The Governor Ritchie Overlook

The Overlook's History

The Governor Ritchie Scenic Overlook was dedicated May 20, 1940 as the Governor Ritchie Memorial Plaza. The Overlook was constructed as part of the Ritchie Highway, a divided highway begun in 1934 and fully opened to traffic in 1939. The highway, stretching 41.4 miles in Anne Arundel County, replaced the meandering Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, reducing by half the travel time between the two cities. The Ritchie Highway was the first dual highway in Maryland, planned concurrently with US 40 (Pulaski Highway) north of Baltimore. Both highways were conceived as naturally landscaped parkways, free of billboards and other commercial interests.

Incorporation of natural, native plants was an important component of the Ritchie Highway. Unlike earlier highway projects in which all vegetation within the right-of-way was removed, select trees and plants along the highway and within what would become the median were retained. Garden clubs played an important role in promoting roadside beautification, holding landscaping contests between businesses and going door to door along the highway encouraging property owners to ornament their lots. Despite these efforts, Ritchie Highway quickly developed into a major commercial corridor that would include Maryland's first drive-in theater and the first enclosed shopping mall east of the Mississippi River. Later attempts, such as the 1950-54 Baltimore-Washington Parkway, proved more successful at restricting commercial intrusions.

Albert Cabell Ritchie, for whom the Ritchie Scenic Overlook and Ritchie Highway were named, was born in Richmond, Virginia, in 1876; his family moved to Baltimore shortly thereafter. He attended Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland School of Law, entering into practice in 1900. Ritchie's public service career began in 1910 when he was appointed People's Counsel to the Public Commission Service of Baltimore, where he fought for lower gas and electricity prices. He served as Attorney General of Maryland between 1915 and 1919, increasing efficiency by consolidating the state's legal services.
   
In 1920, Ritchie began his first of four terms as Maryland Governor, serving until 1935. During his tenure, Ritchie introduced reforms to the Maryland school system, including educational standards and funding distribution. He oversaw extensive expansions and improvements to the state highway system, including a program of new highway and bridge construction. He reorganized the state government and updated Maryland 's public health system. He promoted environmental conservation with the establishment of the State Conservation Department. Ritchie was defeated in his bid for a fifth term in 1935, and he returned to Baltimore to practice at the law firm he had established with Stuart S. Janney in 1903 . He died February 24, 1936. Calls for a Ritchie memorial began shortly after the former governor's death. A Ritchie Memorial Commission, headed by Ritchie's former law partner, Stuart Janney, was created by then Governor Harry W. Nice in 1936. Early memorial proposals included a bridge across the Chesapeake Bay; a new state office building, waterfront park, or statue in Annapolis; a statue in Baltimore; and a scholarship fund at Johns Hopkins University, Ritchie 's alma mater. Ultimately, the overlook site along the Ritchie Highway was chosen. The memorial was selected for its broad appeal and relatively low cost ($30,000); visibility and accessibility were also factors. The Ritchie Memorial Commission approved final plans for the memorial to Governor Ritchie in June 1938. The design exhibited Classical architectural forms influenced by the Modem Movement. It is suggestive of Stripped Classicism, in which the moldings, ornament, and details of Classical architecture are removed, leaving only structure and proportion. The style was commonly incorporated in 1930s New Deal programs, including courthouse construction, and was used for other government buildings such as the San Francisco Mint (1937) and the Virginia State Library (1940). A 1938 Baltimore Sun article cited Francis Haynes Jencks and L. McLane Fisher as architects; later articles credited the firms Palmer & Lamdin and Wrenn, Lewis, & Jencks. The M.A. Long Company served as contractor, and local garden clubs participated in laying out formal plantings.

The Ritchie Scenic Overlook was dedicated May 20, 1940. Speakers at the dedication included Governor Herbert O'Conor and Chief Judge Carroll T. Bond, of the Maryland Court of Appeals. The Rev. Dr. Edward D. Johnson, of St. Anne's Episcopal Church in Annapolis, offered a prayer. Spectators parked diagonally along the shoulder of the highway's northbound lane, and gathered along the highway; many remained in their cars for the ceremony. Newspaper accounts described the memorial as occupying a site 230 feet long by I 00 feet wide within a 200-foot wide median between the highway's northbound and southbound lanes. The limestone overlook included a 60-foot wide semicircular stone platform preceded by a garden approximately 75 feet square. Landscaped areas, planted with laurel and holly, tied into the traffic lanes on each side; the garden contained rows of boxwoods donated by the Severn River Garden Club. Plans of the Maryland State Road Commission depict a small parking area north of the overlook that was accessed directly from the highway's northbound and southbound lanes.