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 »
The Ocean City beachfront from Caroline Street to 2nd Street had a much different appearance in 1955 and some of the famous hotels and buildings of that era can be seen in this historic photo.Pictured, from left, are The Maryland Inn, the Coast Guard Station, the Showell block with Edwards 5 and 10, the Roosevelt… Read more »
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 »
