Ocean City Residential Historic District consists of 169 properties, dating back to the 1880s, located in Ocean City, New Jersey. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 20, 2003.

History Before Ocean City, New Jersey was founded, several families lived on the barrier island, then known as Peck's Beach. In 1879, a group of eight Methodist ministers founded the New Brighton Association as a land development company. On October 20 of that year, the group founded the Ocean City Association to develop the island as a religious resort, with a grid plan of streets running parallel to, and intersecting, each other. On May 25 of the following year, the Association began selling lots in the northern portion of the island, centered around a campground area between what is now Fifth and Sixth Streets. If buyers failed to adhere to the Association's moral code, than the property would be returned to the Association. In 1880 alone, buyers built 35 houses, along a hotel, two bath houses, and ten private stables.

A total of 32 houses built in the 1880s are part of the current historic district, including one built by Ocean City Association member Ezra B. Lake. More houses were built in the succeeding decades, aided by improved transportation. By the 1920s, most available lots in the originally settled northern portion of Ocean City were already built. The city's growth halted in 1929 following the stock market crash and subsequent Great Depression.

In the 1980s, developers began tearing down older structures and rebuilding them as duplexes. In 1988, Ocean City added a Historic Preservation Plan Element to its master plan. Three years later, the city designated the Ocean City Residential Historic District from Third to Eighth Streets, and along Wesley, Ocean, and Central Avenues; also included in the District was the Life-Saving Station at 4th and Atlantic.

List of homes in the district Address Date Style Notes 300 Central Avenue ~1950 Cape Cod revival Not a contributing property 301 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian 304 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 305 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 308 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 312 Central Avenue 1890s Second Empire One of the key contributing properties 315 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian Possibly was moved from another location 317 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 321 Central Avenue ~1918-22 Colonial Revival 324 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 325 Central Avenue 1910s American Craftsman 328 Central Avenue ~1950s Cape Cod revival Not a contributing property 329 Central Avenue 1910s American Craftsman 330-332 Central Avenue 1920s American Craftsman 334 Central Avenue 1892 Dutch Colonial Revival architecture One of the key contributing properties 335 Central Avenue ~1960 International Style Not a contributing property 337 Central Avenue 1930s Neoclassical revival 340-342 Central Avenue 1920s Colonial Revival 341 Central Avenue 1880s Colonial Revival 346 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian Car garage added in the 1950s 406 Central Avenue 1800s Italianate 408 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Colonial Revival 409 Central Avenue 1920s American Craftsman 411 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian One of the original meeting cottages; a key contributing property 412 Central Avenue ~1910s Neoclassical revival 413-415 Central Avenue ~1910s American Craftsman/Colonial Revival 416 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Second Empire 417 Central Avenue 1910s American Craftsman 420 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 421-423 Central Avenue 1890s Second Empire 425-427 Central Avenue ~1980s Contemporary Not a contributing property 426 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 428 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 429-431 Central Avenue 1890s Second Empire 432 Central Avenue ~1970s-1990s Contemporary Not a contributing property 433 Central Avenue ~1900s American Craftsman/Colonial Revival 434 Central Avenue ~1920s Colonial Revival Modified to Second Empire/American Craftsman; not a contributing property 435 Central Avenue ~1900s American Craftsman/Colonial Revival 438 Central Avenue ~1910 Folk Victorian 600 Central Avenue 1917 American Craftsman 601 Central Avenue ~1990s Contemporary Not a contributing property 604 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Second Empire 608 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne 611 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 613 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 617 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Second Empire 618 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Colonial Revival 622-624 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne/Colonial Revival 623 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne 625 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne 626 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Folk Victorian 629 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian One of the original meeting cottages; a key contributing property 631 Central Avenue 1880s Second Empire 634-636 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 635 Central Avenue ~1910 Neoclassical revival 638 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian 639 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian 640-642 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 641 Central Avenue ~1910 Folk Victorian 644 Central Avenue 1880s Colonial Revival 650 Central Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian 701 Central Avenue 1880s Queen Anne One of the key contributing properties 705 Central Avenue 1891 Folk Victorian One of the key contributing properties; built for the daughter of Parker Miller, one of the island's first permanent residents 715-717 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Second Empire 801 Central Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne One of the key contributing properties; the first floor was converted to commercial use 401 Wesley Avenue 1890s-1900s Queen Anne Known as Northwood Inn B&B 403-405 Wesley Avenue 1880s Queen Anne 420 Wesley Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian/Gothic Revival 423 Wesley Avenue 2001 Contemporary Queen Anne Not a contributing property 424 Wesley Avenue ~1900 Queen Anne Known as Dancing Turtle Inn 426 Wesley Avenue 1800s-1900s Queen Anne 428 Wesley Avenue 1880s Folk Victorian 429 Wesley Avenue 1880s Queen Anne/Gothic Revival 435 Wesley Avenue 1881 Italianate One of the key contributing properties; owned by Ezra B. Lake; now known as Scotch Hall RestaurantReference - National Register of Historic Places Application

Other properties The Ocean City Residential Historic District is centered around an open area between 5th and Sixth Streets. In 1881, an auditorium was built between Fifth and Sixth Streets, which became the Ocean City Tabernacle; the building was replaced in 1955 by another building at the same location.

At the intersection of 8th Street and Central Avenue, St. Peter's United Methodist Church was built in 1908 in a Gothic Revival architecture. Originally, it was a two-story building, with a three-story tower, with a two-story addition built in 1956. The church's foundation is made of cast stone and granite, and the building's exterior wall is made of stone, featuring stained glass windows. The roof is cross-gabled, with a raised parapet, pinnacles, and a bell tower. It is a key contributing property to the district.

See also National Register of Historic Places listings in Cape May County, New Jersey

External links

References