martin served as the welcome center to the Paca Garden while restoration of the main house continued.
One Martin was designed by local architect James Wood Burch, who worked on other projects in downtown Annapolis. One of his most notable works, the Donner Building, sits next to the Museum of Historic Annapolis on Main Street (Figure 2). As seen in the Donner Building, Burch possesses a careful sensitivity to the existing context, in which his project speaks with surrounding buildings. Instead of yelling over a petite, historic landscape, his projects quietly uplift their neighbors while adding unique, contemporary notes.
One Martin demonstrates this same sensitivity. Positioned alongside two exemplary Georgian townhouses, the building borrows its neighbors’ material dictionary of dark roofs and brickwork. The front facade lacks windows, seemingly rising from the brick sidewalk and into a steep roof. This elevates the subsequent contrast: One Martin’s back wall is entirely glass, showcasing the Paca Garden. The roof slope decreases greatly, expanding the garden view. Here, Burch cleverly uses the contemporary as a transition rather than an interjection. Layering historic and contemporary features demonstrates a skilled design methodology, in which the modern curtain wall frames and heightens the grandeur of the colonial garden.
In the 1970s, purchasing and restoring the William Paca House was Historic Annapolis’s most significant accomplishment. At the same time, the project formed the foundation of HA’s growth in the succeeding decades. HA would hire more permanent staff and expand its programs, requiring more space to support its operations.
During the 1980s and ‘90s, One Martin and its adjacent parking lot were considered as a site for HA’s physical expansion. In particular, HA required gallery space to share its rapidly growing collection – ranging from imported porcelain to exquisitely carved colonial furniture – with the public. Architect Denzil Jenkins produced two sketches that expanded Burch’s original building into a multipurpose exhibition, administrative, and gathering space. Jenkins continues Burch’s use of steep roofs and indentations on the front elevation, continuing the existing structure’s rhythm into the extension (Figure 3).
However, instead of constructing a new building, HA returned to an existing property in its portfolio, 99 Main Street. In the 1950s, HA board members banded together to form Port of Annapolis Inc. and purchase the neglected historic building, restoring it and adapting the structure into a modern shopfront; this would be the first of many adaptive reuse projects at the waterfront, demonstrating the economic viability of historic preservation.
Half a century later, 99 Main Street took on a new role as the Museum of Historic Annapolis, expanding the organization’s capacity to showcase material and host educational events. On the other hand, with HA’s burgeoning collection of artifacts, ephemera, art, and more, the organization still required a dedicated archival space.
Architect Brett Steele imagined One Martin satisfying this need, producing drawings between 1988 and 1989 for what he called a “Preservation Keep.” Steele breaks apart the Keep into four distinct masses topped with gable roofs, attempting to reduce scale with respect to the building’s surroundings. Additionally, he includes a basement to avoid constructing a third story that would overwhelm the Keep’s surroundings.
Like museums, archival spaces must be climate-controlled and avoid exposing collections to damaging sunlight. To do this, Steele installs curved fixtures below the skylights, protecting the collections while allowing occupants to enjoy natural lighting (Figures 6 and 7).
Conducting a rigorous study of One Martin’s surroundings, Steele drew streetscapes of the neighborhood, placing his proposal within them (Figure 8). His proposal’s relationship with the Paca Garden becomes quite clear: the fifth, smaller tower closest to the garden borrows its pyramidal roof form from the garden sheds, serving as a transition between the Keep and the garden (Figure 9).
Possibilities for One Martin weren’t limited to buildings. Barbara Paca (a landscape architect and descendent of William Paca) produced multimedia sketches depicting trumpet flower vines woven through a fence perimeter. Balancing function and beauty, the wood lattice bridges the brick wall of the Paca Garden with One Martin’s fence (Figure 10). Paca was intimately familiar with proportion at the Paca House, having published a research paper explaining the previously unknown mathematical proportions of the Paca Garden in relation to the House (Barbara Paca-Steele, “The mathematics of an eighteenth-century wilderness garden,” The Journal of Garden History 6, no. 4 (1986): 299-320). Her proposal reflects this expertise, as well as a greater intuition in using landscaping to further fold the contemporary Martin Street buildings into the historic district’s fabric.
While none of the proposals went forward, they reflect big aspirations for a growing local organization. HA stewards historic properties, but also holds an extensive research archive, organizes educational programs, and engages in activism related to planning developments in Annapolis. Fulfilling these missions requires modern facilities to support everyday operations.
On HA’s 75th anniversary, One Martin will be reopened as an updated multipurpose center, anchoring the Paca and Brice Houses. Initially a welcome center, One Martin has evolved alongside HA, serving as an educational center after the completion of the Paca House, then as a storage area in recent years. The rehabilitation project will restore One Martin to its role as a central gathering space. Preserving Burch’s original design, the One Martin project includes sustainability and accessibility improvements to better serve the Annapolis community. While not considered “historic” in the way its neighbors are, One Martin’s development over 56 years reflects the evolution of HA, as well as shifts in what we consider the role of nonprofits to be in their communities. With these improvements, One Martin can continue to serve HA for its next 75 years and beyond.
Sources:
“Kimbell Art Museum,” Visit Plano, accessed June 23, 2026. https://www.visitplano.com/attractions/kimbell-art-museum/.
“Main Street Annapolis in 1790 & 1970.” Annapolis Architecture Guide. Accessed June 22, 2026. https://www.annapolisarchitectureguide.com/annapolisarchitectureguide/CivicBuildings/MainStreetAnnapolis.htm.
Paca-Steele, Barbara. “The mathematics of an eighteenth-century wilderness garden,” The Journal of Garden History 6, no. 4 (1986): 299-320.
“Phase II and Phase III Archaeological Database and Inventory,” Maryland Historical Trust, accessed June 26, 2026, https://apps.mht.maryland.gov/synthesis/pdf/18AP21.pdf