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Ocean City looked much different in this aerial photo taken in 1946 between 14thand 15th streets.
The large building in the center was the original Commander Hotel before its second wing was added and the vacant space to its left is today the site of the Beach Plaza Hotel and its adjoining parking lot. The building to the left of and behind the Commander was the old “Catholic Home” — originally the St. Rose’s Summer Home for Orphans built in 1898. The Boardwalk ended at 15th Street where Harrison Hall would be built in 1951. The long black structures leading into the ocean were wooden jetties intended to stabilize the beach from erosion.
The most noticeable change is the look of the bayside, which was almost completely empty of development in 1946.
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Photo courtesy the Ocean City Lifesaving Station Museum from the George and Sue Hurley collection