This week marks the 85th Anniversary of the 1930 opening of Ocean City’s famous Commander Hotel. Built by Minnie Brittingham Lynch, her son John and his wife Ruth, the Commander was the northernmost Boardwalk hotel for over two decades.
The original building (pictured in 1934) contained 62 rooms and boasted the first elevator in Ocean City. A second wing was added following World War II, doubling its size and making it a popular venue for conventions in the 1950s and 1960s. The dining room could seat 400 guests at its peak.
Blackouts during World War II, clambakes on the beach in the 1950s and a Cabaret Dinner Theatre in the ‘80s are just some of the memories shared by both locals and summer visitors. The Commander holds a special place in Ocean City’s history.
The original structure was razed in 1997 and the current eight-story Commander was constructed on the 14th Street site the following year.
Postcard image from Bunk Mann’s collection