In the years up to and including the 1960s, Baltimore Avenue was a mostly residential area lined with homes and boarding houses such as the Gables, pictured.This changed in the 1990s when lack of adequate parking became a serious issue in the downtown section of Ocean City. Boardwalk hotel owners began buying these properties and… Read more »
Much like the rise of the motel in the 1950s, the growth of condominiums in the 1970s changed the look and lifestyle of Ocean City.The first high-rise condo — the High Point South — was built by John Whaley in 1970 and within three years a stretch of beach in North Ocean City had become… Read more »
Alvin “Pop” Wendling was once in the Guinness Book of Records for havin more tattoos on his body of the spinach-loving “Popeye the Sailor” and his cartoon friends than anyone else in the world.Pop ran several joke and novelty shops on the Boardwalk and downtown Ocean City for 25 years. His shops specialized in temporary… Read more »
Shortly after the completion of the beach replenishment program, a fierce Nor’easter struck Ocean City on Jan. 4, 1992. It produced the second highest water level in the town’s history, topped only by that of the March Storm of 1962.Severe flooding took place in the downtown area and erosion was widespread along the beachfront. Fortunately,… Read more »
The Commander Hotel was built by the Lynch family in 1930. Located at 14th Street, it was the northernmost hotel on the Boardwalk until Harrison Hall was built in 1951. In the years before the Convention Hall, the Commander hosted many small conventions.The Commander was considered one of Ocean City’s most elite hotels and was… Read more »
The original Morbid Manor was the ultimate “haunted house” with live actors portraying ghosts, goblins and ghouls of all shapes and sizes. It even featured a plane crash on the third floor of the spooky building located on the Fishing Pier at Wicomico Street and the beach.The screams of frightened visitors could be heard on… Read more »
One of Ocean City’s most famous mayors was the late eight-term Mayor Harry W. Kelley, Jr. He was born in Ocean City, served as a lifeguard on the beach patrol and was a city councilman for 16 years before being elected mayor in 1970.His fights with the Army Corps of Engineers over beach revitalization were… Read more »
A Nor’easter struck Ocean City on March 6, 1962 and lasted through three high tide cycles over a two-day period. The most devastating storm in the town’s history, it remains the standard by which all other storms are judged.The ocean and the bay waters met and put the town completely under water. Local residents were… Read more »
The Ocean City Beach Patrol poses on the beach at Caroline Street in 1948. The man in the center of the front row is Bob Craig, who served as captain of the beach patrol from 1946 to 1986.The city limits ended at 26th Street in those days, but there were few bathers north of the… Read more »
Rolling chairs were a familiar sight in Ocean City in 1920s and 1930s and were an early version of today’s Boardwalk tram. Many college students helped pay their tuition by pushing tourists up and down the Boardwalk in those wicker chairs on wheels.Rolling chairs originated in Atlantic City, N.J. and quickly made their way south…. Read more »
