The Breakers Hotel was built circa 1904 on the southwest corner of 3rd Street and the Boardwalk and at the time was one of the northernmost hotels in Ocean City.
The Breakers, like most of the hotels of the era, operated on the American Plan (meals included with room) and did so up into the early 1950s. At its peak, it boasted 52 rooms, some of which were large enough only for a bed and a chest of drawers. These rooms shared a bathroom and shower area on each floor.
Bill and Julie Gibbs purchased the Breakers in 1980 and converted the front porch and lobby into the first of their popular Dough Roller restaurants. In 2003, the original building was razed to make way for a modern hotel, which Julie Gibbs decorated with bedspreads, curtains and furniture evocative of the Golden Age of Victorian Beach Hotels. Today, the new Breakers — with its attached Dough Restaurant — is a popular destination for visitors to Ocean City. The entire community mourned the passing of Bill Gibbs this fall.
To purchase one of Bunk Mann’s books, click over to www.vanishingoc.com.
Postcard photo courtesy of George Chevallie