Dreams Landing Condominium

The History of Dreams Landing 

4/14/05

Researched and written by Tim Pohmer in 1989, edited by Ray Turner in 1990, re-edited by Tim in 2002

Historical reference to the acreage dates back to 1659 when Peter Porter and his wife, Sarah, members of a group of 80 Puritans escaping an intolerant Anglican governor in Virginia, settled along the south shore of the Severn River. The Porters occupied a 200-acre section between Bustion Cove (Cove of Cork ) and Howard’s (Luce) Creek. Known then as Porters Hills, the parcel with ownership changes was divided and recombined several times over the next 200 years, sometimes changing names in the process. As with other parcels adjoining the river, over the period the land was harvested for lumber, mined for clay and used in agriculture. Specialized mills of various kinds are known to have dotted the rivers edge. By all indications, the immediate area escaped direct involvement in the hostilities of the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.

Official mention of the Dreams Landing name does not appear in local land records until 1879, about the time the Walmsley later Ridgely mansion was built on the promontory overlooking the entrance to Luce Creek, known today as Dreams Landing Point. The origin of the name is officially a mystery. However, on account is that circa 1878 a newlywed bride, upon coming ashore at Luce Creek for the first time remarked, “what a dream of a landing”and the name supposedly stuck. Although the mansion burned in 1951, pieces of its foundation remain. Following the fire, the Ridgelys moved to the white farmhouse across from the 1000 row, the now late Mrs. Ridgely lived on alone there following the death of her husband, George, in the early 1960s.

Around the turn of the 20^th century, nearby residential developments, such as Lindamoor (1899) and Wardour (1906) began to appear. Also, the 6.5 acre parcel on which our community now rests assumed much of its final shape as pastureland. For investment reasons, in 1938 Mr. Ridgely built the 13 residential structures then known as Dreams Landing Inc. Apartment space in the Annapolis area was scarce and there was substantial demand for rental housing of this type, especially among personnel attached to the Naval Academy. Raw materials were readily available and, in this depression era, labor was cheap.

A coal-fired steam heating plant for the complex was in the deep basement of building 300 and a smokestack was located at the rear. Heat circulated so as to reach the waterfront units last, a condition, which was known to cause more than good-natured divisiveness from time to time. Why some buildings were built with basements, and others without, is not known.

Residents of the period recall an interactive, vibrant community and the sharing of numerous good times. Tenants enjoyed an informal right of passage across the Ridgely property to the cove on Luce Creek where many swam fished, moored boats and ice-skated. Probably because of the relatively large number of Academy personnel, a popular myth is that Dreams Landing once was Navy housing. Another myth is that in the late 1960s it was public housing. Although this was never the case, the property in the years following the death of Mr. Ridgely did become run down and became affordable for many low-income tenants.

In 1973 a developer who envisioned leveling the structures and replacing them with ones which would accommodate greater residential density purchased the complex. The plan, at least partly in response to objections from neighbors, failed to receive approval from zoning authorities. The developers apparent fallback position was to convert the existing structures to condominiums, as they stand today.

Probably to conform with then current building codes, the sewage plant was upgraded and the kudzu-covered vats, which slowly processed raw sewage, were removed from the current location of the pool. The hill was graded and terraced, the bulkhead built, the pool and tennis court added, and the roadway around the condos resurfaced and later christened.

Paint was added to the exteriors, and the interiors were gutted and redone. In the process the developer went bankrupt and the ownership reverted to the Maryland National Bank, which had provided financial backing. The bank subsequently retained a firm known as Dreams Landing Limited Partnership to finish and market the project. The sketch of the Canada goose and the “Dreams Landing” letters, which together form the community logo, were copied from original promotional material distributed by the developer.

The first units sold in the summer of 1975 with residents moving in shortly afterward. The last sale was late in the fall of 1976. In the spring of 1977, the first board of directors, composed exclusively of unit owners, was formed. In the year or so prior, the developer retained at least one seat.

The marina was added in 1978 after the water was dredged from a depth of three feet to six feet at mean low tide. Funding was provided by subscriptions of $7,175 purchased by interested owners. Although government authorities had granted permission for as many as 40 slips, only 31 were purchased. In 1987 the pool house was converted from storage to a recreational facility and the deck was added in 1988. The meeting room in building 800 was set up in the summer of 1989 and the wave screen was built in the marina the following fall. The two floating piers A and B were removed in the late 1990s. A stationary, single pier with twenty slips, including several power lifts, was installed and additional dredging also accompanied the construction. Funding was supplied by payments of $8,000 by each interested owner.