West Ocean City has changed noticeably in the years since World War II. The unincorporated area on the mainland west of the Route 50 Bridge where today new motels, restaurants and shopping malls appear to expand on a daily basis was once a land of farms, produce stands, and a few small rental cabins.The Route… Read more »
The Jolly Roger Amusement Park began in 1963 as an Arnold Palmer Miniature Golf Course and Driving Range. At that time, the city limits ended at 41st Street and the area along the bayside at 30th Street was considered “way up the beach.”Owner Charles “Buddy” Jenkins added kiddie rides the next summer (including a train and a… Read more »
Jackson’s Casino was Ocean City’s most popular nightclub in the late 1930s and throughout the 1940s. Music, drinks and slot machines were the main attraction at the big wooden building on the Boardwalk between 9th and 10th streets.Jcakson’s was where the locals hung out and many still recall the special façade built to meet blackout requirements during… Read more »
Prior to the mid-1970s, Ocean City was a seasonal resort. The tourist season ran from Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day and it was said, “you could fire a cannon down Baltimore Avenue the day after Labor Day and not hit a soul.” Less than 900 people lived in town year-round.This aerial photo from the… Read more »
The English Diner opened in 1939 on the corner of Wicomico Street and Baltimore Avenue. Relocated to 21st Street and Philadelphia Avenue in the last 1950s, it was one of Ocean City’s most popular family restaurants.It was known as “Little City Hall” for the daily breakfast gatherings of Ocean City’s political elite during the years that… Read more »
Much of the bayside was still undeveloped in this aerial view of 53rd to 54th streets in the mid-1970s.Boulden’s Marina — today the site of Beach World, Chauncey’s Surf-O-Rama and Bayside Rentals — is in the center of the photo while the large grassy area is now occupied by the San Remo Condominium.The small island in the… Read more »
Ocean City was a seasonal town (Memorial Day to Labor Day) and didn’t get a full-time library until the mid-1960s.The Ocean City branch of the Worcester County Library opened in July 1966 on the corner of 14th Street and Philadelphia Avenue. It served the community for over 40 years but had outgrown its cramped space by… Read more »
Norman Webb, better known as Boardwalk Elvis, is an Ocean City icon.One of the town’s most popular and recognizable personalities, Webb began walking on the Boardwalk in the mid-1960s with a huge boom box on his shoulder, which he later changed to a cassette player. He began dressing like Elvis Presley in the 1970s and… Read more »
The railroad brought tourists to Ocean City in the early part of the 20th century and excursion trains made daily trips bringing hundreds of people to town each day. These folks would stroll the Boardwalk while some would rent bathing suits and spend a few hours on the beach.There was no Ocean City Beach Patrol… Read more »
The year 1896 is an important date in the history of Ocean City for it marked the beginning of the commercial fishing industry and changed a small seasonal resort to a year-round town.Captain Christopher Ludlam brought a crew of fishermen from Cape May, N.J. and began pound fishing off the coast of Ocean City in… Read more »