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.