Vanishing Ocean City With Bunk Mann

The Ocean City Bandstand was built on the Boardwalk at Somerset Street in the early 1950’s. At the time, Ocean City had its own band comprised of local musicians and concerts were very popular in the summer evenings. The Bandstand was also the site of the annual Easter Parade where prizes were awarded to the best dressed families and civic leader WP Laws gave silver dollars to the kids in his role as “Mr. Easter.”

By the late 1960’s the structure had fallen into disrepair and become a hangout for vagrant young people. With rumors of drug use and other unsavory activities on the part of these so-called “hippies,” the town fathers declared the Bandstand a public nuisance and had it torn down in 1969.

Postcard image from Bunk Mann’s collection

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