In the fall of 1969 Ocean City residents could drive to 112th Street and watch the beginning of a new era in the town’s history. There on the beachfront a uniquely designed building was being constructed by visionary developer John Whaley’s Caliban Corporation.
Known as the High Point (and later as the High Point South when the neighboring High Point North opened in 1972) at 11 stories high, it replaced the George Washington Hotel as Ocean City’s tallest building. Within a few years 17 other high-rise structures would go up between 94th and 118th streets and the area would become known as the Gold Coast. Construction abruptly ceased in the fall of 1973 as the gas crisis and overbuilding put an end to the heyday of condo sales. Within a year only a few of the existing high-rises would escape the auctioneer’s gavel. Today the Gold Coast is thriving again and property values are high.
While the High Point South is no longer Ocean City’s tallest building, it will always claim a place in history as the town’s first high-rise condominium.
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Photo of High Point South courtesy of Gail Whaley