St. Paul’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church has occupied the northeast corner of 3rd Street and Baltimore Avenue for well over a century. The first service in the historic building was held on June 7, 1901.
The earliest Episcopal service in Ocean City was held in the former Congress Hall Hotel in the summer of 1878 and a small chapel was built on Philadelphia Avenue near today’s Inlet three years later. Following the gift of two lots on 3rd Street by Washington, DC resident John Waggaman in 1898, the cornerstone of the existing church was laid on June 6, 1900.
The wood-shingled Gothic Revival church has survived innumerable hurricane and Nor’easters including the famous March Storm of 1962. A tragic fire in 2013 damaged the attached rectory and claimed the life of the rector, the Rev. David Dingwall. A quick response by the Ocean City Fire Department saved the church and its beautiful stain glass windows.
The church today remains one of the most historic buildings in downtown Ocean City.
To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.
Postcard from Bunk Mann’s collection