Fashions in the 1890’s and early 1900’s were far more formal than what can be seen in Ocean City today. In that era, people dressed up to stroll on the Boardwalk. Men wore hats and suits — or at least a coat and tie — and women wore long skirts, fancy hats and long-sleeved blouses…. Read more »
The Seaview was constructed in the World War I era on the Boardwalk between 3rdand 4th streets. More of a boarding house than a full-service hotel, the Seaview offered both rooms and apartments to summer guests. The frame three-story building was built on pilings and survived many storms including the famous March Storm of 1962.The Seaview… Read more »
The Kaye Hotel was built by Marie Kaye Kinnamon on the corner of 6thStreet and the Boardwalk in 1927. Following her death and the subsequent sale of the property, the name was changed to The Hotel Normandy prior to the 1945 season — most likely to honor the D-Day landings in Normandy the previous summer.The… Read more »
The first bridge to carry automobile traffic into Ocean City was approved by the Maryland General Assembly in 1916 but did not officially open until July 4, 1919. Known to locals as the “State Roads Bridge,” it had a single lane in each direction. It crossed the Sinepuxent Bay at its most narrow point and… Read more »
John Dale Showell, Jr. built Ocean City’s first swimming pool in 1917. Located on the Boardwalk between N. Division and Caroline streets, it was a salt water pool with water pumped in from the ocean.Showell charged 25 cents to swim in the pool and cleaned it once a week, refilling it at night. The beach… Read more »
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…. Read more »
Ocean City’s Fireboat 1 fought its first fire about 200 yards off the beach at 10th Street on Aug. 31, 2018. This 46-foot sportfishing boat, the Seawitch, was on fire and hundreds of beachgoers watched as smoke and flames poured from the stricken vessel.Two people aboard were rescued by the charter boat Salty Sons, which… Read more »
Fager’s Island was the first bar and restaurant on the bayside in what was then the growing midtown area of Ocean City in 1975.John Fager changed the look of the typical local bar scene by adding large glass windows and a magnificent view of the Assawoman Bay at sunset. He combined good music and fine… Read more »
Aug. 3, 1986 was one of the most tragic days in Ocean City’s history.During a violent afternoon thunderstorm, a lightning bolt struck the beach at 2nd Street leaving three dead and two injured, one of them critically (he would die the next day at Peninsula Regional Medical in Salisbury).The deceased were all from Washington, DC… Read more »
Ocean City has had its share of colorful characters over the years. The blind musicians Tex, with his 10-gallon hat, and Shorty, with his banjo and dog Mandy; “Pop” Wendling with over 200 Popeye tattoos and his novelty joke shop; and the late Boardwalk Elvis (who passed away this year) were just a few of… Read more »