Up a Creek Seems Mighty Fine

Waterfront homes along Spa Creek sell for millions now. (By Tony Glaros For The Washington Post)

When Emily Mills and her husband, Kevin, decided to move to Annapolis, picking a neighborhood in Maryland's capital and sailing wonderland wasn't difficult.

"A friend of ours told us Murray Hill is the only place to live," said Emily Mills, 35, while meticulously painting a white picket fence that lines her shady yard. "We didn't look anywhere else."

Now, nine years after paying $210,000 for a 1940s dwelling within sight of Spa Creek, the family remains tied to the rhythms of water and land. "We have wonderful neighbors; I would have to say I love them all," said Mills, a mother of two and a fused glass artist.

Almost everything in the compact Colonial city of 35,000 residents is within easy walking distance, she said. Her neighborhood is outside the historic district but close to the restaurants and shops of West Street, as well as City Dock, the central gathering point for tourists from all over the world.

"It's walkable to downtown and to the water. That's what sells," said Gaye Meekins, a real estate agent with Long & Foster. "And some of the homes are over 100 years old, so they have a different look."

Murray Hill stretches west from the core of Annapolis, along Spa Creek. With Amos Garrett Boulevard as the hub, streets including Constitution, Monticello and Archwood feature varied architecture and neatly manicured lawns. In recent years, a Spanish-speaking church was demolished to make way for the construction of several custom homes. The 3,075-square-foot houses, a five-minute walk to the waterfront at Amos Garrett Park, feature nine-foot ceilings, hardwood floors, three-piece crown moldings and price tags of around $970,000. Waterfront houses are going for upward of $2 million.

Acton's Landing, a mix of single-family houses, townhouses and condominiums, is taking shape on a five-acre parcel where the Anne Arundel County Medical Center once stood. The hospital has since moved near Annapolis Mall. The new development will include extensive streetscape and a new waterfront park.

"Murray Hill in Annapolis: Centennial 1890-1990," a short publication issued by the local residents association, says the community traces its roots to 1651, when a certificate of survey was issued to Richard Acton, a carpenter. He bought 100 acres on the north side of what was then Todd's or Acton's Creek, now Spa Creek. In 1668, Gov. Charles Calvert designated Acton's parcel as a legal port of entry for the province. Across the quiet inlet, a port known as Anne Arundell Towne or Arundelton was sprouting. A quarter-century later, the capital shifted there from St. Mary's City. Annapolis was born.

Murray Hill draws its name from James Murray, a member of a large Scottish family who left Great Britain for political reasons in the early 18th century, according to the book. His mother hailed from a part of the family that moved to Cambridge, on the Eastern Shore; his father settled in Chestertown via Barbados. From his Annapolis base, Murray served as Maryland's land commissioner, its secretary of state and as a U.S. congressman.

While waterfront is a major lure these days, being on the water was not always a priority, said Richard Israel, a former president of the residents association. "One of the curious things about life in Annapolis was until about 50 years ago, people didn't want to be near the water. It was smelly," he said.

Historically, the prized location for those with money, added the retired lawyer for the state attorney general's office, "was up on the hill, not down on the water."

In recent years, housing around Annapolis has become so expensive, he said, that St. John's College has set up a committee to identify reasonably priced homes for its professors.