The worst motel fire in Ocean City’s history took place on June 12, 1988 at the Beachcomber Motel on 12th Street and Edgewater Avenue. It was Senior Week and the motel was full of high school and college kids. In those days sprinklers were not required in buildings under five stories tall; the Beachcomber was… Read more »
The Beach Plaza Hotel was built by Ethel Griffin Kelley and her son Harry, a future mayor of Ocean City, in 1953. Located on the Boardwalk at 13th Street, the modern looking hotel boasted 132 rooms and a large porch with rocking chairs that overlooked the beach.Following Ethel’s death in 1955, Harry Kelley took over… Read more »
In the late 1990s a major revitalization of the old downtown took place. The section of Boardwalk from the Inlet to North Divisionn Street was converted back to wood after being made of concrete since 1955. Additionally, a $6.3 million renovation of Baltimore Avenue was completed. A center island with brick pavers and landscaping was… Read more »
Roland “Fish” Powell (1928-2018) lived a long life of service to Ocean City. Fire chief, city councilman, county commissioner and mayor from 1985 to 1996, he was dedicated to his community.As a child he saw the Inlet created by the hurricane of 1933 and as a proud member of the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company… Read more »
The New Avelon was pieced together by its owner, Josephine Hastings, by combining cottages on either side of her boarding house in the early 1900s. Located on the west side of Baltimore Avenue between N. Division Street and N. 1st Street, it was considered on the most northern side of Ocean City at the time.Later… Read more »
The Samoa and Mario’s were two of Ocean City’s most popular restaurants in the late 1960s. Located on Philadelphia Avenue between 22nd and 23rd streets, the Samoa moved two blocks north in 1969 and is now the location of a Sunsations store.Mario’s was a favorite of Ocean City’s locals and stayed open year-round serving some of the… Read more »
BJ’s on the Water, an Ocean City landmark, served its last meal on Jan. 31, 2021. A local’s favorite for over 41 years, BJ’s closed due to the stress of running a restaurant during the pandemic and some health-related problems of its popular owners, Billy and Maddy Carder. The property has been sold and a… Read more »
By the mid-1980s, most of the beach in Ocean City had become narrow and in some places nearly non-existent on high tide. It was said you could fish from the Boardwalk on 15th Street during a storm and there was barely enough room to set up an umbrella between 21st and 25th streets. Most of… Read more »
The first multi-alarm fire since Hooper’s Crab House burned down in 2002 occurred when the Dough Roller on South Division Street and the Boardwalk caught fire 13 years ago last month on March 30, 2008.There was fear of losing an entire block of the southern part of the Boardwalk, but a quick response by the… Read more »
Thelma Conner (1913-1999) has been called “a visionary entrepreneur who was ahead of her time.” The successful hotel owner was the first woman ever elected to the Ocean City Council, serving from 1976 to 1984. She helped form the Ocean City Museum Society and was instrumental in moving the old Coast Guard building to the… Read more »
