The Maryland State Fireman’s Convention has been a signature event for over 70 years in Ocean City. For several decades, it was the largest held all summer and ushered in the true beginning of the summer season.Prior to 1970, meetings and exhibits took place at the former high school/elementary school (today’s City Hall) at 3rd Street… Read more »
The Town of Ocean City was incorporated by the Maryland General Assembly on April 12, 1880. It included the land between N. Division Street and S. Division Street plus property on the south side including the vicinity of today’s Inlet. The Inlet did not exist at this time; it would be created during a storm… 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 partially… 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 »
The Coast Guard Tower at the Inlet is one of just a few still standing in the United States today. A unique piece of Ocean City’s history, plans for it began in 1938 after the Coast Guard leased a small piece of land at the south end of the Boardwalk. Work on the 50-foot tall… Read more »
A permanent Boardwalk was constructed in 1892 and extended for eight blocks along the oceanfront. Styles were more formal in the 1890s and 1900s — men in suits and ties and ladies in long dresses and big hats were normal attire for strolling the early Boardwalk in Ocean City.Both the Boardwalk and beach were narrow… Read more »
There were several reasons that Caroline Street was Ocean City’s primary swimming beach in the 1920s and early 1930s. The beach was narrow in those days and Caroline Street was its widest part. It was also the site of Showell’s Bathhouse where tourists could rent lockers and bathing suits for 25 cents a day.The most… Read more »
Michael “DJ Batman” Beatty (1948-2022) was known as the “Night Time Mayor of Ocean City.” Famous for spinning records at the town’s top night clubs, he also emceed many of the special events such as the Best Body on the Beach Contest, the Oceana Cup Races and the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. There were… Read more »
Pat Sajak, host of the TV show “Wheel of Fortune,” came to town in 2003 to judge a “Vanna White Look-Alike Contest” at the Carousel Hotel. Sponsored by the Ocean City Chamber of Commerce as a fundraiser, the event received lots of attention from the local media.Many came out to support their favorite contestants all… Read more »