10 ways the Ocean City Boardwalk has changed in more than 100 years

The Ocean City Boardwalk is an entertainment mainstay for visitors and locals alike and has been for more than 100 years.

The exact founding date of the Boardwalk is tricky, said Sandy Hurley, curator of the Ocean City Lifesaving Museum, because of how it was first established.

A favorite story of its founding, Hurley said, is how hotels and businesses used to lay down boards on the beach. Establishments like the Atlantic Hotel placed boards down as early as 1892 and then would bring them back in during the offseason.

Others say the Boardwalk was founded in 1902 when businesses — mainly hotels — came together to create a boardwalk running along the ocean.

This makes the boardwalk either 125 years old or 115 years old, depending on which founding story and year is preferred.

But, like every entity in existence for so long, the Ocean City Boardwalk has changed.

Here's a look at some of the ways the Ocean City Boardwalk has developed during the course of its history, whether it's 115 or 125 years old. 

1. It used to be a promenade

According to Hurley, the Boardwalk didn't used to be stores selling T-shirts and fidget spinners, funnel cake stands and arcades. 

In fact, she said, the Boardwalk used to be a promenade.

"Meaning you got dressed up, you showed off your finest clothes, and you only went on the boardwalk when you are dressed in your Sunday best," she said. "And, of course, we all know that has changed."

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2. The length has varied over the years

The Boardwalk itself wasn't as long as it is now, Hurley said. Before, the Boardwalk would only stretch "a couple of blocks," but now it runs all the way up to 27th Street.

It was expanded to its current length after a storm hit the Boardwalk in 1962, destroying much of it. However, the exact length of the Boardwalk wasn't always known — even after its expansion in the 1960s.

"When it got to the length it got to now, people said it was 3 miles long," she said. "It was just an estimate, and with the advent of people who want to walk a certain amount of steps or miles every day, they had to take a measurement of it now. And it’s now 2 1/4 miles long."

3. It wasn't always wooden ...

The very material of which the Boardwalk is made has changed, too, Hurley said.

After being destroyed by storms, the downtown part of the Boardwalk was made of concrete, lasting through the 1950s, 60s, 70s and beyond, Hurley said.

"They actually did not replace that with wood until the year 2000," she added. "A lot of people don't remember that."

4. ... and it used to be on pilings over the Atlantic Ocean

Prior to the jetty being built in the Ocean City Inlet, Hurley said the beach was much smaller, and the Boardwalk was built on pilings over the Atlantic Ocean.

Despite the ocean being farther away, the Boardwalk is still in its original spot, Hurley said.

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5. It didn't used to be right on the sand

Virginia Austin, 70, of Silver Spring, Maryland, has been coming to the Boardwalk for 65 yeas now.

Watching people walk up and down the Boardwalk on a recent sunny day, she said she's seen plenty of changes. 

"The Boardwalk was higher than the sand," she said, "So you would go underneath the Boardwalk to get out of the sun, and it was much cooler."

6. There's more space

One individual who has seen the Boardwalk expand is Les Morris.

Morris has worked for Thrasher's French Fries since 1977, and while he said many of the Boardwalk mainstays — such as Trimper's Rides, Fisher's Popcorn, Dolle's Candyland and Thrasher's  — remain, there has been one big change, and it has nothing to do with what is on the Boardwalk. 

"There is a lot of parking now," he said. "The city has bought up a lot of space to create more parking spaces."

The lot provides 1,200 parking spaces, including 35 handicapped spaces, according to the town's website. 

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7. The modes of transportation on the Boardwalk have changed

While people have always walked along the boards, there wasn't always a tram car, Hurley said.

Before, there used to be people pushing rolling chairs down the Boardwalk, she added.

Many students made this their summer job, pushing people down the Boardwalk in these chairs — men would take their girlfriends or wives for dates — but it all went away in the 1940s or 1950s, Hurley said.

After that, in 1965, the Boardwalk tram was built, and a separate lane was added for the tram at the southern end of the Boardwalk.

"It got really crowded down here when you got to the pier when the train had to run through there," she said.

8. Businesses have changed

Through the changes, many businesses remain. Fisher's Popcorn is celebrating its 80th year this summer, Thrasher's French Fries is two years away from celebrating its 90th anniversary, Dolle's has been operating since 1910 and Trimper's has been in existence for nearly 125 years.

Though, Hurley said, all of the aforementioned have evolved.

Hotels, like today, used to line the Ocean City Boardwalk, however, rather than having a store in front, there was an area where people could sit in rocking chairs and people watch.

This lasted up until the 1950s, Hurley added.

"The hotels soon found out that they could close up those porches and make stores," she said. "So a lot of those porches were no more and they closed up those porches and made stores and rented out the stores. That's a big change."

The T-shirt shops, she said, didn't come until the 1970s or 1980s.

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9. More cellphones

Anna Dolle Bushnell, one of the owners of Dolle's Candyland, has been on the Boardwalk for much of her life.

After she and her brother took over as the company's owners in 2000 — the fourth generation — she said she has seen many changes, although parts remain the same, such as the local Boardwalk families helping each other out.

One thing that did change, though, is that now, there are cellphones all over the Boardwalk.

"Customers have more of a voice, so it makes us step up our game to make sure our customer service is on point," she said. "Because of the anonymity of the internet, customers can write anything."

10. The town has changed

Good government, Morris said, has helped make the evolution of both Ocean City and its Boardwalk possible.

"We have had some good mayors, and they all have had Ocean City's best interest at heart," he said. "We have been very fortunate with a lot of different things. The police force has improved. They have always been good, but now they stay up on the cutting edge of everything."

As for what the future of the Boardwalk holds, Hurley does not want to make any predictions.

But she said she still hopes it is a place where families can come and have a good time.

"The town has added a whale and dinosaur bones for kids to climb on, and they just opened a new playground, and now in the offseason there are horse and buggy rides," she said. "So it’s always evolving. 

"I just hope it stays someplace where families can come and enjoy their experience."

rghughes@delmarvanow.com

On Twitter @hughesg19