Eighty years ago, Ocean City’s Boardwalk extended from the Inlet to 15th Street, a total of 25 blocks. Beyond the Boardwalk was a nearly unbroken vista of sand dunes stretching north to the Delaware line.
Today only one block on the entire Boardwalk retains the same buildings from that long ago pre-World War II era — the section between 10th and 11th streets. These four “cottages” exist virtually unchanged in appearance since 1934. Looking northward one can see the Inn on the Ocean, the Virginia Lee, the Obrecht Cottage and the Nancy Claire. All were built within a short period beginning with the Virginia Lee in 1929.
Survivors of the Hurricane of 1933, the March Storm of 1962 and Hurricane Gloria in 19856, the “10th Street Block” (now protected by Ocean City’s seawall) appears ready to welcome visitors for many years to come.
Photo by Bunk Mann