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 »
Eight blocks of Boardwalk from North Division to 1st streets were rebuilt in concrete and widened by 10 feet between January and April in 1955.The Mayor and Council had decided to replace the wood with concrete due to maintenance costs. The George Bert Cropper Company did the work for $43,819 and used some of the… Read more »
Eunice Q. Sorin (1924-2011) was a fun loving free spirit whose generosity and zest for life will long be remembered in Ocean City. A resident of Berlin and an award-winning hair stylist, Eunice and her husband, Herman Sorin, built the Nassau Motel on 61st Street (now the site of the Meridian Condominium) in 1966. The… Read more »
The Paddock was built by Gabby Mancini on 18th Street and Philadelphia Avenue in what was then considered “way up the beach.” It opened in 1953 as a bar and restaurant specializing in live entertainment. The interior was knotty pine and had a mural painted over the bar featuring horse racing.The original building, pictured, was… Read more »
This postcard image (circa 1909) shows an Ocean City in the time before paved streets and traffic jams. Photographed from the old water tower on Somerset Street the view looks east across Baltimore Avenue toward the ocean.The tall brick chimney in the foreground was part of the town’s electric power plant while the original Atlantic… Read more »
Ocean City’s beach and Boardwalk had a different appearance in the years prior to World War II. This photo looks north from Talbot Street. The Boardwalk in those days was narrow and raised about four feet above the beach. On a hot day bathers would sit under it in the shade and enjoy a picnic… Read more »
St. Rose’s Summer Home for Orphans was built by the Sisters of Charity of Washington, DC in 1898. It was far outside of city limits at the time (Ocean City ended at 7th Street in that era) and the road to 14th Street was unpaved. Supplies were delivered by ox cart and horse drawn wagon… Read more »
Willye Conner Ludlam built the Santa Maria Motel on the Boardwalk and 15th Street in 1956. It was one of the first masonry buildings on the Boardwalk and one of the first motels on what would become known as “Motel Row”.The Santa Maria epitomized what motels of the post-World War II era had to offer… Read more »
The Warren Cottage was located on the corner of 5th Street and the Boardwalk. Owned and managed by Berlin native Mary Purnell Warren, it had 12 rooms with a kitchen annex in the rear.Damaged in the March Storm of 1962, the property was sold and plans made to transport it to a new location in… Read more »
In the latter part of World War II (1944-45), German prisoners from the Prisoner of War Detention Camp east of Berlin were used to do beach cleanup and road work in Ocean City as well as work on various Worcester County farms. Most of these German POWs (there were never any Japanese prisoners housed on… Read more »