Easter was a big holiday for Ocean City in the late 1950s and throughout much of the 1960s. Easter parades were held on the Boardwalk near the old bandstand with prizes for the best dressed family, prettiest Easter bonnet and other categories.One of the highlights of the weekend was the “animal hunt” sponsored by the… Read more »

The English Diner opened in 1939 on the corner of Wicomico Street and Baltimore Avenue. Moved 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 »

The Colonial was one of two cottages on N. 1st Street (the other was called “The Maryland”) built by William J. Warrington in the 1890s. In 1897, he attached the two into one hotel and named it “The Colonial.” The hotel fronted on the Boardwalk and was able to host as many as 100 guests. It… Read more »

“Motel Row” developed in the mid-1950s and early 1960s in part because of the post-World War II “baby boom” and the opening of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Easier travel to the beach and the desire of young families for casual accommodations with easy parking spurred the development of the vacant land between 15 and 33rd… Read more »

Ocean City’s beach was in serious trouble as the 1980s began. In some areas, there was not even enough room to set an umbrella on high tide. Various attempts to combat the erosion had been attempted but nothing had really worked.It would take a hurricane (Gloria in 1985) and combined federal, state and local political… Read more »

Fisher’s Popcorn is one of Ocean City’s most recognizable businesses and has been a Boardwalk tradition on the corner of Talbot Street for more than 80 years. Founded in 1937 by Everette Fisher and Edmond Pusey as Pixton’s Popcorn (Pixton was Mrs. Pusey’s maiden name) it became known as Fisher’s when Pusey the left the… Read more »

The Rideau was a popular Ocean City hotel for over 70 years and was famous for having the longest porch on the Boardwalk. Originally an early 1900s combination of three adjoining Victorian era boarding houses known as the Virginia, the Rideau and the Linmar, the hotel underwent a series of sectional rebuildings and renovations following… Read more »

The Ship Café was an Ocean City landmark for nearly 40 years. Constructed in the late 1930s as the Ocean City Yacht Club and designed to resemble a ship, its marina was used by the Coast Guard during World War II.Located on the bay at 14th Street, the Ship Café became one of the town’s most… Read more »

For many years, the only way to cross the Chesapeake Bay was by ferry. The ferries ran from Sandy Point near Annapolis to the Matapeake State Park on Kent Island (and before that from Annapolis to Claiborne in Talbot County). Cars were loaded bumper to bumper and it took slightly less than an hour to… Read more »