by Robert Craig (Author)
This is a visual history of the architecture of tourist accommodations in Maryland's famous beach resort. These have ranged from the Atlantic Hotel to the most recent chain hotels and condominiums that have so altered the streetscapes and skyline of the barrier island. Ocean City's architectural evolution paralleled national developments; it began on boardwalk-adjacent and beachfront sites with turreted and gabled cottages and shingle-clad Victorian hotels. By the 1920s, porticoed boardwalk hostelries emerged, and as the popularity of the automobile increased, auto camps and groups of cottages developed into motor courts and mom-and-pop motels during the mid-20th century. After the 1970s, lodgings changed, with infill condominium blocks, time-shares, and megastructures casting afternoon shadows across the beach.