The Lankford Hotel was constructed in 1924 on the Boardwalk between 8th and 9th streets by Mary Ayres Quillin. She built it with an inheritance from her aunt, Amelia Coffin Lankford, and named it in her honor.
As with most hotels of that era, the Lankford originally operated on the American Plan where meals were included with the cost of the room and that continued into the early 1960s. Good meals were essential for retaining a clientele and the Lankford was proud of its dining room. Another essential for a resort hotel was a long front porch where guests could sit for hours and enjoy the ocean breezes. The Lankford was well known for its porch (and still is today) with its proximity to the sights and sounds of the nearby Boardwalk.
Today the Lankford is one of just a few pre-World War II hotels (others include the Atlantic, the Shoreham and the Majestic) still operating on the Boardwalk – part of a slower, more relaxed period of time in Ocean City.
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Postcard image from Bunk Mann’s collection