The Old Senate Chamber
The Maryland State House was the first peacetime capitol of the United States and is the only state house ever to have served as the nation's capitol. The Continental Congress met in the Old Senate Chamber from November 26, 1783, to August 13, 1784. During that time, General George Washington came before the Congress to resign his commission as Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army and the Treaty of Paris was ratified, marking the official end of the Revolutionary War.
The interior of the original section of the State House is constructed of wood and plaster. The newer colonial revival section, which was designed by Francis Baldwin and Josiah Pennington and added between 1902 and 1906, has matched veined Italian marble walls and columns. A broad black line across the columned lobby marks the line between the two sections. The Maryland State House was designated a National Historic Landmark by the Department of the Interior in July 1968.
The Old State House
The front entrance of the State House, which faces the Annapolis harbor, opens onto the Rotunda of the old State House. Directly under the dome in the Rotunda is the ship the Maryland Federalist which is a replica of a ship of the same size built in 1788 by the citizens of the Baltimore to celebrate Maryland's ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
To the right of the front door is the Old Senate Chamber where the Continental Congress met. This room has been restored to its original appearance and features a mannequin of George Washington dressed as he was when he resigned his commission. There are a number of portraits of early governors of Maryland by Charles Willson Peale, as well as Peale's celebrated portrait of Washington, Lafayette and Tilghman at Yorktown. The President's desk as well as some of the other desks and chairs in the room are original pieces made for the State House in 1796-7 by Annapolis cabinetmaker John Shaw.
The two rooms to the right of the Old Senate Chamber are the Stairwell Room and the Old Senate Committee Room. These rooms contain exhibits relating to the Road to Peace and Annapolis the Capital. The last room on the right in the old State House is the Archives Room.
To the left of the front door is the Calvert Room which contains portraits of members of the founding family of Maryland, the Calverts. There is also a portrait of Margaret Brent who, in 1648, asked the General Assembly for two votes, one as a landowner and one as Lord Baltimore's attorney. The General Assembly denied her the vote, but she may have been the first female to ask for the right to vote in the New World.
Next to the Calvert Room is the Maryland Silver Room which contains exhibits relating to Maryland and the U.S. Constitution as well as the magnificent U.S.S. Maryland Silver Service. The Calvert Room and the Maryland Silver Room were originally one room in which the House of Delegates met. The final room in the old State House is the Visitors' Center where guided tours are available on a regular basis.
On the wall of the Rotunda there is a plaque commemorating the contributions of Matthew Alexander Henson, co-discoverer of the North Pole. Nearby, in a small glass case, is the miniature Maryland flag that accompanied astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. and Michael Collins on the first manned moon flight in the Apollo 11. Encased with the flag are tiny moon particles which returned with the mission.
Just outside the Visitors' Center is a plaque commemorating the space shuttle Challenger. The plaque contains a crew patch, state flag and American flag. These were presented to the people of Maryland by Mrs. Michael Smith, wife of the Challenger commander who was a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy.
The New State House
Above the landing of the main staircase is Washington Resigning His Commission painted in 1859 by Edwin White. (1817-1877) This depicts the scene on December 23, 1783 when General George Washington came before the Continental Congress in the Old Senate Chamber and resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in order to retire to private life.
The new Senate Chamber has four large paintings of Maryland's signers of the Declaration of Independence: Charles Carroll of Carrollton, William Paca, Thomas Stone and Samuel Chase. The skylight, which is by the studio of Louis Comfort Tiffany, was recently restored when the chamber was redecorated.
The House of Delegates Chamber has also been recently restored, including its Tiffany skylight. The portraits are of former Speakers of the House of Delegates.
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© Copyright April 13, 2006 Maryland State Archives