Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – April 13, 2018

Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – April 13, 2018

This rare photo shows the efforts made by the Army Corps of Engineers to dredge a channel on the bayside in 1947.

The white building next to the marina was the famous Ship Café and the adjoining vacant land is the location of today’s Harbour Island. St. Louis Avenue had not been extended northward at this time. The area between Philadelphia Avenue and the bay is being filled with dredged material to create more usable land.

The most northern hotel on the oceanfront was the original Commander while the water tower sits where the Ocean City Fire Department is today. Fifteenth Street had not been completed west of Philadelphia Avenue.

The large building between 13 and 14th streets was the old Catholic home built in 1898. The last section of it was demolished in 2009.

Photo courtesy of Steve Smethurst