OCEAN CITY — The views of Great Egg Harbor Bay, the spectacular sunsets and the people — that’s the winning combination that has made the luxury Bay Club condominiums the place to be in Ocean City for a half-century, say long-term and short-term residents.
The Bay Club Condominium Association had a celebratory party Saturday, June 22, to mark the 50th anniversary of its 1974 founding. It came complete with a champagne toast that included a few original residents and a visit by Mayor Jay Gillian, who read a proclamation noting that the seven-story bayfront high-rise will always be an important part of America’s Greatest Family Resort.
“My wife and I bought here in 2019. We’re one of the youngsters,” said Patrick Montgomery, president of the Bay Club Condominium Association.
“We really enjoy living here on the bay. It’s very peaceful and the views at nights and the sunsets are just fantastic. It was the view that sold us on this,” he said. “As soon as we saw the view … we were ready to sign on the dotted line.”
Montgomery said he and his wife have been coming to Ocean City since they were children. “Ocean City is like a second home,” he said.
Montgomery noted he was excited to be part of a historic occasion in Ocean City and fortunate to be in charge of the celebration.
In 1976, two years after the Bay Club was built, Herb Collins and his wife, Bernadine, were looking for a second home after frequently visiting their parents in the resort.
“We wanted a little independence because we had three daughters,” Collins said. The widower, Catherine Murray and Marguerite Bernstine are the three original owners still residing at the Bay Club.
“My husband and I fell in love with it,” Murray, also a widower, said. “We were racing sailboats at the time out of the Yacht Club and looking for a place to make our summer home. It was his dream and it’s been great. He’s gone now, but I have kids and grandkids who love it here. I certainly have plenty of company.”
Murray said when she and her husband celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary, they had a band upstairs on top of the Bay Club.
“You’re not allowed to do that any more,” she said, laughing.
“We have a good group now and that’s why we’re celebrating. We have a wonderful social committee,” she said, noting they have a lot of activities.
She enjoys the views during Night in Venice, when the boats parade by the building and there are fireworks over the bay afterward.
“If you want to watch the fireworks, they’re right here. It’s the closest I’ve ever been to fireworks. Watching the boats come back, it’s a wonderful scene,” Murray said.
Collins, whose wife of 67 years passed away last year, has designed the Bay Club decorations each year since 1977. (“He’s Mr. Night In Venice,” his daughter’s friend said.)
“I was in the advertising business, so that was one of my talents,” he said.
Collins was a past president of the condo association.
He said there’s often a popular movie that comes out during the year and that is how the Bay Club is decorated. One year the theme was “Jurassic Park” and another year it was “Titanic.”
Murray said one year the decorations were keyboards on all the balconies — each of the 42 units has a private balcony overlooking the bay. The theme was “Puttin’ on the Ritz.” They also had a 30-piece band playing on the roof.
Murray and Collins agreed it was one of their favorites.
This year the theme is a tribute to the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.
Collins said the decorations will include palm trees and, on the dock — among the amenities at the Bay Club are 31 boat slips, along with a pool, sundeck and clubhouse — will be a guy in a hammock playing guitar.
“If we string him across the main dock we’ll be OK, if he doesn’t fall in,” Collins said, laughing.
As residents gathered before the toast, Mayor Gillian noted he was 9 years old when the Bay Club was built. “I love the views,” he told them. “You have a gem here.”
Montgomery put the golden anniversary in perspective, drawing laughs from the group.
“We found an ad from 1974 for units at the Bay Club, starting at $47,500,” he said. “With 75 percent financing available. Can you imagine that now?”
He noted they were continuing to make investments in the property “so we’ll have another great 50 years coming.”
Collins’ daughter, Patricia (Collins) Zielinski, from Abington, Pa., said growing up during all her summers in Ocean City was wonderful and they made the most of it.
“We would come down the day that school let out. Dad would pick us up,” she said. “We would be in our little school uniforms, come down and stay for the summer. We wouldn’t go back until the morning school started.”
Zielinski worked on the boardwalk all through high school and college and a little bit after college.
“It was hard to leave to get a real job,” she said, smiling. “It’s probably one of the best places to live in Ocean City, in my opinion.”
Zielinski got a nice surprise just about a dozen years ago. Her childhood friend from Abington, Beth Anne (Kelly) Cavanaugh, and her husband moved into the Bay Club.
“We bought a place right next door to them and I didn’t even know,” Cavanaugh said. “What are the chances?” They have been friends since first grade. “We used to double date to proms together in high school. We go way back,” she said.
She was thrilled to find out Zielinski was her neighbor.
“We couldn’t believe it. What a small world,” she said. “It’s just a great community. Everybody is so nice. It’s a really good group of people.”
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
