Annapolis lost an institution when its yacht club burned down
|
Version 0 of 1. Firefighters on Sunday continued to investigate the cause and extent of the damage to the Annapolis Yacht Club, an institution in this city for well over a century that was badly burned in a massive fire Saturday. “It’s a huge loss,” Annapolis Mayor Mike Pantelides said Sunday afternoon after walking through the building with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and Anne Arundel County Executive Steven R. Schuh. “It’s completely destroyed inside.” The Annapolis Yacht Club is “a landmark in the community, an economic engine and cultural and historical piece of the city,” Pantelides said. The fire will affect the entire community and not just the club’s 1,600 members and 150 employees, he said. On Monday, a structural engineer will evaluate the club to see whether it needs to be taken down completely before rebuilding. Annapolis has several things that make it a city unlike any other — its history, the waterfront and the U.S. Naval Academy. One of the city’s defining institutions has been the Annapolis Yacht Club. The club, founded in 1886, has been a fixture of the social scene, the source of countless sailing lessons for children and the host of weekly races in the season that empties offices early on Wednesday evenings and gets people out on the water and on the docks. The fire, which broke out Saturday afternoon, also forced the cancellation of a beloved annual Annapolis tradition, the Eastport Yacht Club Lights Parade. Hotel rooms facing the water are booked years in advance, and restaurant reservations are snapped up six months before the parade, an organizer said. A crowd of 20,000 gathers for the 6 p.m. cannon boom signaling the launch. What started 33 years ago with people on a few boats singing Christmas carols has become one of the biggest events in the city. “The boats have lights, sound systems, special effects, singing, skits,” said Babak Rajaee, the “chief elf” of the light parade. As the boats pass, “people will cheer. It’s an incredibly festive atmosphere.” This year, many of those who were gathering to watch the parade saw the Annapolis Yacht Club burning instead. “The fire was a terrible thing. . . . They have a lot of artwork and trophies, and Annapolis history and tradition that was inside that building,” Rajaee said. “It is a pretty devastating blow.” The building was not historic — it was built in 1963 and had not been upgraded with a sprinkler system, said Lisa Craig, chief of historic preservation for the city. It is within the historic district and a landmark for the community, she said. “It was quite a shock to a lot of people” because so many of them meet there regularly, including the Rotary Club. “It’s a key place for people to gather . . . for weddings, engagement parties, dinners, business lunches. . . . I know we’ll certainly miss it.” Leaders of the Annapolis Yacht Club issued a statement thanking staff members and first-responders for quick action that helped prevent any serious injuries and for messages of support from around the world. “Annapolis Yacht Club is more than the bricks and mortar of a clubhouse; it is a community,” the statement said. “We are committed to rebuilding in the current location and in the interim are exploring opportunities to relocate elements of its operation.” “We’re going to build it bigger and better,” Pantelides said. |