Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – March 31, 2023

Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann – March 31, 2023
Photo from Bunk Mann’s collection

The “Showell Block” was on the Boardwalk between Caroline Street and N. Division Street. Located just north of the original US Coast Guard Station, it was the site of Ocean City’s first swimming pool built in 1917 by John Dale Showell, Jr.

The Showell Block was the home of the famous Showell’s Bath House where one could rent a bathing suit with a locker and have a shower after a day on the beach. The building also contained a bowling alley where pins were set by hand into the late 1950s.

Edwards 5 and 10 opened in 1937 and became Ocean City’s year-round department store for over half a century. It was said by locals that “if you couldn’t find it at Edwards, you didn’t need it in the first place.” The original building was razed in 1988 and replaced by a modern masonry structure. The Quiet Storm Surf Shop is the primary occupant today.

To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.