Annapolis begins renovating historic 19th-century waterman’s cottage

ANNAPOLIS — The City of Annapolis started renovating its historic Capt. William H Burtis House Monday in a preliminary phase that will stabilize the structure, officials said.  
In May 2021, city officials along with members of a group called Preservation Maryland, announced that the small house located between the Naval Academy and City Dock, at 69 Prince George Street, would undergo rehabilitation. 
The historic building is one of the last 19th-century watermen’s cottages in the area, though it has been vacant for the past few years.  
The rehabilitation plan is part of a major project at City Dock that will turn the area into a modern park on the waterfront with the goal of mitigating flooding issues that have impacted the area.  
“Essentially the bones and the base of this house have disintegrated over time from the moisture being trapped there and the mold eating at the material,” said Laura Houston, the Director of Revitalization Initiatives for Preservation Maryland.
The first phase of the project is being overseen by Preservation Maryland and is being contracted to Richard Hammond Builders of Centreville, officials said. 
During phase one, workers will stabilize Burtis House and fix any damage created by previous flooding. This will protect the building before final repairs begin.  
Architectural work is being done by HD Squared Architects, a firm based in Annapolis. 
Burtis House was originally owned by Captain William Henry Burtis and was home to three generations of the Burtis family, officials said.  
Maryland acquired the building in 1971 and used it as the site for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the Sailing Hall of Fame for the next five decades.  
The house was last used in 2019. The property includes docks on Spa Creek.  
“It was built by the Burtis family,” Houston said. “Capt. Burtis was the patriarch of that family and a local Annapolitan who was sort of a larger-than-life character during his day. There was a whole community there of working watermen whose livelihood depended on the water.”
In Phase Two of the renovation plan, the city will elevate Burtis House, putting it on a new raised foundation. Workers will also improve the site that the building sits on.  
Burtis House will eventually become part of the City Dock Resiliency Project and will connect to the Harbormaster headquarters and Visit Annapolis, adding to the Maritime Welcome Center, officials said.  
The Maryland Heritage Area Authority has contributed $100,000 to the project, the State of Maryland contributed $75,000, the National Park Service’s Chesapeake Getaways program contributed $155,173 and the city of Annapolis contributed $1 million.   
“It’s a good example of what can be accomplished when a community is committed to resiliency and sustainability planning,” Houston said.