Visitors to Ocean City flock to the resort to enjoy the beaches, bay and Boardwalk.
But there’s another gem in the resort that is not as well known – the many historic homes that make up the city’s Historic District and are trickled throughout town, dating from the Victorian era to the 1950s.
A new grassroots group, Friends of OCNJ History & Culture, comprised of Ocean City residents and business owners, wants to highlight these significant pieces of history. The group will showcase them with special events and tours and will also present the old homes with plaques to foster more pride in ownership of these treasures.
“There’s a bunch of folks that really love the older homes on the island and the character that those homes bring,” Bill Merritt, president of the nonprofit organization, said in an interview Thursday.
The Historic District stretches between Third and Eighth streets and Central and Ocean avenues. Homes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries line the streets.
The district is governed by ordinances designed to preserve the character of the neighborhoods near the Ocean City Tabernacle, where Ocean City was founded and first settled in 1879.
Merritt, of Ocean City, whose passion it is to restore old homes, joined forces with Christine and Brian Lihou, who restored and saved a circa 1902 home at 615 Wesley Ave. that was heading toward demolition by the former owners.
The group is meeting Friday night and will officially launch its website and Facebook pages.
Merritt noted that the effort to recognize the old homes, and residents who care for these homes, began a few years ago with Historic District resident Richard Barth. It was Barth who began the popular Facebook group “Ocean City Old Home Lovers” and it is now 8,000 members strong, Merritt said.
“It shows you there is a high level of interest in these houses. It is not what Ocean City is known for. The Old Home Lovers were kind of this quiet group. Richard pulled us together,” Merritt noted.
This restored home at 615 Wesley Avenue in Ocean City is Christine and Brian Lihou's home. (Photo courtesy of the Lihous)“It was kind of fragmented,” Brian Lihou said. “We didn’t want to make our group just focused on older homes. We want to work with other groups and organizations.”
Watching old homes demolished to make way for new construction is a part of life with progress, in some instances. In others, Lihou said, it is just “heartbreaking.”
Lihou said what really spurred the desire to create the group was the demolition of a Victorian-era home on Asbury Avenue next to Jon & Patty’s Restaurant at 633 Asbury Avenue in March of 2024.
“It was heartbreaking,” he said. “The people who worked at the restaurant were heartbroken, too. It really resonated with us.”
Passion to restore, preserve and protect the old homes is what, Merritt and the Lihous say, is their passion.
“People ask us what we are going to do. We don’t want the culture and the charm of the town slowly eroding. Before you know it, we will look like other shore towns,” Brian Lihou said.
Christine Lihou said group’s motto is this, “We’re a group of enthusiastic neighbors that share a love of Ocean City’s historic buildings, its storied past and its thriving seashore culture.”
She noted that the focus right now is the old homes and the architectural integrity of the town.
“We want to drive awareness that there are still a lot of old homes here,” she said.
Some of the ways they would like to highlight the old homes is by working with the city and possibly becoming a more pronounced part of the city’s marketing brochures or visitor guide.
They would also like to see a “discussion” about the Bayside Center. The historic facility on Bay Avenue is county-owned, but leased by the city. The city has discussed possibly demolishing the old building to make way for a new center.
“We would love to see the discussion change,” Merritt said. “Let’s just have a discussion of the alternatives.”
The group plans to create a database of the old homes and from that they can give homeowners plaques showcasing the year the home was built. They noted that the Historic Preservation Commission has its own program for plaques and that this would be another version.
They also would like to see less demolition and more renovation of old and historic homes.
“Every time you take something down, a part of the charming culture comes down with it,” Brian Lihou said.
In recent years, the Historic District residents and business owners have hosted events for old home lovers attracting visitors to the district.
A Holiday Historic Home Tour was held last year and showcased historic homes as well as businesses in town. The plan is to host another Holiday Historic Home Tour.
On Aug. 14, the group will host a Historic Garden Tour from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Brian Lihou said the group is excited about what the future holds.
“This group is really what I call the sweet spot,” he said, noting that it bridges the gap between the Ocean City Old Home Lovers group and the city’s Historic Preservation Commission.
“I’ve been asked by many people about what they can do to help,” he said of saving and preserving the old homes in Ocean City. “I say, ‘Relax. Help is on the way.’ It’s a process. There are a lot of smart people with great ideas.”
The Facebook site is Friends of OCNJ History & Culture. The website is friendsocnj.org.
This old home at 633 Asbury Avenue was demolished in March.
