Historic Downtown Building Purchased With Preservation Intent

Historic Downtown Building Purchased With Preservation Intent
Dated to 1920, the property on the corner of Talbot Street and Baltimore Avenue was recently purchased. Photo by Shawn Soper

OCEAN CITY — With so many historic old buildings steadily disappearing from the Ocean City landscape, one of the town’s most unique structures could be getting a new lease on life.

The decades-old mixed-used residential and commercial structure on the northwest corner of Talbot Street and Baltimore Avenue has long been one of the best examples of early Ocean City seaside architecture, but its condition has steadily declined in recent years. The upper residential areas are vacant and the street-level commercial areas are occupied by various businesses currently in the process of finding new locations.

The nearly 9,000-square-foot structure was built in 1920 and is a throwback to an earlier era in the resort. Called the Perdue House and the Taylor House at different times in its nearly 100-year existence, the structure is one of the best examples of the Queen Anne-style architecture in Ocean City.

Its most distinctive features include the wrap-around enclosed porch area that runs from its second-floor entrance on Talbot Street across the building’s façade along Baltimore Avenue, complete with dozens of windows overlooking the downtown streetscape. The third floor features unique eaves, bump-outs and even a cupola of sorts over the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Talbot Street.

But alas, the aging structure has fallen into disrepair in recent years and its odd green paint scheme on the outside looks out of place amid the rest of the older, historic buildings in the downtown area. However, the structure will soon be getting a major renovation thanks to a new owner and developer with a background in restoring historic structures. Larry Payne recently purchased the building and is in the process of analyzing how best to preserve it.

The Baltimore native said he spent considerable time in his youth in Ocean City and always remembered the unique residence on Talbot Street. When the opportunity came along to acquire it, Payne, whose company develops major commercial projects, jumped at the chance to make a reclamation project out of the historic Ocean City building.

“I love old buildings,” he said. “That’s what drew me to this one. It has such ornate architecture and it needs to be preserved. The plan is to renovate it from the inside out. I want to preserve as much of the original structure as possible, but there are a lot of features that have been added over the years and I want to get back to what it looked like on the inside decades ago.”

While he obviously toured the structure and made cursory inspections as part of the property purchase process, Payne said he won’t really know the scope and scale of the renovation project until he can poke around the old building further.

“I won’t really know until we really get in there and see what we’re dealing with,” he said. “I know it has suffered from neglect somewhat over the years. If I have to tear down a significant amount of it, the plan is to rebuild with something very similar. I want people to ride down that street and see that building like they’ve remembered for so many years. We just have to see how much of the original structure we have left after we get through our deeper inspections.”

The building’s exterior features its most unique aspects and the plan is to preserve that to the greatest extent possible. Payne said he will lean on the expertise of his father, who is a master carpenter with years of experience in historic renovations.

“I want to replace the outside siding with what it was when it was originally built or something similar,” he said. “It has such ornate woodwork and I want to preserve all of that where possible. I want to work with the historic commission and figure out what the paint schemes would have been when it was first constructed. It has probably had 100 coats of paint over all these years.”

As far as the commercial areas on the street level, Payne said they will ultimately be replaced and the existing businesses will likely move to other downtown locations. At some point in its history, the original structure was raised and the commercial areas on the street level were added. Payne said he hopes to replace the rather generic cinderblock walls and glass storefronts with something more in line with the historic building.

“As far as the downstairs, I’d like to take out those block walls and replace those storefronts because they don’t match up with the rest of the building on top,” he said. “I want to make the ground level similar to the historic structure that sits above it.”

Again, it will largely depend on what Payne and his crews find when the dig deeper into the historic structure, but he said he envisions a return to its original use.

“What I’d really like to do is turn it back into an inn like it was 80 years ago or more,” he said. “With the downstairs at street level, I’m envisioning a sidewalk café, maybe with some outside seating. I want to replace those storefronts with something that matches the rest of the architecture.”

Payne said the building on Talbot Street will be his first deep dive into a historic renovation in Ocean City, but it might not be his last depending on how the project goes.

“I hate to see the old buildings get torn down that are so much a part of the charm and history of downtown Ocean City,” he said. “A lot of that whole area could use some renovation. This will be my first, but if it’s successful, I could envision tackling some of the other older buildings down there.”

Whatever Payne finds when he tears deeper into the Talbot Street residence and the scope of the restoration, he is prepared to make a significant investment in it. While he didn’t go into specifics about acquiring the building, he did say he spent around $600,000 on the property and is prepared to spend as much as $800,000 to $1 million on its restoration.

“I’m really not trying to make any money with this,” he said. “If we can get in there and restore it, it can be something that can be preserved and maybe my kids will have it someday.”

Ocean City Development Corporation (OCDC) Executive Director Glenn Irwin said Payne’s restoration project for the historic building at Talbot Street and Baltimore Avenue is exactly the type of redevelopment and preservation the organization encourages.

“It’s very important for Ocean City to retain some of these older landmark businesses to highlight its architectural history,” he said. “Such older buildings provide a sense of permanency and heritage in a community.”

Irwin said the preservation and restoration effort will allow the unique old building to be enjoyed by residents of and visitors to Ocean City.

“Although this building has been modified several times over its life, it still retains much of its old charm and uniqueness,” he said. “Its prominent location at Baltimore Avenue and Talbot Street is so visible to everyone visiting and living in the downtown area.”

About The Author: Shawn Soper

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Shawn Soper has been with The Dispatch since 2000. He began as a staff writer covering various local government beats and general stories. His current positions include managing editor and sports editor. Growing up in Baltimore before moving to Ocean City full time three decades ago, Soper graduated from Loch Raven High School in 1981 and from Towson University in 1985 with degrees in mass communications with a journalism concentration and history.