The Colonial was one of two cottages on N. 1st Street (the other was called “The Maryland”) built by William J. Warrington in the 1890s. In 1897, he attached the two into one hotel and named it “The Colonial.” The hotel fronted on the Boardwalk and was able to host as many as 100 guests. It… Read more »
“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 »
Ocean City’s beach was in serious trouble as the 1980s began. In some areas, there was not even enough room to set an umbrella on high tide. Various attempts to combat the erosion had been attempted but nothing had really worked.It would take a hurricane (Gloria in 1985) and combined federal, state and local political… Read more »
Fisher’s Popcorn is one of Ocean City’s most recognizable businesses and has been a Boardwalk tradition on the corner of Talbot Street for more than 80 years. Founded in 1937 by Everette Fisher and Edmond Pusey as Pixton’s Popcorn (Pixton was Mrs. Pusey’s maiden name) it became known as Fisher’s when Pusey the left the… Read more »
The Rideau was a popular Ocean City hotel for over 70 years and was famous for having the longest porch on the Boardwalk. Originally an early 1900s combination of three adjoining Victorian era boarding houses known as the Virginia, the Rideau and the Linmar, the hotel underwent a series of sectional rebuildings and renovations following… Read more »
The Ship Café was an Ocean City landmark for nearly 40 years. Constructed in the late 1930s as the Ocean City Yacht Club and designed to resemble a ship, its marina was used by the Coast Guard during World War II.Located on the bay at 14th Street, the Ship Café became one of the town’s most… Read more »
For many years, the only way to cross the Chesapeake Bay was by ferry. The ferries ran from Sandy Point near Annapolis to the Matapeake State Park on Kent Island (and before that from Annapolis to Claiborne in Talbot County). Cars were loaded bumper to bumper and it took slightly less than an hour to… Read more »
Legendary developer James B. Caine built his summer home — known as “Crystal House” — directly on the beach just north of the Carousel Hotel in 1968. The cottage featured a living room with a fountain in the middle, three bedrooms and three bathrooms with sunken tubs and square toilets. Built on pilings, the Crystal… Read more »
During World War II, Ocean City’s nightclub scene was centered on 9th Street. Within a short block, Jackson’s Casino, the Blue Dahlia and the Beach Club provided music, dancing and a lively bar scene. Slot machines were everywhere and there was hardly a hotel, bar or restaurant that didn’t have several.Ocean City was still a small… Read more »
The “African Queen” ran aground on Gull Shoal about nine miles off the coast of Ocean City on Dec. 30, 1958. The ship, with a crew of 46 and cargo that included 21,000 tons of crude oil, was headed for the Mobil refinery in Paulsboro, N.J. when disaster struck.As the captain attempted to back the… Read more »
