A Look Back at Ocean City
By Fred Miller
All the amusement centers on the boardwalk trace their roots to the Excursion House. It was built in the spring of 1886 by Anderson Bourgeois for the Ocean City Excursion Company. The company was headed by Ezra B. Lake, S. Wesley Lake, Parker Miller and J. G. Salter.
A publicity article told visitors what they would find at the Excursion House: “The Excursion House is located on the beach at 11th Street. It is a large and handsome building, and contains every convenience for the excursionists and visitors. It has an immense balcony, where hundreds can sit under cover and watch the waves roll in. A first-class dining saloon is attached, as well as several ice cream and refreshment stands. Here may be procured the best dinner that the market can provide. A large and fine merry-go-round is also here, and furnishes amusement to the young people. A good bath house is connected with the Excursion House.”
During the summer of 1893, a novel amusement ride opened at the Excursion House—the elevated bicycle railroad. An article on the front page of the July 12, 1893 Ocean City Daily Reporter reported on the new ride: “The elevated bicycle railroad was completed today, and the first ride was made. The railroad consists of two parallel tracks, about five and half feet apart, stretching along the ocean on the outside of the boardwalk below the Excursion House, and is about one-eighth of a mile in length. The tracks, which are about seven feet from the ground, are supported by planking resting on posts driven in the sand between them, and are very securely built.”
By 1893, bathing in the ocean in front of the Excusion House was a popular activity. Joseph P. Krauss saw the need for bather protection, and he became Ocean City’s first lifeguard.
The Excursion House, the most popular amusement center on the boardwalk since 1886, was destroyed by fire on Sept. 9, 1900.
